MS425 Aggregation Switches and MR56 APs

[GFrazier]

I have been thinking of a more innovative network design for a client's location that will be using Wi-Fi as the main means of connectivity for their clients - they will usually have a large number of devices at one time.

Now, I have seen and been using the most "traditional" way of setting up Access Points - up-linking them to access switch GbE ports.

I was thinking of incorporating one of Meraki's Aggregation switches to manage the APs. I was looking at the MS425 models because they have plenty of available 10G SFP ports. The MR56 AP has a 5Gbps Multigigabit Ethernet Port.

This would provide more available bandwidth for the APs to service a large number of devices at once instead of squeezing most of that traffic through a 1G switch port (lots of streaming and LAN traffic by the clients); however, I do not see a Multi-Gig Copper Module for the Meraki brand switches - I do see the 1GbE SFP Copper Module... If this module only max at 1Gb (hence the name), this will make the entire idea useless... 

Is it possible to make this setup work?

[Inderdeep]

I think you are looking for multigigabit capable. Check for MS350-24X. I saw the Product specs, Let me know if it is good with you ?

Product Specifications
• MS350-24X-HW, Cloud managed L3 enterprise access switch
• Physically stackable with all models in the MS350 family
• 16 × 1G BASE-T ports, 8 x multigigabit 100/1000/2.5/5/10G BASE-T ports
• UPoE (60W per port), 740W PoE Budget
• 4 x 10G Uplinks
• Hot-swappable power and fans

https://meraki.cisco.com/lib/pdf/meraki_multigigabit_solution_guide.pdf 

[ww]

Untill wifi 6e 1Gbit is not the problem. The 2.4 and 5ghz wifi spectrum is.  I would not replace a Gbit switch. But if you buying new switches that are future ready the proposed switches above are good ones.

[cmr · Accepted solution]

@GFrazier we recently installed three MS355X-48 switches at one of our locations for this and hooking up to a blade chassis.

The switches have:

32x 10/100Mb/1Gb copper ports

16x 1/2.5/5/10Gb copper ports ideal for APs and high end PCs or even servers.

4x 1/10Gb SFP+ ports ideal for servers

2x 40Gb QSFP+ ports ideal for connectivity to other switches

2x 100Gb QSFP28 ports for stacking

They also support dual load balanced PSU, UPoE (60W) etc.

I wish there was a 355X with more 10Gb SFP+ ports as they could then be part of the same high bandwidth stack rather than being limited to the QSFP+ connections

[GFrazier]

@cmr 

I overlooked the MS355Xs... I am definitely going to use them for future deployments.  Thanks for the info.  I was hoping Meraki has copper modules that can transmit more than 1Gbps.

[cmr]

@GFrazier as far as I know Cisco don't officially support any 1Gb+ copper transceivers but we do use a couple in Cisco 3850s.  I haven't tried them in MS225s that we have at that site but will aim to the next time I am there.  I suspect they will work...

[GFrazier]

@ww 

Correct, I do understand the issues with the Wi-Fi spectrum.  My thoughts on the AP situation is that an AP, still, is just an Access Point to the LAN just like Access Switches - each switch has at MOST 48 ports that each support up to 1Gbps. 

Currently, the ideal uplink for a physical switch is the SFP ports that can transmit up to 10Gbps of aggregated data per port.

Since a Wi-Fi AP is nothing but a wireless access switch, and today's standards of Wireless connectivity can theoretically reach speeds over 1Gbps - even if those end devices does not reach those speeds - the data transmitted to and from multiple devices can definitely add up; the trunk (or uplink) from a Wi-Fi AP, just like any physical switch, should be able to handle an aggregated amount of speed above the theoretical max.

This is why this is concerning to me - I often tend to see in other businesses there is something causing slowness on the network (Gig switches uplinked via one CAT5 or CAT6 cable), and in some cases the bottleneck is more than likely the uplink of the switches; Just think the same goes for a lot of Wi-Fi setups as well.
 

[GFrazier]

@Inderdeep 

Are there any Coper Modules for Meraki switches that can handle data transition of more than 1Gbps??

We currently have 2 locations that are setup in the more "traditional" manner.  We have MS225-48LPs and MR56 APs... I am using the SFP ports for inter-switch and firewall uplinks, while the APs' multi-gig ports are uplinked to the 1GbE Switch Ports.

Since the facilities have specific locations where wi-fi usage is more business than the other casual areas, I was thinking of using the remaining available SFP ports for certain APs that will provide a wider trunk for larger data transmission, which can help increase performance in strategic areas.  

If there were Copper Modules that could provide Multi-Gig speeds, I could implement this without the high cost or the need to wait years for them to upgrade.

[Inderdeep]

Hi @GFrazier 

I think no, The only copper based SFP is MA-SFP-1GB-TX.  You can check the below link for all the SFP supported in Meraki. Above 1 Gb, all are fiber based SMF or MMF.

https://meraki.cisco.com/lib/pdf/meraki_datasheet_sfp.pdf

[cmr]

The other thing to remember is that no transceivers send power over the copper link (I am sure you would know that, but just in case!).

[GFrazier]

@cmr 

Ya know?  I completely freaking forgot about that... Either way, I would need to get a switch anyways to provide PoE. 

[Inderdeep]

One another thing, I am not sure if third party is compatible with the Meraki switch but this one is compatible with Cisco. 10Gtek give you 1.25G on Copper. 

https://www.sfpcables.com/sfp-1-25g-series

[GFrazier]

@Inderdeep 

Thanks for the info... but I think the actual switch itself would be of more help being that I was just reminded that PoE will not transmit over the Copper Modules - the Switch SFP ports don't support PoE or "PoF" for that matter.

[Inderdeep]

@GFrazier That is correct, POE or UPOE never supported over the Copper modules. That is the key point to consider. Hope you got your answer whatever you were looking for ?