Recommended Network/Template Setup for Wireless

[rickas27]

The setup I inherited has ~20 different networks (different subnets) to represent each of our 20 physically separate sites.

Then there's also one "Org Wireless" network where all the MR access points are added to, and the "Org Wireless" network is bound to a template.

I assume this allows us to simply add new MR APs to our Org Wireless network, and the AP will inherit all the default settings as set by the template.

This mostly works for us, however we run into an issue with MR30H APs because we need several different profiles (port configurations). For example, sometimes we need Port 1 to be on VLAN 1 and Ports 2-4 to be on VLAN 2. Whereas other situations call for all 4 Ports to be on VLAN 1.

The problem is that MR30H APs added to our Org Wireless network (that is bound to a template) seem to only be able to utilize a single profile - the default.

The workaround for this is that we started to add these MR30H APs to our site-specific networks (instead of the Org Wireless network).

But when we do it this way, we have to "recreate" our main SSID (we only use a single SSID across all of our networks/sites) for each network with MR30H APs.

Is this the recommended way to configure our networks/APs? We have around 20 MR30H APs total and 70 MR32/36.

Also would our current setup cause issues where the Org Wireless network thinks that the same SSID being broadcast by an MR30H is a rogue SSID?

For example, is Network A has an MR30H AP and an MR32, the MR30H would be part of Network A while the MR32 would be part of Network Org Wireless.

[alemabrahao]

There is no recommended way, everything will depend on your need. If this way meets your expectations, you can work that way without any problem.

[GreenMan]

The recommended way is to have a Network per site, not a Network spanning multiple sites.   Where you want sites to work pretty much the same, bind those Networks to a common Template.    If you have a site or site that needs to be different from the Template, in a way that can't be locally overriden (e.g. an SSID needs to have a different PSK), either create a new Network not bound to a Template, if the site will be truly unique, or just create a new Template (perhaps based upon the existing one).

[Ryan_Miles]

Correction on that example above. PSK can be overridden in a template bound network.

A list of all the overrides can be found HERE

[GreenMan]

Yeah - my bad, thanks for picking that up @Ryan_Miles   Was mixing it up with PSKs on MX-based wireless (which I don't think can be locally overridden)

[Ryan_Miles]

No worries. Just wanted to make sure we had it corrected. The list of local overrides does grow over time so the best reference for what's available is the doc link.

[PhilipDAth]

>Then there's also one "Org Wireless" network where all the MR access points are added to, and the "Org Wireless" network is bound to a template.

I actually have a client that has all their APs in one seperate network (seperate to all their branch networks).  They wanted it this way because they use the reporting in the Meraki dashboard, and this produced reports with more usefull data to them, than having to combine lots of seperate reports.

But others have said, on the whole, you want to be using a template.

There is another option - a very old, half broken feature called Configuration Sync. 

https://documentation.meraki.com/General_Administration/Organizations_and_Networks/Cloning_Networks_...

You would need to experiment, but it would probably work best if you create a non-combined wireless network for each site.  Then you can have a "master" network, and use configuration sync to copy the settings to all the other networks.  Considering your current deployment, this might not have any downsides - but templates would be nicer.

[rickas27]

Thank you all for your replies.

I think I will create a new network for all of our APs with no template bound.

Our APs have mostly default settings.

If I have to configure every one of our ~100 APs one time, then I guess I'll have to do it. But we really don't add new ones that often.