Meraki AP's working as a mesh

[jamie1972]

How can I setup my Meraki AP’s to work in mesh setup? I cant bring the AP’s online over Dashboard.

[kYutobi · Accepted solution]

Mesh Network Components

In a mesh network, access points can be in one of two states: Gateway, or Repeater.

Gateways

Gateway access points are connected directly to the wired network, granting it an uplink to the Internet. If a gateway loses its Internet connection, it will look for a nearby gateway and automatically fail over to acting as a repeater, allowing it to continue serving clients.

Meraki determines whether a device should be a repeater or a gateway on boot, when the unit sends out a DHCP request. If it receives a DHCP reply from a device on the wired network, it assumes that it has a valid LAN connection and will become a gateway AP. If a gateway AP is unable to reach the LAN gateway/upstream router, the AP will fail over to repeater mode. 

Repeaters

Repeater access points are not directly connected to the wired network, instead relying on wireless mesh links to reach the Internet. As long as the repeater has power and a strong (unobstructed, line-of-sight) wireless connection to another repeater or gateway, it will form a mesh link.

Please note, it is not possible to configure a static IP address for a repeater AP; doing so will automatically designate the device as a gateway instead of a repeater.

[IOT_GUY]

Is it possible to use third-party repeater or does the repeaters need to be Meraki MR32s in repeater mode?

[kYutobi]

I also forgot to mention if DHCP is setup in your network they should just pull it from there to connect.

[Ciscokid]

What if there is no internet connection? I want to do a site survey for a point to point and need to verify it will work with required speeds. I am on a rooftop with no access to the network. I could provide a L3 switch to connect and hand out DHCP. But it won't have internet connectivity. Will this work?

[Ciscokid]

Is there a way to do a point to point test if the AP is in site survey mode?

[Samir]

My only experience is with the discontinued Outdoor OD2, but this scenario would show each AP as non-accessible in the dashboard, and that means you really can't check the status.

If you could connect one of the APs to Internet of some sort, then you could use the dashboard to see the APs and run some tests.