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  • About JimL
JimL

JimL

Getting noticed

Member since Jan 15, 2018

‎07-20-2021
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Community Record

22
Posts
29
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0
Solutions

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ECMS1
CMNA
Meraki FIT Level One
1st Birthday
First 5 Posts
25 Kudos View All
Latest Contributions by JimL
  • Topics JimL has Participated In
  • Latest Contributions by JimL

Re: MR30H not turning on

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎05-03-2019 09:00 AM
‎05-03-2019 09:00 AM
What switch are you using? In some prosumer models they sometimes don't server full PoE to all ports. In your troubleshooting, did plug a verified working AP into the same port the 30H is using? ... View more

Re: Announcing the winners of our April Points Contest

by JimL in Community Announcements
‎05-01-2019 02:46 PM
7 Kudos
‎05-01-2019 02:46 PM
7 Kudos
I am completely humbled. I was still high on winning a gnome!  ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-26-2019 11:54 AM
‎04-26-2019 11:54 AM
+1 for Acceltex. They have some real nice solutions, including their AP skins. Maybe one day Meraki Support won't balk at third-party antennas. ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-26-2019 09:48 AM
1 Kudo
‎04-26-2019 09:48 AM
1 Kudo
Sure thing. I will either update this post or update my resume following this project. 🙂 I have done a lot of warehouse work, including pick modules, but almost always with either Cisco and/or third-party antennas. This is my first 100% Meraki warehouse/pick-module and their antenna selection is somewhat lacking for this environment. For example, their downtilt omnis and patches only work on indoor rated APs. The only Meraki four port antenna for their Industrial rated APs is the Cisco Stadium antenna, which is only for the MR84. This is fine for the N.E. and air conditioned warehouses, but I would seriously hesitate to use MR53s at 30' in any steel building in Arizona or NM. I was on a call with Meraki and Cisco pretty much begging them to certify or copy the Cisco 2566p4w antenna and add N-type connectors to it. That was would be a big win for Meraki and the Warehouse market. Right now the only true option for the MR74/84 is a third-party one, which is out of bounds for Meraki Support. Anyways, I am kind of holding my breath to see how those massive F-Series actually perform in the pick modules. ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-26-2019 09:19 AM
2 Kudos
‎04-26-2019 09:19 AM
2 Kudos
Just wanted to update this for those who responded and were interested. Despite the complexity I ended doing three surveys and gave them three options: The first focused solely on supporting their legacy 2.4GHz scanners and containing the RF in pick modules via severely reduced TxPower in the pick modules. I have MR53Es with the A-series dipoles salt and peppered overhead on each level. Even at 1 mW there will be areas of Channel Overlap. It simply cannot be avoided. The second option was similar to the first, but was also designed to provide near VoIP grade 5GHz throughout, including the pick modules. For the pick modules I am used Meraki's F-Series Narrow-Beam Patch Antennas at the ends of the rows at the top (9') with a ~5 degree down-tilt. I was able to stagger them zigzag style on each level. It is about 1 every other row. Surprisingly the model shows them providing great coverage with very little bleed between levels, even for 2.4GHz - so long as I keep 2.4GHz to around 4mW. The rub is these antennas MSRP at $1,400 and they will need about 70 to cover all four levels. I am not holding the purse, but I had sticker shock! The third focused only on 5GHz, which meant I had plenty of non-overlapping channels for the the pick-module and could use the E-Series Wide Patches to cover the pick modules. They still needed a fair amount, about 60 for the area, but at almost 1/4 the cost, I wanted to show them the savings of upgrading or replacing their legacy scanners. In the end, they didn't even hesitate to jump for Option 2. I guess I should be happy with it, but who really knows if this will shake out as expected once the warehouse is built and these things are deployed. Something tells me I will not only have to make more post install tweaks and optimizations than normal, I am going to have to be present to assist the cable vendor figure out how they are getting the almost 2'x2' F-Series antennas where they are needed. Anyways, thank everyone for chiming in on this, I used everyone's advice for this project! ... View more

Re: Your ECMS1 Spot is Saved!

by JimL in Off the Stack
‎04-26-2019 08:49 AM
1 Kudo
‎04-26-2019 08:49 AM
1 Kudo
Same here. I have a colleague who took it a couple weeks ago, but I have not seen him yet - I intend to ping him for some feedback on it. ... View more

Re: First time deploying a Meraki firewall

by JimL in Security / SD-WAN
‎04-17-2019 02:48 PM
2 Kudos
‎04-17-2019 02:48 PM
2 Kudos
I don't recall. I just happened to be on when the next clue was posted and I headed straight to MX, did a search for Firewall and scanned for a headline that indicated a newbie. It was the first I saw that fit the bill so I opened it. I am actually surprised I found it. 🙂 ... View more

Re: First time deploying a Meraki firewall

by JimL in Security / SD-WAN
‎04-17-2019 02:41 PM
3 Kudos
‎04-17-2019 02:41 PM
3 Kudos
EGG FOUND! ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-16-2019 05:10 PM
‎04-16-2019 05:10 PM
It looks something like this, except the stairs are inside. It might as well be four levels of chicken wire running every which way. Ha-ha. ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-16-2019 03:32 PM
‎04-16-2019 03:32 PM
The F-Series are nice to some degree and I do like them. The issue is any AP I place on level 4 facing down, will penetrate to the bottom. If I place it on the wall, it will still hit level 2, even the Narrow Patch Antenna. Worse is the each level is only 9 feet. If I place it vertically on the wall, the pickers themselves become RF obstacles. To make matters worse, if I lower the TxPower to contain as much as I can, it won't cover enough rack space. If it was one WLAN for the area, I would just throw in some 42/53 internals in a staggered pattern going up and down.    I think my solution is design to 5GHz, so they see what it SHOULD look like and then one for 2.4GHz that shows them my "best effort". They can either upgrade their RF Scanners to 5GHz, segregate their Tenant via SSID/VLANs and such, or accept 2.4GHz will be sub-standard in that area. My head hurts. 🙂 ... View more

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-16-2019 02:54 PM
‎04-16-2019 02:54 PM
Oh I agree completely with that, but since they are a customer I am not sure how that will look in my report! Ha-ha. ... View more

Warehouse Dilemna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-16-2019 02:44 PM
‎04-16-2019 02:44 PM
I am not sure if this a question or just me venting. Have a customer who in part of their warehouse has a four level pick module. Each level is 9 feet tall with the usual 4" to 6" floor/ceiling between them. The whole thing is a tower of multi-path and dirty RF. It is hard enough to design proper Wi-Fi for these types of areas. Not impossible, but hard. So here comes the monkey wrenches: 1. All their RF Scanner are 2.4GHz only. 2: The four levels are shared with a different tenant. Levels 1 & 2 are theirs, but 3 & 4 are their tenants. 3. Tenant's services (SSID, MXs, etc.) will be different and thus different APs - thankfully of my design and choosing.   With only 3 Channels, how am I supposed to design a four level structure in 3 dimensions that is essential a giant 100'x200' cage full of metal - without causing myself so much self-inflicted interference between them and the Tenant  that the whole doesn't slows to crawl, or worse!    I don't think it is possible. Channel Overlap is already going to be a huge concern, without the issue of a second WLAN sitting over their heads. Ugh. ... View more

Re: It’s virtually an egg hunt!

by JimL in Community Announcements
‎04-16-2019 11:14 AM
1 Kudo
‎04-16-2019 11:14 AM
1 Kudo
Correct me if I am wrong, but the way to win is be the FIRST to reply to the post WITH an egg with "Egg Found", right? Replying here or after the first reply wins nothing, correct? ... View more

Re: Needed Antenna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-10-2019 11:05 AM
‎04-10-2019 11:05 AM
Wish that AccelTex came in a rectangle, but your survey actually shows great coverage. I am honestly surprised at how well it is staying in it is lane for being square shaped! Thanks for the tip on it. AccelTex is buying me lunch next week, so maybe this is kismet. Ha-ha. ... View more

Needed Antenna

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎04-10-2019 10:46 AM
2 Kudos
‎04-10-2019 10:46 AM
2 Kudos
Meraki needs an antenna like the AIR-ANT2566P4W-R=, which is the best antenna for deployment between racks in warehouse/distribution centers. Nothing they offer has the same RF pattern. The closest they come to is a square directional antenna, MA-ANT-3-F5/6, which is sub-par for the use-case. Seeing as this is a Cisco antenna, at the very least Meraki should certify it for use with the MR4E/52E. I have a customer who is itching to switch over to Meraki in all their global distribution centers, but the only solution I can come up with to meet their needs would require them using the P4W, even as unsupported. ... View more

Re: How can I determine how many Meraki wireless APs I need for full covera...

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-21-2019 11:07 AM
2 Kudos
‎03-21-2019 11:07 AM
2 Kudos
I would certainly recommend a qualified professional examine your project. While an onsite survey is typically best, often with simple locations a predictive site survey can be quite accurate. An experienced professional should be able to look at your floor plans and with your network requirements determine if an onsite visit is required. At the very least, a predictive survey can give you an estimate for a BOM and cabling quotes. My advice is to look for someone who has ECSE certification or better. ... View more

Re: Air Marshall - Rogue SSID´s

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-13-2019 02:11 PM
2 Kudos
‎03-13-2019 02:11 PM
2 Kudos
They look like Ad-hoc networks for printers, projectors, and such. Did you add them to the Whitelist in Air Marshall? ... View more

Re: MR32 AP - Auto TX Power Change

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-13-2019 08:08 AM
‎03-13-2019 08:08 AM
Is it just her that is having problems and how are you authenticating users? From the log I don't see a lot of AP hopping. If this a Windows machine, there was bug in a recent update that unchecked the "Automatically Connect". It looks like her NIC could be going to sleep and disconnecting, causing her to manually reconnect and where she might be fat fingering her PSK. You could run a packet capture from the AP she is connected to while she is having problems and see what messages are being sent. ... View more

Re: Channel planning

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-13-2019 07:40 AM
2 Kudos
‎03-13-2019 07:40 AM
2 Kudos
Yes and no. If your APs support 80MHz channels, they may end up using it. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your environment. I personally never use auto, not for Cisco, Aruba, or anyone. I look at the RF in the space and decide if there is room on 5GHz for 40MHz and if not, 20MHz it is. I find there to be very few scenarios where 80MHz makes sense. The thing to understand is that 80MHz uses 4 20MHz channels. That will limit the availability of non-overlapping channels and make CCI a potential issue.  Here is a great read on the topic, from Andrew von Nagy: http://www.revolutionwifi.net/revolutionwifi/2013/03/safely-using-80-mhz-channels-with.html   Here is Meraki's info on it: https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Radio_Settings/Auto_Channel     ... View more

Re: MR32 AP - Auto TX Power Change

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-13-2019 07:32 AM
2 Kudos
‎03-13-2019 07:32 AM
2 Kudos
No, the clients are not kicked off as part of the TxPower adjustment process, but if they are on the edge of coverage they could theoretically find themselves out of it if the SNR drops below their threshold. As such they would need to find a new AP to connect to. It is possible that is what is happening and there are issue with either your coverage and/or your roaming. I would recommend looking at both. As for the constant flux in AP TxPower, that makes me think your AP layout and coverage is not balanced. Have you had a Site Survey performed? ... View more

Re: Compatible Patch antenna extension

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-08-2019 12:54 PM
‎03-08-2019 12:54 PM
These are the loss rates at 5 feet: 2.4GHz - 0.5 dB 5.8GHz - 0.8 dB ... View more

Re: Wifi Surveying

by JimL in Wireless LAN
‎03-05-2019 08:46 AM
2 Kudos
‎03-05-2019 08:46 AM
2 Kudos
Yes, you can hop twice, although the less hops you take the better. Survey Mode: https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/WiFi_Basics_and_Best_Practices/Conducting_Site_Surveys_with_MR_Access_Points ... View more
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Meraki Employee Arun_Paul
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MarcP
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GuilhermeMacedo
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jdsilva
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NolanHerring
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Community Manager MeredithW
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My Top Kudoed Posts
Subject Kudos Views

Re: Announcing the winners of our April Points Contest

Community Announcements
7 8076

Re: First time deploying a Meraki firewall

Security / SD-WAN
3 6352

Re: Warehouse Dilemna

Wireless LAN
2 6223

Re: First time deploying a Meraki firewall

Security / SD-WAN
2 6319

Needed Antenna

Wireless LAN
2 1734
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