NWA50AX as repeater, power only over PoE?

musicplace
musicplace Posts: 5  Freshman Member
First Comment Friend Collector

Hi,

I have 2 NWA50AX in simple "Root" and "Repeater" mode. The root is normal PoE, both data and power.

In testing, I could not get the 2nd unit to work as repeater until I removed the PoE/data cable and used the adapter for power. This makes sense if the WiFi connection and the ethernet connection were conflicting somehow.

But in production, I'd rather not have to power the Repeater unit with the power adapter.

What is the best way to use Ethernet cable to get power to the Repeater unit without causing the 2 data paths conflict between wifi and ethernet? Is there a NWA50AX setting? I think my only other option is is using the switch security to mark the port "unauthorized" to kill traffic (or perhaps a layer 2 filter, etc)?

Thanks in advance!

All Replies

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 3,181  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate
    edited 3:47AM

    Hi @musicplace,

    Once the NWA50AX changes to repeater mode, the Ethernet link status will be down, and the PoE will be on. Therefore, you will get power from the Ethernet cable, but no data traffic will pass through it.

    Zyxel Melen


  • musicplace
    musicplace Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment Friend Collector

    Thanks for your info Zyxel_Melen!

    So, you're saying that it should work just fine to plug in a standard PoE network cable if the NWA50AX is configured in Repeater mode - and it will simply ignore the incoming Ethernet data?

    That's not what happened in my testing - at least, I could not get the Repeater to function unless I disconnected the data cable and plugged in the AC power adapter. Then the device worked great as a Repeater. Is there another configuration option I should check that might cause this behavior?

  • PeterUK
    PeterUK Posts: 3,746  Guru Member
    100 Answers 2500 Comments Friend Collector Seventh Anniversary

    So what the problem with just powering the AP Repeater with PoE and don't connect it to the network?

  • musicplace
    musicplace Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment Friend Collector

    I guess that's just ignorance on my part… I don't know how to power it with PoE without connecting it to the network?

  • musicplace
    musicplace Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment Friend Collector
    edited April 28

    Oh, I see; you mean just unplug the other end of the cable from the switch & plug it into a PoE injector with no data. Unfortunately, in this scenario the poe power is not coming from an accessible switch in a closet - it's coming from a "PSE" switch in the ceiling that gets PoE++ power from the closet and then distributes PoE+ power to several devices; to remove data from that "source" PoE++ cable would remove it from all devices on that switch.

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 3,181  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate

    Hi @musicplace,

    Thanks for update. May I know if your AP registed to Nebula? If so, the mesh behaviors are different between standalone mode and Nebula mode. My previous comment was from standalone mode.

    For Nebula mode, you have these methods to power up the repeater AP:

    1. (PoE power up) Connect the repeater AP to a PoE switch which doesn't connect to a gateway to have uplink connection.
    2. (PoE power up) Disable link of the repeater AP connecting port on the switch (If the switch has this option).
    3. (Adapter power up) Remove the Ethernet cable and use the adapter to power up.

    Hope it helps.

    Zyxel Melen