[NEBULA] Setup NWA1123-ACv2 to repeater mode

2

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  • Jacobb
    Jacobb Posts: 10
    Friend Collector First Comment
    Hi @Nebula_Barney

    Thanks for the reply. Please find below the screenshot. It looks, that everything should be correct (the red "Buero" is ok, because not connected)?




    2. Is your client SSID using Guest Network and/or dedicated VLAN?

    I have to WLAN (main and guest) and my client (smartphone) was connected to the main net. I have streamed a YouTube Video when the smartphone was positioned directly on the "Garage"-AP. The "Garage"-AP was placed 6m away from the Uplink AP ("Buero"), therefore the smartphone should be connected to this "Garage"-AP in my opinion But when I was looking into the statistics in Nebula, I have seen, that it was streaming via the AP "Buero" which was 6m away and should have definitely a weaker signal.

    Regards
  • Zyxel_Barney
    Zyxel_Barney Posts: 84  Zyxel Employee
    First Anniversary 10 Comments Friend Collector First Answer
    Hi @Jacobb

    For most mobile devices, the signal strength of the connected AP must fall under a certain threshold before the device roams to an AP with better signal. If your APs are 6m apart, then that might not be enough distance to meet the threshold.

    Did you try lowering the max output power of the AP's radio your smartphone was using?
    You can verify which radio (2.4G or 5G) your smartphone was using by checking the AP > Monitor > Client page.
    To lower the max output power, go to AP > Configure > Radio setting and select [2.4 GHz] or
    [5 GHz]. Check the Bueno and Garage AP and set max output power to 5dBm for the duration of this test.

    Afterwards, please help me verify if you are able to stream your Youtube video from the Garage AP.

    Regards,
    Barney
  • Jacobb
    Jacobb Posts: 10
    Friend Collector First Comment
    Hi @Nebula_Barney

    • I have set the radio from Buero to 5dBm
    • Positioned the smartphone directly on the Garage AP

    Result:
    • Smartphone was connected to the Garage AP as expected via 5GHz with signal strength -32dBm
    This was the setup during the test:


    The uplink signal with -74 dBm is because of the Buero AP settings of 5dBm I guess.

    The question now is:  how should I increase the power of the Buero AP, so that the Garage AP has enough uplink signal, but the connected devices do not switch back to Buero AP instead stay connected to the Garage AP?

    Second question:
    What do you recommend regarding the mounting of the Garage AP. The only goal is enough signal strength for the outdoor WiFi camera. The garage door blocks a lot of the signal, that is the problem why just a Buero AP is not enough and I need this repeater in the Garage.
    • Position A: mounted on concrete wall
    • Position B: mounted on ceiling


    Many thanks!
    Br
  • Zyxel_Barney
    Zyxel_Barney Posts: 84  Zyxel Employee
    First Anniversary 10 Comments Friend Collector First Answer
    Hi @Jacobb

    The suggestion to lower the max output power of the APs is to prove that station data can traverse the wireless mesh. If your smartphone is able to stream youtube video from the garage AP then we can conclude that your earlier issue is because your Smartphone still sees the Bueno AP possessing an adequate signal and does not need to roam to the garage AP.
    With that in mind, we can restore your APs max output power to original settings.

    For the case of your wireless camera, just like your smartphone, it should also meet certain criteria before it decides to connect with the Bueno or Garage AP.

    I suggest restarting the wireless camera after you have set up the garage AP in repeater mode. In theory, the camera should establish connection to the AP with stronger signal upon bootup.

    Hope to hear your next update.

    Regards,
    Barney
  • Jacobb
    Jacobb Posts: 10
    Friend Collector First Comment
    Hi @Nebula_Barney

    Ok I will check that. 

    I have seen that in the client view of Nebula, the Download and Upload have some few MB of data, but in the AP view, the same AP (Garage) has 0 byte usage. Could that be?

    What do you thin about the positioning of the V2? Is there any suggestion from Zyxel for best performance because of antenna/radio position in the V2?

    Br
    Marc
  • Zyxel_Barney
    Zyxel_Barney Posts: 84  Zyxel Employee
    First Anniversary 10 Comments Friend Collector First Answer
    Hi @Jacobb

    Repeater AP showing zero uplink usage is a known issue. This will be enhanced in the next major Nebula update.

    For the positioning of the garage AP, both wall or ceiling mount suggestions will provide your outdoor camera with more or less the same signal strength. 

    Regards,
    Barney
  • Hi @Nebula_Barney ,

    I have a question.
    As we are emphasizing "configuration without unboxing" with Nebula. So, initially, how can the root AP (connected to wired network) detect the new AP (never online on NCC, just registered via QR Code Scanner)?
    E.g:
    Floor 1:
    Router----PoE switch----NWA1123-AC v2
    Floor 2: No wired network but need wifi internet ==> add more NWA1123-AC v2 expecting to connect with the 1st one via Smart Mesh, and pre-configure before delivery.

    How does it work?

    Thanks,
    Ngoc
  • Zyxel_Barney
    Zyxel_Barney Posts: 84  Zyxel Employee
    First Anniversary 10 Comments Friend Collector First Answer
    Hi @Ngoc_Le_VN01

    The method involves a default mesh-ID present among all Nebula APs. 

    Three conditions must be fulfilled for a newly added AP without wired connection to automatically join the Smart Mesh:

        1. At least one Nebula AP acting as a root 
               - Smart Mesh enabled
               - Wired uplink port is connected
        2. Newly added AP is using latest firmware
        3. Newly added AP is added to the same Nebula organization as root AP

    When you power-on your new AP without a wired uplink connection, your AP will turn into repeater mode and scan the vicinity for the default mesh-ID. Your root AP will then check if this AP is registered under the same Nebula organization. Once verified, your root AP will allow your new AP to form a mesh and is allowed access in to the local network.

    At this point, new AP connects with NCC, receives site-related configurations, and finally connects to the true mesh-ID.

    Regards,
    Barney Gregorio
  • Nexus
    Nexus Posts: 1
    First Comment
    I also have many problems. I ask if a company like Zyxel doesn't have to set up a wizard that automatically aids users with simpler operations rather than different addresses to a FORUM ??
  • Zyxel_Freda
    Zyxel_Freda Posts: 397  Zyxel Employee
    First Anniversary Friend Collector First Answer First Comment
    Hi @Nexus,
    May I know what feature let you feel confused when setting it? Please let us know what's the problem you want to know and we'll help you to check/clarify.
    Thanks.

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