Ruckus T301N mesh mode

[mohammad_shamse]

Hello team,

I have a query regarding the ruckus T301N outdoor access point.

Can this AP work as a mesh ? that is, is there any means to have this AP work in a wireless environment without the need to connect it through cable ? and if yes, does the neighboring AP need to be ruckus with specific compatibility ?

Looking forward for your cooperation,

Thanks and Best regards

[DarrelRhodes]

Hi Mohammad,

Absolutely, that's the intention, all hard-wired and Mesh APs need to be on a common controller platform.

The Ruckus SmartMesh feature is fully automated with self-forming and self-healing functionality.

When SmartMesh is enabled it doesn't change the behaviour of the AP from a management or Wi-Fi access point of view.

You can find more details in the link my colleague Sam has shared.

Best,
Darrel.

[mohammad_shamse]

thanks for your help !

I just have one more question, for the T301 outdoor ap which is operating as mesh ap, for this we shall just power the device. Is there a power interface in this ap dedicated just for power if we want to use power adapter for example ? or we should only use the POE interface and use power injector beside it ? 

Thanks for your continuous help

[sam_evans]

Hi Mohammad, 

This you can check on the datasheet for any AP. The T301 will only be able to be powered from an ethernet cable. So an 802.3af PoE injector would be required. 

Kind regards,

Sam 

[eizens_putnins]

T301 has only Ethernet port,  so you must use PoE. But powering outdoor AP through PoE is actually more convenient than using 12V port, which is available on some other APs, as PoE cable can be longer, and it is also cheaper. Just use any PoE injector with enough power.

Meshed APs are quit a suitable solution in many cases -- for example, we have implemented network in the airport (aircraft parking area), and there was no way to get cabling to AP locations, we had only power available. Mesh links with 100-150 Mbps rates were established (500-700 m distances) and stayed stable. You need to remember that for good mesh link you want good signal level, so if you use 301S or 301N, antenna orientation must allow good coverage for mesh link (and as same antenna is used for servicing clients, it is not always so).

When mesh AP is restarted, it may take up to 5 min to establish mesh link, and until that service on this AP will be not available. Otherwise it is stable and reliable solution. If there is choice of 2 route APs to set-up mesh link,  with similar signal quality, link may switch between them periodically, and it will interrupt service, in this cases better to set route AP manually to avoid switching.

Also, you need to remember that meshed APs always stay on same channel, which  will have impact on network capacity on  5GHz band, as airtime will be used by both  AP clients and mesh link too, basically you'll have much less than half of usual capacity (any traffic going to clients on meshed AP uses air-time twice - on mesh link to AP and than when transmitted from AP to client, so it's at least 1/2 of capacity, but  if mesh link is slow, capacity may be severely impacted). Of cause, if clients use only 2.4Ghz, but 5GHz is dedicated for mesh, there will be no such impact. 

If you have 2 APs colocated, on may be connected to mesh, and second connected to  it by Ethernet cable, this configuration is supported and is very useful in some cases.

Mesh is usually used, where no other options are available, and having 50-100Mbps is definitely better than nothing and enough in most cases. If wired connection is possible, it is always preferred.

Hope it helps.