Repeat Coverage Area Problem

[reza_mira]

Hi friends
i have a problem, i want create a ESSID in my city with 200AP
in some cases, i cant create a cabled network between AP and ZD, i have to extended my network (coverage Area) with new AP
my question is, if i repeat coverage area on AP1 with AP2, all client can connect to AP1 and AP2?
or that AP work as repeater can work as AP?
if yes how can i configure that on ZD?
Thanks alot 

[michael_brado]

If your APs are near enough, you can extend coverage to non-cabled APs with SmartMesh.
Setup and provision all APs on the wired network, and when you move some of these APs
to areas where they only have a power supply, but no wired network, they should look for
other APs nearby to Mesh with.

[reza_mira]

thanks dear Michael
in this model, user can roam between 2APs(fix AP with cable and AR works as repeater)
in this type, all clients can connect to second AP as like as Fix AP?

[michael_brado]

Users see the SSIDs, don't need to know which AP is advertising them.

[john_d]

Hi Reza,

As Michael said above, the Ruckus terminology for this kind of wirelessly extended network is "SmartMesh". It is very simple to set up and you can find an overview of the technology here: http://www.ruckuswireless.com/technology/smartmesh

And a nice feature sheet here: http://c541678.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/feature-sheets/fs-smartmesh.pdf

Since you are deploying a large meshed network, it might be useful to consult the Best Practices guide: http://c541678.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/appnotes/bpg-wireless-mesh.pdf

Further info on specifically how to set it up can be found in the ZoneDirector user guide, but you might not even need to read it. Basically, all 200 AP's should be initially set up by connecting it to a wired network with the ZD. This allows the ZD to provision the AP's.


After that, SmartMesh simply happens automatically. If a provisioned AP boots and cannot talk to the ZD via the wired network (e.g. no Ethernet plugged in), it will automatically search for nearby AP's to mesh with.


Some of the Ruckus documentation has not been updated to reflect the newer supported meshing configurations. Of notable interest is Ruckus now supports a notion of "eMesh AP", which allow a group of meshed AP's to be connected together with ethernet. When you do this, the AP's will use ethernet to backhaul between them, and allows most of the AP's in the eMesh to broadcast on different channels. This would increase the capacity of your meshed network.



@Michael: As feedback, it'd be great if the mesh best practices guide could be updated to reflect eMesh AP's and how to intelligently leverage this feature. This seems like a very useful way for an island of meshed AP's to work around the capacity decrease inherent with pure wireless meshing, but there doesn't seem like there's an official guide of how best to utilize this architecture.