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Best strategy for a relay node

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w8erd
Best strategy for a relay node
We need to communicate with a mesh node in a difficult location, which cannot be reached directly.
Perhaps an intermediate relay node would make it possible.  We tried a node with an omni antenna and it does not work.
What equipment would work best for this?  2.4 ghz.
Two dishes connected to a dual port node?

Bob W8ERD
K5DLQ
K5DLQ's picture
My vote would be 2 dishes,
My vote would be 2 dishes, back-2-back, on 5Ghz, different channels.
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
Bob, I do this every year at
Bob, I do this every year at field day given a water tower blocks the park location to the mountain location where we connect in to the area mesh network.   I use a nanobridge or spot beam for the long distance connection into the backbone site,  then a NanoStation to give mesh coverage to the park area.  The relay node is ~200 yards away from the park to get around the water tower.   By using a spot beam antenna for the longer distant link, it doesn't hear all the noise an omni would, equals higher link rates.   I always put the links of the relay node on different channels, equals higher link rates, however it can work on one channel.  

The relay node also has an ipCam to demo and look back at the park to see our self waving.   The equipment specs are: a tripod stand, netgear GS105E,  2 mesh nodes, ipCam, battery, solar panel  (demonstrate a 24x7 configuration), and connecting cables.

Joe
w8erd
relay station
Is it necessary to turn off DHCP in one of the nodes?
Does it matter if you use a switch or not between the nodes?

Thanks!

Bob W8ERD
w8erd
Need Reply
Could someone please reply to my questions above?  We have an important event coming up next weekend and need to know how to procee.

Thanks!

Bob W8ERD
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
It is necessary to turn off
It is necessary to turn off DHCP on one or more of the nodes in the following situation:

1)  2 or more mesh nodes plugged into a switch  
2)  the switch is a 'hub' or has no 802.1q vlan configuration, it's a "dumb" switch.
3)  Only one of the mesh nodes can have DHCP turned on (LAN settings), otherwise there will be a conflict in which node is issuing addresses -- could be any mesh node based on timing. This is problematic as your ipCam, VOIP, etc. may get different IP addresses and the service advertisement may become bogus.

As a matter of best practice, I never do this.   It's easy to forget that DHCP is turned off, so you end up with the node not working for the next event and spend time reloading and setting up the node again from the beginning, or if you remember what the issue is, you can push the hardware reset button for 5 seconds to reset password and turn DHCP back on.

It's best to always configure the switch with vlans so the devices on the LAN ports have a known mesh node they always receive an IP address from.   It's better to figure out how to setup the switch 1 time in the shack with no pressure,  rather than getting bit multiple times when a mesh node doesn't act like you expect it to and forget that's the one with a different setting in the middle of an event.

Joe AE6XE


 
w8erd
Would it be possible to
Would it be possible to connect two nanostations together, on opposite sides of a tower?
Bob W8ERD
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
Yes. Commonly done. At
Yes. Commonly done. At tower sites, usually the devices are Rockets with various antennas depending on coverage area or P2P links needed. Joe AE6XE
w8erd
Wrong questions
Somehow my note about questions that need answers got sent out wrong.
The answers needed are for the case where you connect two mesh nodes together to act as a relay station.
Must DHCP be turned off in one of them?
Is a switch necessary between them?

Thanks!

Bob   W8ERD
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
If there are no other devices
If there are no other devices (ipCam, etc.), then there are no devices looking to obtain an IP address from a mesh node, consequently it doesn't matter if DHCP is on or off.  No switch is needed and a cable can directly connect between 2 mesh nodes (LAN to LAN on the Power bricks or directly between the POE injectors).

Joe AE6XE

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