Base/client mesh link as a backup path

Hi all. I have an outdoor wi-fi network where the cnPilot e500 APs give internet access to the users via wireless links. The setup is like this: e500 → f180 SM → ePMP2000 AP → ISP CPE → internet. The e500’s first NIC is only used to power up the device while the second NIC powers up the f180. No data passes through the e500 first NIC.

The problem is that occasionally the f180 SMs disconnect from the ePMP2000 AP (this is another topic) and the users have no internet access. In addition, the DHCP server is in the ISP CPE therefore new users do not get an IP when they associate to the e500 while the f180 is disconnected from the ePMP2000.

Now there are 7x e500s giving access to the internet using the above setup. Each of the e500 has its own f180 SM to connect to the ePMP2000 AP and then to the internet. There are also 2x e500s which provide wired connection to the internet instead of going through f180 wireless links. Most of the e500s coverage overlaps with at least one of these wired e500s coverage. Because of this coverage overlap I thought of using the base/client mesh feature of the e500s to provide an alternate path to the internet when the f180s disconnect from the ePMP2000. When the f180s restore their connection, then the mesh should drop and the path to the internet should go through the f180 again.

Is this possible? If I understand how mesh works, I will define an IP so the e500 will ping before switching to mesh. If the ping is lost then it will switch to mesh. When the mesh link comes up however, the monitored IP will be pinged again through the mesh link path. Will that cause the mesh link to disconnect?

Also, will the mesh link drop when the f180 connects back to the ePMP2000? Because I will only need the mesh link as a backup path, not permanent.

If I understand the question correctly, you are asking about cnPilot e500 functionality, so I’ll move this topic into the cnPilot category. Let me know if you think that’s wrong, and I’ll move it back.

You are right, this is a question for cnPilot functionality. I thought this is where I posted it. Thanx.

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I have one solution but need to understand how your setup is configured, so that i can tell that solution is fit in your network or not.
Can you please share me the network diagram of your complete setup to my email id ashok.kumar@cambiumnetworks.com to