Difficulty configuring secondary AP

[Martin_Orozco]

Configure SM to register under secondary AP when the primary AP is unavailable.

Configure SUBSCRIBER COLOR CODE RESCAN parameter – when the SM is not registered under its Primary AP. To be able to communicate in a robust system of unlicensed noisy and crowded band, several innovative ideas need to be implemented. Radio synchronization, frequency reuse, automatic power adjustment of Subscriber Modules (SM's), frequency hopping are just a few examples to name. After implementing several noise mitigation techniques and approaches, it is recommended to get prepared for an extr…

I have tried the shown configuration, but it doesn´t seems to work.

Do I have to configure the secondary AP, that has not been reached out by the SMs or do I have to configure the primary AP that can send the order to the remote SMs before it goes off?

Do I need to activate the Airlink Security with the DES Encryption Setting ?

Cheers

[Eric_Ozrelic]

Hey @Martin_Orozco welcome to the Cambium forums.

In order for an SM to connect to a secondary and/or tertiary AP’s color code, the following must be configured:

1. The secondary and/or tertiary AP’s must be configured with unique color codes and the same encryption type and key as the primary AP.

2. The SM must have the primary, secondary, and if available, tertiary color codes configured

3. The secondary or tertiary AP must be visible on the SM’s AP scan list and be heard at an RSSI and SnR that the SM can connect to.

4. On the primary, secondary, and tertiary AP’s, you can set the subscriber color code rescan when not connected to primary, in minutes.

[Martin_Orozco]

Hey @Eric_Ozrelic thank you for your prompt respond.

I have had configured the system as your suggestion, but I guess I overlooked something basic. Both APs should be ON fo the SMs to scan them and reach them when needed, right?
I wanted to keep one Secondary AP OFF and the Primary AP ON, leaving the secondary AP ready to be turned ON when needed. But this setup will not work. Right?
This is my first exposure to the PMP 450i 900, so lots of cuestions will be part of the learning curve.

Cheers

[Eric_Ozrelic]

Yes, both AP’s will need to be on and on different non-overlapping channels.

Alternatively, you could configure the backup AP to be identical to the primary AP and if needed, turn it on, while the primary is off and the SM will automatically reconnect. No additional configuration on the SM would be needed.

[Martin_Orozco]

Hi Eric,

I finally managed to solve the issue by upgrading the firmware on the secondary AP. It turns out the existing SMs had the firmare release (21.1.1), latest than that on the AP (15.1.1); so the remote SMs could not register to the AP with an older firmare release (Software mismatch). After upgrading the AP to the newest firmaware release (22.1.2) things worked just as expected. Thanks Eric and also to those following this issue. Cheers.