In the DOCS heading of this website, in the Configuration Deep Dive section there is a discussion of the Auto Distance setting. It states that "The auto-distance setting does not work well when nodes are in close proximity, when link quality is marginal, or when there are many nodes sharing the channel." My question is, "What are the symptoms if this setting is not working well?" We have about 12 nodes (mANTBox 12 2S) within about a 6 mile circle and 2 about 12 miles away. At times the LQ & NLQ values are reasonable with ETX values in single digits for remote nodes and then for no apparent reason some nodes disappear for a time and re-appear some time later. Could this be due to the Auto-Distance = zero setting?
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Knowing this, I recommend that you do not use the 'auto-distance' setting.
73, Chuck
Given:
"There are some within 1/2 mile of each other or possibly less considering the portable go boxes."
"We have about 12 nodes (mANTBox 12 2S) within about a 6 mile circle and 2 about 12 miles away.
At times the LQ & NLQ values are reasonable"
So, at other times, LQ/NLQ (link quality) values are unreasonable (marginal).
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Reference:
"The auto-distance setting does not work well
- when nodes are in close proximity,
- when link quality is marginal, or
- when there are many nodes sharing the channel."
So, of the contradictions to the 'Distance to farthest node setting
improving your network throughput', your network has 3 of 3.
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(1)"What are the symptoms if this setting is not working well?"
Poor throughput due to resent packets.
Too low a setting and packets that were not 'lost' are resent anyway.
Too high a setting and there is a longer than necessary delay in resending a
lost packet.
If your network cell has nodes of 0.5 to 12 miles distance,
you may need a setting of > 12 miles.
If your network cell also has 12 nodes, you may need a setting of >> 12
miles, because a node may not be able to immediately send an acknowledgement
due to channel occupancy.
(2)"Could this be due to the Auto-Distance = zero setting?"
Maybe not.
Likely loss of signal, collisions, or insufficient SNR.
The 'Link Quality Manager' feature might cause this to happen.
Does any node in your network have Link Quality Manager enabled?
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It seems that some folks believe that due to the substring 'mesh' appearing
in the domain name 'arednmesh.org', that AREDN firmware will perform well in
a 'mesh topology' network...IMHO, it does not.
'Mesh topology' networks do not scale well.
73, Chuck