I am currently using a MikroTik hAP ac Lite in my mesh setup. It has a MikroTik LHG dish connected to port 5 using DtD. I also occasionally use the WAN port (port 1) if I need to do upload load updated location information to the AREDN map.
I would like to move the hAP ac Lite to a setup at a different location so I will need to replace it in my current setup. I'm thinking of using the MikroTik hAP ac2 with its Gigabit Ethernet ports. It's a newer unit and seems like it would be an upgrade. I'm trying to determine whether the five-port hAP ac2 is setup similarly to the five-port hAP ac Lite with port 1 as a WAN port and port 5 as a DtD port. Can someone verify for me whether this is the case? I searched on the forum and I found references to the capability but I don't actually see it specified.
If there is somewhere on the AREDN web site where I could have figured this out for myself I would welcome someone educating me.
73,
John, KM6ZJT
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DtD Port on MikroTik hAP ac2?
Wed, 04/26/2023 - 14:17
#1
DtD Port on MikroTik hAP ac2?
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Orv W6BI
I don't need the POE out on port 5. I should have clarified that in my original post. I was just looking for confirmation that port 1 is a WAN port and port 5 is a DtD port.
Thanks for the quick reply.
73,
John, KM6ZJT
I purchased a MikroTik hAP ac2 and I thought it might be useful to provide some feedback.
Regarding my original question, the ac2 is, indeed, configured exactly the same as the MikroTik hAP ac Lite with the exception that port 5 does not provide POE (as noted by Orv above). Port 1 is a WAN port. Port 5 is a DtD port. Ports 2,3, and 4 are available to connect other devices (computer, web cam, IP phone, etc.). I also found the web page on the AREDN site that provides a better description of how the AREDN devices are configured. That web page is here:http://downloads.arednmesh.org/snapshots/readme.md
One problem that I ran into in my setup is that one of my devices, a Grandstream VoIP phone, would not connect to the ac2. The ac2 has Gigabit Ethernet and the LAN port on the Grandstream phone that I have is 10/100. After multiple tries of power cycling, connecting/disconnecting, I couldn't get the two to talk. I know that I can get a converter to solve this. However, I just want others to be aware that the higher port speed has its own considerations.
73,
John, KM6ZJT
Orv W6BI
I am not able to duplicate the problem I saw on the Grandstream phone. I'm inexperienced with networking so maybe I made a mistake somewhere. The phone that appeared to have the problem is now with a user and I don't have access to it. I tried another similar Grandstream phone and it is working fine with the ac2. If I see the problem again I will do a capture as you suggested.
Thanks for following up with me on this.
And thanks to K6CCC for chiming in with his confirmation that the ac2 negotiated the port speeds well in his setup.
73,
John, KM6ZJT
Orv W6BI
For my test, one of the LAN ports connects to a Mikrotik CSS326 managed switch. The switch is normally configured for Auto Negotiate and is connecting to the hAPac3 at 1000 Mb/s. For my test, I started by setting a continuous ping from this PC to the LAN address of the hAPac3. Then I changed the port speed on the CSS326 to 100 Mb/s. Dropped one ping, but then the hAPac3 switched the port to 100 Mb/s to match the switch and pings resumed. Repeated the test at 10 Mb/s and again, missed one ping, and then the pings resumed. Lastly set the CSS326 switch back to Auto Negotiate and the hAPac3 and the CSS326 switch agreed on 1 Gb/s.