Sophos XG Firewall
Creating Mesh Networks
Product Version 16.5
Sophos Limited 2017
ii | Contents | Sophos XG Firewall
Contents
1 About Mesh Networks.................................................................................................3
2 Create a Mesh Network...............................................................................................5
Sophos XG Firewall | About Mesh Networks | 3
1 About Mesh Networks
Using an AP as a mesh client with 5 GHz effectively reduces the maximum throughput by 50%
per hop, because all data sent to the AP needs to be forwarded to the other AP, taking up additional
airtime. Therefore we recommend to set the root AP to 5 GHz and the clients to 2.4 GHz. When
an AP boots which is configured to use the mesh network, it tries to connect via cable to the
service. If this does not work, it turns into a repeater AP and scans if the mesh network is visible.
If yes, it will join the mesh network as a client. The access points realize by themselves if they
are root, repeater (mesh) or bridge access points in the network.
Deployment possibilities
Mesh mode enables you to have multiple access points where one is the root AP and the others
are repeater APs, called mesh APs. There can be multiple root APs. Mesh APs can broadcast
the SSID from the root AP to cover a larger area without cabeling each AP.
A mesh network can also be used to bridge Ethernet networks without laying cables. To run a
wireless bridge you have to plug your second Ethernet segment into the Ethernet interface of the
mesh access point. The first Ethernet segment is the one on which the root access point connects
to the service.
Good to know
There are some things you should know about mesh networks:
■
At least one access point needs a LAN connection.
4 | About Mesh Networks | Sophos XG Firewall
■
Mesh access points need to be on the same channel to make a communication possible.
■
Avoid using dynamic channel selection as after a reboot the channels of the APs may differ.
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The mesh network may need up to five minutes to be available after configuration.
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You can have only one mesh SSID.
■
A mesh network can be realized only with Sophos access points.
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For setting up a mesh network you need to create a new SSID.
■
There is no automatic takeover of the root AP. The decision to connect to mesh happens
during the boot.
Sophos XG Firewall | Create a Mesh Network | 5
2 Create a Mesh Network
Creating a mesh network will generate a WPA2-personal network with a randomly generated
passphrase which will be automatically shared among all access points that are configured to
broadcast the mesh SSID. The mesh ID is not visible to the administrator.
About this task
A mesh network can implement a wireless bridge or a wireless repeater.
Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
Connect all access points you want to have in the mesh network to the LAN network.
Register the APs under Protect > Wireless > Access Points.
Ensure that the APs are connected to an SSID.
Create a mesh network (Wireless > Mesh Networks > Add).
a) Enter the name for the Mesh-ID.
b) Select a frequency band.
c) Assign access points by selecting them from the list (+).
d) Select to use them as root or mesh access point.
Note: You need to have at least one root access point.
e) Save your settings.
5. Disconnect the mesh AP from the LAN network and place it at the indended location.
6. Reboot the access points (power off and on).
Results
The mesh network is available after a few minutes. It is not visible to the end user.
Troubleshooting
If a second mesh SSID does not work:
■
You can only have one SSID with mesh mode enabled.
The mesh network is not coming up:
■
Wait a few minutes for it to appear.
■
Check if the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) blocks your mesh configuration.
6 | Create a Mesh Network | Sophos XG Firewall
■
Test the connection by broadcasting only mesh on the root AP and a visible SSID on the
repeater AP. If it is visible, mesh works.
The mesh network is not visible for the end user:
■
This is normal behavior. Make it visible by creating a separate SSID and adding the same
access points as to the mesh network.
The mesh network is not usable:
■
Check if you have at least two access points in the mesh network.
■
Ensure that at least one access point is connected to the network via LAN (cable).
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Check if your mesh APs are on the same channel.
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Ensure that APs which are not part of the mesh network are on a different channel.
There are not all APs in the mesh network:
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Ensure that all APs got the configuration (had been connected via LAN until all configurations
were saved and the AP was restarted)
■
Ensure that the LAN cable of the mesh APs is unplugged.
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