Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question
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We are using Ubiquiti AF5's to connect two of our sites together. Because these sites do not have line of sight between them, we are leasing roofspace off a neighboring building and using it as a "repeat" site.
We've recently started having trouble with the link, and I'm working on troubleshooting it. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but my suspicion is that it may be the switch we have at the repeat site.
Can anyone think of a reason why I couldn't just eliminate the switch and conenct the two radios together directly? I'd use a crossover cable if they're not auto sensing.
Thoughts?
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
We are using Ubiquiti AF5's to connect two of our sites together. Because these sites do not have line of sight between them, we are leasing roofspace off a neighboring building and using it as a "repeat" site.
We've recently started having trouble with the link, and I'm working on troubleshooting it. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but my suspicion is that it may be the switch we have at the repeat site.
Can anyone think of a reason why I couldn't just eliminate the switch and conenct the two radios together directly? I'd use a crossover cable if they're not auto sensing.
Thoughts?
No reason that your should not be able to just connect them. TCP/IP does not care about a switch.
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@JaredBusch said
No reason that your should not be able to just connect them. TCP/IP does not care about a switch.
Depends on the switch too
There are some horrible cheap bits of tat out there.Also if the switch has developed an intermittent problem leading it to drop-outs, it might be worth looking at.
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I agree that connecting directly makes the most sense. What's the purpose of the switch?
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@scottalanmiller said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
I agree that connecting directly makes the most sense. What's the purpose of the switch?
The idea was that if we needed to connect to the network at the repeat site we could just "plug in" and statically assign said device an IP. The network I defined was big enough so that there were a few left over IPs. However, how often this will be necessary is likely slim to none (it's just a convenience thing).
I directly connected the two using a straight cable (not a crossover cable) and they're only linking at 100 Mbps. It is a super short CAT5e cable made by yours truly (our fluke tester said it's good), but I'm going to try swapping it with a pre-made CAT6 cable.
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
Speed is not related to the straight or crossover cables or switches. GigE devices should do GigE speed unless something is wrong. cable too short could cause issues.
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@scottalanmiller said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
Speed is not related to the straight or crossover cables or switches. GigE devices should do GigE speed unless something is wrong. cable too short could cause issues.
A too short cable can cause issues? Innnnnteresting. I had no idea. #themoreyouknow
The cable is 1 foot long CAT5e. Would that be a no-no for gigabit connections?
I have a 7 foot CAT6 cable that I'm going to swap it with. I'll just have to make it pretty via zip ties if it proves to solve the issue.
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@scottalanmiller said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
Speed is not related to the straight or crossover cables or switches. GigE devices should do GigE speed unless something is wrong. cable too short could cause issues.
A too short cable can cause issues? Innnnnteresting. I had no idea. #themoreyouknow
The cable is 1 foot long CAT5e. Would that be a no-no for gigabit connections?
I don't know what the wavelength is, but yeah - to short of cables can cause the single to be cut short - damn can't think of a better way to explain that.
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@Dashrender said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@scottalanmiller said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
Speed is not related to the straight or crossover cables or switches. GigE devices should do GigE speed unless something is wrong. cable too short could cause issues.
A too short cable can cause issues? Innnnnteresting. I had no idea. #themoreyouknow
The cable is 1 foot long CAT5e. Would that be a no-no for gigabit connections?
I don't know what the wavelength is, but yeah - to short of cables can cause the single to be cut short - damn can't think of a better way to explain that.
you need enough distance in the cable for more than one full wavelength.
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@scottalanmiller said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
With a straight cable, you should be able to connect two gigabit devices and have them link at gigabit speed, right??
Speed is not related to the straight or crossover cables or switches. GigE devices should do GigE speed unless something is wrong. cable too short could cause issues.
A too short cable can cause issues? Innnnnteresting. I had no idea. #themoreyouknow
The cable is 1 foot long CAT5e. Would that be a no-no for gigabit connections?
If I remember correctly, you want at least 18" for the total run. Normally it's not an issue because the short 6" cables are only used in the wiring closet, where the actual run is much longer. Shorter and the waveform gets cut off, and the error correction starts to have problems.
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Yeah, I avoid anything under 3'.
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Ahh. This makes total sense. I learned something today!
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
Ahh. This makes total sense. I learned something today!
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!
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So, I'm here at the repeat site (yay for mobile hot spots). I swapped my 1 foot homemade CAT5e cable out for a pre-made 7 foot CAT6 cable.
When I connect the two radios together, they still negotiate at 100mbps.
When I connect each radio to my laptop (running Fedora), the link comes up as gigabit.
So, now, I'm confused. Not sure what's going on here.
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
So, I'm here at the repeat site (yay for mobile hot spots). I swapped my 1 foot homemade CAT5e cable out for a pre-made 7 foot CAT6 cable.
When I connect the two radios together, they still negotiate at 100mbps.
When I connect each radio to my laptop (running Fedora), the link comes up as gigabit.
So, now, I'm confused. Not sure what's going on here.
Yes, yay for hotspots indeed.
Do you happen to have a crossover cable around somewhere? It shouldn't make a difference, but apparently the APs are not happy without one.
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@travisdh1 A home-made one that I left on my desk. According to a Ubiquiti employee (I posted on their forum) it should work. So I'm confused.
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/airFiber/Directly-Connecting-Two-AF5-s/m-p/1607575
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Apparently I'm just dense - what are you connecting together at the remote site? The large AF5 outdoor antenna/dish/whatever to what?
You talk about connecting to radios together? what radios?
OK I think I got it. You have a total of 4 AF5s
one in your building, two on a building in the middle, one pointing at you and one pointing toward your other location, and a fourth at the remote location.OK I got it.
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@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@travisdh1 A home-made one that I left on my desk. According to a Ubiquiti employee (I posted on their forum) it should work. So I'm confused.
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/airFiber/Directly-Connecting-Two-AF5-s/m-p/1607575
Confusing for sure. At this point I'd almost just leave a switch in place if they're going to be this finicky about a direct connect
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@Dashrender said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
Apparently I'm just dense - what are you connecting together at the remote site? The large AF5 outdoor antenna/dish/whatever to what?
You talk about connecting to radios together? what radios?
I have two Ubiquiti AF5 radios at a "repeat" site bridging two locations. Originally I had a switch installed here so the connection between the two was like so:
Radio <---> PoE Injector <--> Switch <--> PoE Injector <--> Radio
Because of the odd issues we've been having with the link, I suspect the switch may be part of the issue. So I'm trying to eliminate it by directly connecting the two radios like so:
Radio <--> PoE Injector <--> straight CAT6 cable <--> PoE Injector <--> Radio.
The problem is when directly connecting the two, they only negotiate 100Mbps. I need them to negotiate at gigabit.
Hopefully it makes sense.
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@travisdh1 said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@anthonyh said in Ubiquiti AF5 Connection Question:
@travisdh1 A home-made one that I left on my desk. According to a Ubiquiti employee (I posted on their forum) it should work. So I'm confused.
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/airFiber/Directly-Connecting-Two-AF5-s/m-p/1607575
Confusing for sure. At this point I'd almost just leave a switch in place if they're going to be this finicky about a direct connect
I'll need to find another switch if that's the case, which I can do. I was just hoping to simplify things.
