A stadium crew mounts mesh access points and powers them up. No root access point is on the wired network yet. The mesh access points never join. What has to come up first?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
The mesh radios are looking for a parent that is attached to the network, and you have not built that parent yet. Put a root access point on the wire first. A hidden name will not invent a wired uplink.
Full Explanation
A mesh access point joins through a wireless backhaul toward a root access point that is on the wire. With no root powered and connected, these mesh access points have no backhaul and never join. Sniffer mode does not create a backhaul. It stops ordinary service and captures. A guest VLAN is not a wired uplink. The root's Ethernet connection is the uplink, and a VLAN on the radio does not replace it. A hidden SSID does not let a mesh access point join before a root exists. There is still no path from the air onto the wired network. Mesh access points join through a root that is already on the wire. Powering the mesh radios first leaves them with no backhaul to use. Confirm the result on one live client before changing anything else. Exam caveat: a root that is powered and sitting on a VLAN with no path to the controller is not enough either. The root has to be on the wire and able to join. Operational check: bring up one root, confirm it joins the controller, and then confirm the mesh access points join through it.