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Plan Gateway connectivity

Plan a gateway connectivity test for use during deployment.

Border Gateways and Mesh Gateways require reliable connectivity to perform their tasks in the Silvanet Mesh Network. The first step in achieving this is to prepare a Connectivity Plan before deploying the gateways. This plan is then used by the installers during deployment to run Gateway Connectivity tests.

For a successful deployment, the gateways require the following connectivity:

  • Border Gateway connectivity with the Internet to connect to the Silvanet Cloud.

  • At least one Mesh Gateway has connectivity to the Border Gateway.

  • Each Mesh Gateways has connectivity to at least two Mesh Gateways, if possible to provides redundancy.

The following shows a mockup of a Connectivity Test Plan between a Border Gateway and several Mesh Gateways. Note one Mesh Gateway has only one connection to the Silvanet Mesh Network. This mockup is the result of preparing a Connectivity Test. After you prepare this plan, print it out for distribution. The remainder of this topic shows how to prepare this mockup.

Connectivity links added in a graphics program

Connectivity links added in a grahics program

  1. First prepare a Gateway Packet: When creating a connectivity plan, it is best practice to first prepare a Packet that contains only Border Gateways and Mesh Gateways.

    Packet with only Gateways

    Packet with only Gateways

  2. Next, enter Full Screen Mode: After creating and saving the Packet, select the Full Screen Mode icon in preparation for printing.

    Enter full screen mode

    Enter full screen mode

  3. Take a screenshot: Take a screen capture (screenshot) of the Packet Planning page in full screen mode. On a MAC, press and hold three keys together: Shift-Command-5 (or Shift-Command-4 to select an area). On a Windows device, press the Windows logo key+Shift+S.

  4. Use a graphics program to add connection lines: Paste the screen capture into a graphics program such as Paint (on Windows) or Preview (MAC OS), or even a Word document.Use the graphics tools to add lines between the Gateways that require connectivity.

  5. Make printouts: Print out copies to be distributed to each deployment team for use during gateway deployment.

  6. Run the connectivity tests between gateways: You can then run a connectivity text on the devices during deployment.

Additional resources