Mikrotik Groove and hAP Lite confusion

Internet
1

I have just purchase the GrooveA 52 ac Outdoor CPE 802.11ac Gigabit PoE 2.4GHz 5GHz 5W OSL4 8dBi and MikroTik hAP ac lite Dual-concurrent Access Point to use in the situation written about, as a wifi booster for my marina wifi. One big problem is that the marina wifi is broadcasting with the same IP as the Mikrotik stuff. I am confused on the Groove setup as in the article it appears to be setup as router. Once its connected to marina wifi it now competes for the same IP as the marina router. If I try to change router IP address i lose connection. Is there a step by step guide to configuring a groove along with the hAP router? Totally confused at this point. Thanks!

2

I don’t believe there is a step-by-step guide for setting up those two components. There is a guide on setting up the Groove here which might help. Keep in mind MikroTik has probably changed some of their syntax and updated their software since that was written - it can be challenging keeping up with vendors and their updates with previously published articles.

Even if the local marina is using a similar IP space, if you use the Groove in router mode, it won’t matter. If you use it in bridge mode, it can get a bit more complicated, and it is harder to manage and maintain because it doesn’t have an IP address or has one that could overlap or conflict with the marina.

3

That’s an understatement. I started networking before there was networking and I often find the moving target that is MikroTik syntax to be more challenge than it’s worth. Arguably bad enough that folks that should probably configure things in a more secure manner… don’t because the commands are so opaque.

4

Heh, right there with you in terms of when I started networking :slight_smile: and completely agree with MikroTik. Their hardware is great, and their software has more options than anything else out there, and all basically for free or way less than any other solution. But you better be ready for a lot of trial and error, reading forum posts, factory resets galore, and patience to get the right setup.

I still use a Groove now and then to grab remote WiFi signals when my WiFi as WAN isn’t enough from Peplink, but only in extreme situations, and I keep the configuration dead simple.