Alta Labs APs perform best in network environments where the network is tuned and configured optimally. We realize that everyone is human (except for the Alta Labs CTO Jeff, he's a robot), however, and that network administrators are the least deserving of punishment from a simple mistake. Alta Labs exclusive features like “Fallback upon Failure” and “Guest Backup Network” are examples of solutions that can save you time and money by masking specific types of common problems.

Even with best intentions in mind, there are inevitably cases where the network administrator simply didn’t configure enough DHCP leases, or has provisioned the incorrect VLAN on to an SSID or switch port. Even if the network administrator doesn’t know what a DHCP pool is, Alta Labs is here to help.

Alta Labs APs track DHCP requests automatically, and if they notice that the upstream DHCP server is not responding to requests, they will step in with their own DHCP server to a configurable internal Alta Labs DHCP pool, which can even be roamed with across the entire network.

If you notice a device showing up with 10.188.x.x IP address (this is the default subnet and can be configured to a different subnet under Settings > System > Advanced > Backup Network), this is the Guest Backup Network feature in action. Whether your DHCP server is not responding because it is out of leases, or if you have configured a WiFi user on a non-existent VLAN, the user will still have Internet connectivity. The AP will act as a router and DHCP server for that user.

Since this is an internal network, the users will of course not be able to communicate with other devices on the LAN with multicast or broadcast traffic. But in most use cases, especially in large-scale public networks, this is completely acceptable because the user simply wants an Internet connection.

This feature can optionally be disabled by going to the Settings tab within manage.alta.inc, then deleting the “10.188.0.0/16” text next to Backup Network, and hitting Save.