How KODADDY designed and deployed a dual-redundancy network with automatic failover for a national trade association’s headquarters — combining Cisco Meraki SD-WAN and TP-Link Omada across 23 devices, with full Wi-Fi 6E coverage.
The Challenge
The organization’s headquarters ran on a single internet path and a single set of network gear. If the primary line or a core device failed, the entire office — phones, file sharing, cloud apps, and Wi-Fi — went down with it. Leadership wanted an infrastructure where a failure of any single component would not take the internet or the internal network offline.
The Solution: Two Independent Paths
KODADDY designed a dual-redundancy (high-availability) architecture using two independent internet circuits and two complete equipment sets that back each other up. The analogy we gave the client: a building with one water pipe loses all water if that pipe breaks — with two pipes, a break in one still leaves the other running.
- Path 1 — Cisco Meraki (primary/active): a Meraki MX105 firewall/SD-WAN appliance handles the main internet traffic, with cloud-based security and centralized management.
- Path 2 — TP-Link Omada (standby/backup): an Omada ER8411 gateway provides a second internet path and powers the internal switching and Wi-Fi fabric, ready to take over instantly.
The two systems are bridged over a shared internal VLAN so they operate as one network while maintaining independent failover. Traffic is segmented with VLANs to separate the main network, a legacy network, and a dedicated management network.
Wired backbone
A stack of PoE+ core and distribution switches connects the server rack to each floor’s IDF (intermediate distribution frame), with a 10 Gbps SFP+ backbone between core switches for high throughput.
Wi-Fi 6E coverage
Wi-Fi 6E access points (2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz) were deployed per floor and zone for complete coverage, cloud-managed for centralized monitoring and channel optimization.
How Failover Works
- Primary line fails: the Meraki appliance automatically switches to the second path through the Omada gateway. Users experience little to no interruption.
- Backup gateway fails: the primary Meraki path is already active, so internet continues uninterrupted; internal switches and Wi-Fi keep serving the local network.
- ISP outage: if the provider itself goes down, internet is unavailable, but the internal network (file sharing, printers, local services) keeps running.
Equipment Deployed
23 devices in total — all authorized-grade, sourced and configured by KODADDY:
- Cisco Meraki (4): MX105 firewall / SD-WAN, MS130-8X switch, and 2× CW9176D1 Wi-Fi access points.
- TP-Link Omada (19): ER8411 multi-WAN gateway, 9× SX3206HPP PoE++ core/distribution switches (10 GbE SFP+), and 9× EAP773 / EAP783 Wi-Fi 6E access points.
The Results
- No single point of failure for the internet path — automatic failover between two independent WAN circuits.
- All 23 devices online and healthy, centrally monitored across both platforms.
- Full Wi-Fi 6E coverage across every floor, with a 10 GbE switching backbone.
- VLAN-segmented traffic separating production, legacy, and management networks.
- A documented upgrade path (e.g., raising remaining 1 GbE links to 10 GbE) as the organization grows.
Related equipment we supply
Building a similar network? These are authorized-grade options from our catalog for the same roles:
- Wireless (Wi-Fi 6): Cisco Meraki MR36 Indoor AP · Meraki MR76 Outdoor AP
- Core / distribution switching: Cisco Catalyst 9200L 24-Port PoE+ (4×10G)
- Server room: APC NetShelter SV 42U Rack · APC Smart-UPS SRT 10kVA
Browse the full enterprise networking & surveillance catalog.
Planning resilient infrastructure?
KODADDY designs and supplies high-availability networks — Cisco Meraki, Catalyst, and multi-vendor solutions — at transparent MSRP pricing, with professional on-site installation. Request a project quote and we’ll scope redundancy for your site.