Advanced Configuration for Infrastructure Nodes

Infrastructure nodes (routers, backbone repeaters) require additional configuration beyond the defaults to operate efficiently and reliably in a production network.

Power Management

Infrastructure nodes should never sleep - they need to receive and relay traffic at all times:

# Disable sleep for always-on infrastructure nodes:
meshtastic --set power.is_power_saving false
meshtastic --set power.ls_secs 0 # 0 = no light sleep
meshtastic --set power.on_battery_shutdown_after_secs 0 # 0 = never shut down

Telemetry Configuration

Infrastructure nodes can report their own health metrics to the network:

# Enable device telemetry (battery, voltage, uptime):
meshtastic --set telemetry.device_update_interval 900 # every 15 min

# Enable environment telemetry (if sensor equipped):
meshtastic --set telemetry.environment_update_interval 1800

# Disable position telemetry if using fixed position (saves bandwidth):
meshtastic --set position.position_broadcast_secs 0

Hop Limit for Infrastructure Nodes

Infrastructure nodes often serve as backbone relays and may need a higher hop limit than the default 3 to ensure messages can cross the full network:

# Increase hop limit for backbone nodes:
meshtastic --set lora.hop_limit 5

# Note: Higher hop limit increases channel utilization.
# Only use 5-7 hops when you have large geographic coverage requirements.

Ignore MQTT Setting

If your network has an MQTT gateway, configure infrastructure nodes to NOT re-broadcast packets that came from MQTT (to prevent message loops):

# Prevent MQTT-originated packets from being re-broadcast over LoRa:
meshtastic --set lora.ignore_mqtt true

Admin Channel Configuration

Set up a separate admin channel for network operations traffic, separate from the public community channel:

# Add a second channel for admin use:
meshtastic --ch-add
meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set name "OpsNet"
meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set psk "your-ops-channel-key="
meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set uplink_enabled false # don't bridge to MQTT
meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set downlink_enabled false

Configuration Backup

Always save configuration before deploying. A failed SD card or corrupted firmware update can lose your settings:

# Export full config to JSON:
meshtastic --export-config > node-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).json

# Restore from backup:
meshtastic --import-config node-config-backup-20260101.json