Configuring MikroTik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN as both CAPsMAN Controller and Access Point

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

Hello,

I need some advice regarding my setup. I have MikroTik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN routers running RouterOS v7 with the wifi-qcom package. I want to configure one of these routers to act as both:

A CAPsMAN controller (to manage other APs),

And a local access point (to serve clients directly).

From what I’ve read on forums, I understand that the local Wi-Fi interfaces must be configured with manager=local (not CAPsMAN). But I have a few questions:

Will seamless roaming (fast transition) work in this setup?

If I configure the local AP (on the CAPsMAN router) with the same SSID/security as CAPsMAN-managed APs, will clients smoothly switch between them (e.g., when moving closer/farther from the controller)?

Do I need to enable 802.11r (FT) or other specific settings?

What’s the correct way to handle the second radio (wifi2)?

Since it’s a slave interface by default, can it still be used as an AP under CAPsMAN, or do I need to disable it and create a dynamic interface via provisioning?

Are there any known limitations or best practices for this hybrid setup?

I’ve seen mentions that local interfaces can’t be managed by CAPsMAN directly—is this still true in RouterOS 7.13+?

I’d appreciate any documentation references or working config examples. Thanks in advance!

2

In order of asking:

1- Yes, seamless roaming will work but … (see 3)
2- Yes, clients will switch but … (see 3)
3- … obviously you need to enable FT settings in security part of the related SSIDs being used. Or roaming will not work.
4- L009 doesn’t have a second radio. Or are you referring to your other APs ? Just use provisioning rules based on capabilities of radio.
5- What are you referring to ?
6- Limitations/best practices: just like any other capsman setup. No more, no less.
7- local interfaces can not be managed by capsman but set them to local managed, and you can use the exact same settings as for the rest of the capsman managed radios. You can even provision local interfaces if you want.

MT Help pages are usually a pretty good start.
Just keep in mind you need to set local radio to local managed.
https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/spaces/ROS/pages/224559120/WiFi#WiFi-WiFiCAPsMAN