WAP371 Captive Portal Logout and timeouts in a multiple WAP network

[engineerladyc]

Hello all,

I am upgrading an aged WAP network onboard a superyacht with the WAP371, I have 8x WAPs at present all setup in a cluster operating on the same SSID for seamless connectivity.  I am using 2.4 & 5GHz networks and have band steer setup to use the 5GHz over the 2.4GHz.

Captive Portal is setup with 2x user groups operating on both 2.4 & 5GHz and when logged in everything is fine.  When you move to another location and therefore pickup another WAP (static IP), you have to again log in.  If you then move back to the original location you first logged in, you again switch WAPs and have to log in again...  

This is beyond annoying and seems like a rather pointless operation, which is why I'm wondering if I've set something up wrong.  I have spent hours on this and cannot find a setting that I've done wrong or missed.

The away and session timeouts are set to 1440minutes (annoyingly there doesn't seem to be an infinite option!) to prolong log in, but if you're working in one section of the vessel then move to another it is making the Captive Portal unusable.

Can anyone help?

I'm not an expert, but I'm also not a beginner either.

Thank you.

Andy

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

is the connection actually dropped when WAPs are switched ? According to the user guide (below) the following applies:

When operating bridging in the 802.11n 2.4 GHz band, set the Channel
Bandwidth to 20 MHz, rather than the default 20/40 MHz. In the 2.4 GHz
20/40 MHz band, the operating bandwidth can change from 40 MHz to 20 MHz if any
20 MHz WAP devices are detected in the area. The mismatched channel bandwidth can
cause the link to disconnect.

http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/csbap/wap371/administration/guide/1_0_0_10/1CSWAP371-SWUM100_1_0_0_10.pdf

[engineerladyc]

Thanks for your response.

The connection is interrupted I'd say and from staring at my phone (for example), the WiFi symbol disappears in standby, then re-appears when you go to Safari/Mail/etc.  Certainly when you're moving from 1x WAP to another, it requires a fresh login to the Captive portal - it does seem to seamlessly connect to the network as soon as you are in range of another WAP (I have overlap on all WAPs and no dead spots), so I think it is a Portal issue, but I really don't know.

I have the 2.4GHz set to 20MHz only as you've pointed out in the manual.

If I stay in one place at my desk, the device stays happily on the network and doesn't timeout unless I move to another WAP.

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

under Captive Portal --> Authenticated Clients you can configure an Away Timeout. I don't know what the default is, but you might want to set that to the maximum. Same for the Session Timeout...

[engineerladyc]

I have both fields on 1440minutes which is the maximum set value.  It seems that each WAP individually manages the timeout rather than the cluster network as a whole - which seems a pretty major failing in my mind.  If you are signed into a Portal you would expect it to remain logged in no matter where you moved within the wireless network, only timing out when you are out of range of the network. 

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

what can you configure under Single Point Setup ? Is there a session timeout that is configurable ?

[engineerladyc]

Instance Configuration and Local User under the Captive Portal menu is the only place where timeout is managed.  There's nothing about timeout in Single Point Setup.

Do you think that Auto Channel switching would have any effect?

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

for WDS all WAPs need to be on the same channel. Auto is not recommended...

-->All Cisco WAP devices participating in a WDS link must have the following identical
settings:
- Radio
- IEEE 802.11 Mode
- Channel Bandwidth
- Channel (Auto is not recommended)<--

[engineerladyc]

That's interesting.  I was under the impression that WAPs in the same location on the same channel conflicted with each other causing drop outs.  Am I wrong in thinking this?

Thanks.

[Georg Pauwen]

I think under normal circumstances, with multiple individual WAPs, that would be true. However, with WDS, you are creating one seamless network, and different channels can cause disconnects.