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Mobility express - Roaming

3xIT
Level 1
Level 1

Hi all,

 

We have problems with roaming on Mobility Express (version 8.4.x). Currently, we have 10 AP - 3802i and two of them are WLC (another one as backup).

After connecting to one AP, we are connected to that one until we lose signal and then our device (iPhone or Microsoft Surface Book) connects to the first AP. It's really frustrating when you walk around and example have a video chat that brakes because of this roaming problem.

We made only simple setup, there is no special configuration beside we have different VLANs for different networks (currently we have four networks - tree WIFI SSID and one for local computers). Our router RV325 is doing all VLAN and DHCP things.

 

Thank you for your help in advance!

30 Replies 30

sudhir.gupta1
Level 1
Level 1

Hi ,

First of all, the IOS which you are using is not recommended.

as you are facing roaming issue while connecting two different vlan.

if the user is still connected when the user is near to 2nd AP, then you need to setting on  Coverage dbm select -65 and check.

so when the user is near to the 2nd ap, then it will connect to  that AP.

 

Rgds/Sudhir

sudhir.gupta1
Level 1
Level 1
Hi ,

First of all, the IOS which you are using is not recommended.

as you are facing roaming issue while connecting two different vlan.

if the user is still connected when the user is near to 2nd AP, then you need to setting on Coverage dbm select -65 and check.

so when the user is near to the 2nd ap, then it will connect to that AP.

Rgds/Sudhir

Thank you Sudhir! I will try this next week and let you know.

Hi Sudhir,
I have upgraded our firmware to the latest one 8-8-100 but still have problems. If you, for example, watch YouTube and walk around, you will lose it. So it's really frustrating for the colleagues.
Can you explain it to me, how can I change Coverage to -65 dBm?

Thanks

3xIT
Level 1
Level 1

I have made a small change on my ME... 5.0 GHz Data rates moved from 6 to 12 and it looks a little bit better but still not that good. I was walking around and testing if my iPhone will be transferred to the other AP and it was working better then before but I have lost WiFi signal two times during this test. Also, when I try to connect to the network after that two disconnects I was getting "Wrong password" error. After turning off and on, the password was working.

The biggest problem was that my supervisor was also doing the same test with his iPhone, turned some YouTube video and walking around and it happens that he lost connection and video stopped. He was very unhappy since it can also happen during some video or phone call.

 

Here is how RF parameters look in my case:

 Capture.PNG

Please advise! 

Thanks!

What encryption are you using? You should not use TKIP, only WPA2 with AES (or Enterprise).

It is WPA2 with AES

Ok good. Then it could be insufficient signal coverage, once the device decides to switch the AP.

At a physical spot where this often happens, how strong is the signal there of the old and new AP?


The signal is great, for example, I was in one room with two AP, so basically I was 15-20 ft from both APs. There is no one place, it's happening through the whole place.

Can you run a debug client [mac-address-here] on your Master AP and then roam a few times and post the output here?
Manual: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/mob_exp/88/cmd_ref/me_cr_book-88/me_wlan_cli.html#wp3696883890

Sorry for the late response, I will try this in next time I go to this location. Until that time, here are some screenshots from Mobility Express. If you see something wrong please let me know. 

Also, today I got information from this location that people often get kicked out from Wi-Fi and they are very frustrated. My belief is that they are moving around there and it takes too long to change to another AP. 

Is there a way to make the signal stronger?

a1.pnga2.pnga3.pngint.pngb1.pngb2.pngb3.png

I just asked the user to move her laptop over APs but even before she moved, she was kicked out from the network. Here is what I see over console:

*emWeb: Mar 15 12:04:06.640:
Debugging session started on Mar 15 12:04:06.640 for WLC AIR-AP3802I-E-K9 Version :8.8.100.0 SN :xxx Hostname xxx
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Received DELETE mobile, reasonCode MN_IDLE_TIMEOUT, deleteReason 4 from AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60, slot 0 ...cleaning up mscb
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Succesfully freed AID 196, slot 0 on AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60, #client on this slot 4
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfMsDeleteByMscb Scheduling mobile for deletion with deleteReason 4, reasonCode 4

*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Scheduling deletion of Mobile Station: (callerId: 30) in 1 seconds
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Removing PMK cache entry for station 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 0 PMK-remove groupcast messages sent
*spamApTask0: Mar 15 12:07:53.769: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Deleted global PMK cache and MSCB PMKID/PMK cache entry for the client
*osapiBsnTimer: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfMsExpireCallback (apf_ms.c:655) Expiring Mobile!
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfSendDisAssocMsgDebug (apf_80211.c:3962) Changing state for mobile 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 on AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60 from Associated to Disassociated

*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Sent Disassociate to mobile on AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60-0 on BSSID 78:72:5d:f8:7c:61(reason 4, caller apf_ms.c:7913)
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Client already in disassociated state, not sending disassociation
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Setting active key cache index 0 ---> 8
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Global PMK Cache deletion failed.
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.610: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Sent Deauthenticate to mobile on BSSID 78:72:5d:f8:7c:61 slot 0(caller apf_ms.c:8032)
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Initiating Accounting request(2) update for mobile
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 PemLocationConfigured [1]Adding VSA with NAS update and Role[1] with state[0]
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfMsAssoStateDec
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfMsWepPskStateDec
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 apfMsExpireMobileStation (apf_ms.c:8090) Changing state for mobile 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 on AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60 from Disassociated to Idle

*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 pemApfDeleteMobileStation2: APF_MS_PEM_WAIT_L2_AUTH_COMPLETE = 0.
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 the value of url acl preserve flag is 0 for mobile 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 (caller pem_api.c:5096)
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 10.10.162.6 START (0) Deleted mobile LWAPP rule on AP [78:72:5d:f8:7c:60]
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 0 PMK-remove groupcast messages sent
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Deleted global PMK cache and MSCB PMKID/PMK cache entry for the client
*apfReceiveTask: Mar 15 12:07:54.611: 5c:f9:38:8c:5e:68 Deleting mobile on AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60(0)

You might just be missing the important lines before you started the debug.
This line is interesting:
Received DELETE mobile, reasonCode MN_IDLE_TIMEOUT, deleteReason 4 from AP 78:72:5d:f8:7c:60, slot 0 ...cleaning up mscb
You might be hitting some Idle Timeouts while your clients are in standby or have a client driver bug.
First of all, disable Optimized Roaming. Then try to get 8.8.111.0 or 88MR2 beta and update to that version. 8.8.100.0 has quite a lot of bugs.

So I did the next things:
- Disable Optimized Roaming
- Disable Fast SSID (there is 3 SSID and users should connect only on one so it's not important to have fast SSID)
- Update firmware to 8.8.111.0

Still the same problem. Just got a call from one user, she is in last 30 minutes kicked out three times on her MacBook.
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