9800 17.6.2 WLC, How to increase wifi speed

[JWHolm81891]

I have an employee WLAN that I used as a template and duplicated the configs (except security) for the public-facing WLANS. Getting a lot of complaints though on the lack of speed on the public-facing ones: D- 80Mbps U- 95Mbps. The employee WLAN speed is: D- 174Mbps U-252Mbps. 

I have QoS on both set to Gold. I'm not sure what other settings to share, but like I state, they are the same on both in the WLC GUI. So, I don't understand why I'm not getting the same speeds.

[Leo Laohoo]

What model of AP was used in this test? 
What wireless NIC was used in this test?
What radio (2.4 Ghz or 5.0 Ghz) was used in this test?
What Data Rates are enabled?

[JWHolm81891]

What model of AP was used in this test? 9115AXI-B

What wireless NIC was used in this test? unsure

What radio (2.4 Ghz or 5.0 Ghz) was used in this test? 5

What Data Rates are enabled? 802.11b/g

[Leo Laohoo]

---

@JWHolm81891 wrote:

What wireless NIC was used in this test? unsure

What radio (2.4 Ghz or 5.0 Ghz) was used in this test? 5

What Data Rates are enabled? 802.11b/g

---

This information is useless.

Please provide relevant info.

[JWHolm81891]

okay, I guess I don't understand what you're asking then.

[robertjulian027]

Switch your Wi-Fi frequency band

Modern routers work primarily on two radio frequency bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The band you use for your connections can affect your speeds and the quality of your connections at different distances from your router. 

Whatever frequency band you’re on may be experiencing some temporary interference, so try switching to the other band. It will show up as a different Wi-Fi network on your device, usually with a label in the network name that identifies the network as either 2.4 Ghz or 5 Ghz.

The 2.4 GHz band is the most commonly accessed Wi-Fi connection. It’s used for many other wireless communications other than Wi-Fi, so the airwaves in this frequency can be a little crowded. This band trades speed for range—meaning it’s better at passing through walls and other objects—whereas 5 GHz has better speeds but a shorter range.

The two frequency bands often appear as two separate Wi-Fi networks. To reorganize your connections, log off from the incorrect band and connect to the correct one on each device.

Connections best for 5 GHz band:

• Gaming consoles
• PCs
• Smartphones
• Smart TVs

Connections best for 2.4 GHz band:

• Smart speakers
• Smart home devices
• Security cameras

[eglinsky2012]

The above reply is plagiarized from the following site and doesn't really apply to Cisco enterprise WiFi since one SSID can broadcast both frequencies, so there is no choosing which one to connect to.

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/improve-your-wi-fi-speed-in-10-simple-steps

As for the issue at hand, what is the difference in security between the SSIDs? If you're using 802.1x on either, are devices on that SSID being put in a different VLAN than other? This could mean the public-facing SSID has traffic routed differently,potentially going through a firewall, slower set of network hardware, etc. than devices on the employee SSID.

[Rich R]

>What Data Rates are enabled? 802.11b/g
Well then the absolute maximum should be 54 Mbps - so I suspect that answer is not correct.

"show wireless client mac-address <MAC> detail" for a start.
Compare that for a client on employee versus public.

Also consider updating to 17.6.4.

[Scott Fella]

Your question doesn't provide enough information that can help.  Why not post your wlan config so we can see how you have configured that wlan?  Have you done testing, you should and post your finding.  Keep in mind what you also mentioned, everything is the same as another, except for security.  So it can possibly be due to how or what you have set on your security, or maybe your employees are also seeing the same except they are not sharing that.  You are probably placing guest on a different subnet, so that is another thing you need to look at.

1. Did you test before you deployed?
2. You should be onsite to ask questions and do further testing
3. Like what others mentioned, part of troubleshooting is knowing what devices are connecting
4. Use you own device and test also gathering the netsh report and reviewing that (Windows only) .

When using a Windows machine, use netsh

netsh wlan show wlanreport

Analyze the wireless network report - Microsoft Support

[JWHolm81891]

Here are the configs for comparison of the slower WLAN vs the faster, (slower being first). I’m not a wireless guy except for configuring and deploying, so this is really going a bit deep for me, but I appreciate your help. I’m not sure what all I need to share to help you determine why I’m not getting the same speeds on both, so your patience with me is appreciated.

WLAN Profile Name     :Personal

================================================

Identifier                                     : 2

Description                                    :

Network Name (SSID)                            :Mobile

Status                                         : Enabled

Broadcast SSID                                 : Enabled

Advertise-Apname                               : Disabled

Universal AP Admin                             : Disabled

Max Associated Clients per WLAN                : 0

Max Associated Clients per AP per WLAN         : 0

Max Associated Clients per AP Radio per WLAN   : 200

OKC                                            : Enabled

Number of Active Clients                       : 110

CHD per WLAN                                   : Enabled

WMM                                            : Allowed

WiFi Direct Policy                             : Disabled

Channel Scan Defer Priority:

  Priority (default)                           : 5

  Priority (default)                           : 6

Scan Defer Time (msecs)                        : 100

Media Stream Multicast-direct                  : Disabled

CCX - AironetIe Support                        : Disabled

Peer-to-Peer Blocking Action                   : Disabled

Configured Radio Bands                         : All

Operational State of Radio Bands

    2.4ghz                                     : UP

    5ghz                                       : UP

    6ghz                                       : DOWN (Required config: Disable WPA2 and Enable WPA3 & dot11ax)

DTIM period for 802.11a radio                  :

DTIM period for 802.11b radio                  :

Local EAP Authentication                       : Disabled

Mac Filter Authorization list name             : Disabled

Mac Filter Override Authorization list name    : Disabled

Accounting list name                           :

802.1x authentication list name                : Disabled

802.1x authorization list name                 : Disabled

Security

    802.11 Authentication                      : Open System

    Static WEP Keys                            : Disabled

    Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2/WPA3)     : Enabled

        WPA (SSN IE)                           : Disabled

        WPA2 (RSN IE)                          : Enabled

            MPSK                               : Disabled

            EasyPSK                            : Disabled

            AES Cipher                         : Enabled

            CCMP256 Cipher                     : Disabled

            GCMP128 Cipher                     : Disabled

            GCMP256 Cipher                     : Disabled

            Randomized GTK                     : Disabled

        WPA3 (WPA3 IE)                         : Disabled

        Auth Key Management

            802.1x                             : Disabled

            PSK                                : Enabled

            CCKM                               : Disabled

            FT dot1x                           : Disabled

            FT PSK                             : Disabled

            Dot1x-SHA256                       : Disabled

            PSK-SHA256                         : Disabled

            SAE                                : Disabled

            OWE                                : Disabled

            SUITEB-1X                          : Disabled

            SUITEB192-1X                       : Disabled

    CCKM TSF Tolerance (msecs)                 : 1000

    OWE Transition Mode                        : Disabled

    OSEN                                       : Disabled

    FT Support                                 : Disabled

        FT Reassociation Timeout (secs)        : 20

        FT Over-The-DS mode                    : Disabled

    PMF Support                                : Optional

        PMF Association Comeback Timeout (secs): 1

        PMF SA Query Time (msecs)              : 200

    Web Based Authentication                   : Disabled

    Conditional Web Redirect                   : Disabled

    Splash-Page Web Redirect                   : Disabled

    Webauth On-mac-filter Failure              : Disabled

    Webauth Authentication List Name           : Disabled

    Webauth Authorization List Name            : Disabled

    Webauth Parameter Map                      : Disabled

Band Select                                    : Disabled

Load Balancing                                 : Disabled

Multicast Buffer                               : Disabled

Multicast Buffers (frames)                     : 0

IP Source Guard                                : Disabled

Assisted-Roaming

    Neighbor List                              : Enabled

    Prediction List                            : Disabled

    Dual Band Support                          : Disabled

IEEE 802.11v parameters

    Directed Multicast Service                 : Enabled

    BSS Max Idle                               : Enabled

        Protected Mode                         : Disabled

    Traffic Filtering Service                  : Disabled

    BSS Transition                             : Enabled

        Disassociation Imminent                : Disabled

            Optimised Roaming Timer (TBTTS)    : 40

            Timer (TBTTS)                      : 200

        Dual Neighbor List                     : Disabled

    WNM Sleep Mode                             : Disabled

802.11ac MU-MIMO                               : Enabled

802.11ax parameters

    802.11ax Operation Status                  : Enabled

    OFDMA Downlink                             : Enabled

    OFDMA Uplink                               : Enabled

    MU-MIMO Downlink                           : Enabled

    MU-MIMO Uplink                             : Enabled

    BSS Target Wake Up Time                    : Enabled

    BSS Target Wake Up Time Broadcast Support  : Enabled

802.11 protocols in 2.4ghz band

    Protocol                                   : dot11bg

Advanced Scheduling Requests Handling          : Enabled

mDNS Gateway Status                            : Bridge

WIFI Alliance Agile Multiband                  : Disabled

Device Analytics

    Advertise Support                          : Enabled

    Advertise Support for PC analytics         : Enabled

    Share Data with Client                     : Disabled

Client Scan Report (11k Beacon Radio Measurement)

    Request on Association                     : Disabled

    Request on Roam                            : Disabled

WiFi to Cellular Steering                      : Disabled

Advanced Scheduling Requests Handling          : Enabled

Locally Administered Address Configuration

    Deny LAA clients                           : Disabled

wlan Personal / Mobile

 no security ft adaptive

 security wpa psk set-key ascii 0 WLpersonal

 no security wpa akm dot1x

 security wpa akm psk

 security pmf optional

 no shutdown

FASTER VLAN (the one I’m trying to match)

WLAN Profile Name     : NPS-Managed

================================================

Identifier                                     : 10

Description                                    :

Network Name (SSID)                            : Managed

Status                                         : Enabled

Broadcast SSID                                 : Enabled

Advertise-Apname                               : Disabled

Universal AP Admin                             : Disabled

Max Associated Clients per WLAN                : 0

Max Associated Clients per AP per WLAN         : 0

Max Associated Clients per AP Radio per WLAN   : 200

OKC                                            : Enabled

Number of Active Clients                       : 26

CHD per WLAN                                   : Enabled

WMM                                            : Allowed

WiFi Direct Policy                             : Disabled

Channel Scan Defer Priority:

  Priority (default)                           : 5

  Priority (default)                           : 6

Scan Defer Time (msecs)                        : 100

Media Stream Multicast-direct                  : Disabled

CCX - AironetIe Support                        : Disabled

Peer-to-Peer Blocking Action                   : Disabled

Radio Policy                                   : 802.11a only

DTIM period for 802.11a radio                  :

DTIM period for 802.11b radio                  :

Local EAP Authentication                       : Disabled

Mac Filter Authorization list name             : Disabled

Mac Filter Override Authorization list name    : Disabled

Accounting list name                           :

802.1x authentication list name                : DOT1X_AUTH_Cityof-MANAGED

802.1x authorization list name                 : Disabled

Security

    802.11 Authentication                      : Open System

    Static WEP Keys                            : Disabled

    Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2/WPA3)     : Enabled

        WPA (SSN IE)                           : Enabled

            TKIP Cipher                        : Disabled

            AES Cipher                         : Enabled

        WPA2 (RSN IE)                          : Enabled

            MPSK                               : Disabled

            EasyPSK                            : Disabled

            AES Cipher                         : Enabled

            CCMP256 Cipher                     : Disabled

            GCMP128 Cipher                     : Disabled

            GCMP256 Cipher                     : Disabled

            Randomized GTK                     : Disabled

        WPA3 (WPA3 IE)                         : Disabled

        Auth Key Management

            802.1x                             : Enabled

            PSK                                : Disabled

            CCKM                               : Disabled

            FT dot1x                           : Disabled

            FT PSK                             : Disabled

            Dot1x-SHA256                       : Disabled

            PSK-SHA256                         : Disabled

            SAE                                : Disabled

            OWE                                : Disabled

            SUITEB-1X                          : Disabled

            SUITEB192-1X                       : Disabled

    CCKM TSF Tolerance (msecs)                 : 1000

    OWE Transition Mode                        : Disabled

    OSEN                                       : Disabled

    FT Support                                 : Adaptive

        FT Reassociation Timeout (secs)        : 20

        FT Over-The-DS mode                    : Disabled

    PMF Support                                : Disabled

        PMF Association Comeback Timeout (secs): 1

        PMF SA Query Time (msecs)              : 200

    Web Based Authentication                   : Disabled

    Conditional Web Redirect                   : Disabled

    Splash-Page Web Redirect                   : Disabled

    Webauth On-mac-filter Failure              : Disabled

    Webauth Authentication List Name           : Disabled

    Webauth Authorization List Name            : Disabled

    Webauth Parameter Map                      : Disabled

Band Select                                    : Disabled

Load Balancing                                 : Disabled

Multicast Buffer                               : Disabled

Multicast Buffers (frames)                     : 0

IP Source Guard                                : Disabled

Assisted-Roaming

    Neighbor List                              : Enabled

    Prediction List                            : Disabled

    Dual Band Support                          : Disabled

IEEE 802.11v parameters

    Directed Multicast Service                 : Enabled

    BSS Max Idle                               : Enabled

        Protected Mode                         : Disabled

    Traffic Filtering Service                  : Disabled

    BSS Transition                             : Enabled

        Disassociation Imminent                : Disabled

            Optimised Roaming Timer (TBTTS)    : 40

            Timer (TBTTS)                      : 200

        Dual Neighbor List                     : Disabled

    WNM Sleep Mode                             : Disabled

802.11ac MU-MIMO                               : Enabled

802.11ax parameters

    802.11ax Operation Status                  : Enabled

    OFDMA Downlink                             : Enabled

    OFDMA Uplink                               : Enabled

    MU-MIMO Downlink                           : Enabled

    MU-MIMO Uplink                             : Enabled

    BSS Target Wake Up Time                    : Enabled

    BSS Target Wake Up Time Broadcast Support  : Enabled

802.11 protocols in 2.4ghz band

    Protocol                                   : dot11bg

Advanced Scheduling Requests Handling          : Enabled

mDNS Gateway Status                            : Bridge

WIFI Alliance Agile Multiband                  : Disabled

Device Analytics

    Advertise Support                          : Enabled

    Advertise Support for PC analytics         : Enabled

    Share Data with Client                     : Disabled

Client Scan Report (11k Beacon Radio Measurement)

    Request on Association                     : Disabled

    Request on Roam                            : Disabled

WiFi to Cellular Steering                      : Disabled

Advanced Scheduling Requests Handling          : Enabled

Locally Administered Address Configuration

    Deny LAA clients                           : Disabled

wlan NPS-Managed 10 Managed

 radio dot11a

 security wpa wpa1

 security wpa wpa1 ciphers aes

 security dot1x authentication-list DOT1X_AUTH_MANAGED

 no shutdown

I am looking at doing testing.

[Scott Fella]

Well when I ran a diff to compare, the other thing was that your Mobile SSID has 2.4GHz enabled, while the other SSID has 5GHz only.  Now if a device connects to 2.4GHz and you have only 20Mhz channel width vs 5GHz where depending on your ap model, can go up to 160MHz.  On 2.4GHz, I can see why they have slower speeds compared to devices on the other SSID with 802.11a only enabled. 

Check speeds when connected to 5GHz on the Mobile SSID, another good configuration option is make sure you have band select enabled to help clients steer towards the 5GHz band.  Of course you don't need that on your Managed SSID because you are only using 5GHz.  Once you see that speeds are the same no matter what SSID as long as you are connected to 5GHz, make the deccision if you disable 2.4GHz on the Moble SSID or else enable Band Select.  You can also change the band select parameters to be a bit more aggressive to have more device connect to 5GHz vs 2.4GHz, but you need to take a look at the data on 2.4 vs 5 and make that change until you are happy with the outcome.  

Configuration > Wireless > Advanced > Band Select | Cycle Count = I have mine set to 10

Keep it at default and slowly increase it, making sure that devices are still connecting.