Association failures

[LakesideLion]

Hello Meraki Community,

Meraki newbie here. I was looking into our wireless connection logs and noticed a lot of association errors. One example of a reason is pasted below

auth_mode='wpa3-802.1x' 11k='1' 11v='1' reassoc='1' error_code='30' radio='1' vap='6' channel='36' rssi='30'

Would someone be willing to help me decipher this? What is error_code 30? Does 'reassoc=1'. mean the failure occurred during a reassociation? what is '11k=1' and '11v=1' mean?

Thanks very much.

[MerakiGnome]

Hi @LakesideLion

You can find the error=30 code here:

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7172038?hl=en#zippy=%2Cassociation-status-codes

[MerakiGnome]

@danjns - I’m pretty sure you can explain the 802.11v and k piece.

[LakesideLion]

Ah. I didn't put that together.

Thanks.

[aleabrahao]

Try disabling 802.11r and 802.11w.

802.11k

The 802.11k standard helps devices search quickly for nearby APs that are available as roaming targets by creating an optimized list of channels. When the signal strength of the current AP weakens, your device will scan for target APs from this list.

802.11r

When your device roams from one AP to another on the same network, 802.11r uses a feature called Fast Basic Service Set Transition (FT) to authenticate more quickly. FT works with both preshared key (PSK) and 802.1X authentication methods.

iOS 10 and later, iPadOS, and macOS 12 include support for adaptive 802.11r on Cisco wireless networks. Adaptive 802.11r offers FT without the need to enable 802.11r on the configured Cisco wireless network. To support adaptive 802.11r, the Cisco network must be using controller code version 8.3 or later.

802.11v

iOS, iPadOS, and macOS support these 802.11v functionalities on certain devices:

• Basic Service Set (BSS) transition management
• Disassociation Imminent
• Directed Multicast Service (DMS)
• BSS Max Idle Service

BSS transition management with Disassociation Imminent allows the network’s control layer to influence client roaming behavior by providing it the load information of nearby access points. The device takes this information into account when deciding among the possible roam targets.

DMS optimizes multicast traffic transmission on wireless networks. The device uses this information to enhance multicast communication and preserve device battery life.

The BSS Max Idle Service helps clients and access points efficiently decide how long to remain associated when no traffic is being transmitted. The device uses this information to preserve device battery life.

When you combine 802.11k and 802.11v’s ability to speed up the search for the best target AP with FT's faster AP association, apps can perform faster and you get a better Wi-Fi experience in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

[danjns]

This is 802.11v refusing the association (therefore, trying to get the client to try another AP as its current utilisation is too high). If you have your WLAN designed correctly, the client should be able to find another AP to associate, so it shouldn't be a problem.

802.11v is great, and you should use it as it'll try to balance out your clients, and your clients will use the info to choose the best (rather than the loudest) AP to connect to. The issue you'll have with 802.11v is when it's used without a good WLAN design. I design with at least 3 APs at any time for a client to use, especially if it's a Wi-Fi-first environment with many users trying to use real-time applications. This is even more important if you have QoS enabled, as you restrict the available contention window. For instance, Cisco recommends only having 12 active voice clients per channel.