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DEBUG for roaming?

lotoulises
Level 1
Level 1

Hi!

I'm currently making some roaming tests with a 2504 WLC and two 2602 APs. I'm just a beginner with wireless technologies.

Which  DEBUG commands can be used on the controller to watch the roaming process information?

I've tried the debug client {client MAC} but it seems that the client disassociates from one AP and then reassociates  with the other. 

Which subject should I read to learn about this process?

 

Thanks.

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

RockstarWiFi
Level 1
Level 1

First is there any particular goal you have by doing this? So as a beginner let's see if I can help you understand a couple things, I will try to keep it high-level.

So there are several types of roaming, there is Layer 2 intra-controller, and inter-controller and layer 3 roaming. When 2 AP's are connected to the same controller this is called intra-controller roaming. When AP's are connected to multiple controllers in a Mobility Group or Domain, that's inter-controller roaming. When a user roams in all of these scenario's, much of the decision to do so is typically on the client i.e. the WLAN client is always looking for a better signal strength (RSSI) for the same SSID he is connected to. The roaming thresholds vary by client, but generally if a client see's an AP with a much better RSSI, the client will attempt to roam. There are new features which the infrastructure can help the client make better decisions but that's more time than i have.

To visualize this process simply, you can force this to occur on your WLC, by starting a continuous ping on your client ping 8.8.8.8 -t, then go to your WLC and disable the AP the client is currently associated to. You can see which AP the client is connected to on the monitor page-clients and viewing client properties.

If you want to witness the client roaming the best way is above, if you want to see it on a debug try the following.

(Cisco Controller) >debug client 00:00:00:00:00:00 - your clients MAC
 
(Cisco Controller) >debug mobility handoff enable

(Cisco Controller) >show debug - verify the debug's are running

If this doesn't work let me know, good luck!

 

~Please rate helpful post~

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2 Replies 2

RockstarWiFi
Level 1
Level 1

First is there any particular goal you have by doing this? So as a beginner let's see if I can help you understand a couple things, I will try to keep it high-level.

So there are several types of roaming, there is Layer 2 intra-controller, and inter-controller and layer 3 roaming. When 2 AP's are connected to the same controller this is called intra-controller roaming. When AP's are connected to multiple controllers in a Mobility Group or Domain, that's inter-controller roaming. When a user roams in all of these scenario's, much of the decision to do so is typically on the client i.e. the WLAN client is always looking for a better signal strength (RSSI) for the same SSID he is connected to. The roaming thresholds vary by client, but generally if a client see's an AP with a much better RSSI, the client will attempt to roam. There are new features which the infrastructure can help the client make better decisions but that's more time than i have.

To visualize this process simply, you can force this to occur on your WLC, by starting a continuous ping on your client ping 8.8.8.8 -t, then go to your WLC and disable the AP the client is currently associated to. You can see which AP the client is connected to on the monitor page-clients and viewing client properties.

If you want to witness the client roaming the best way is above, if you want to see it on a debug try the following.

(Cisco Controller) >debug client 00:00:00:00:00:00 - your clients MAC
 
(Cisco Controller) >debug mobility handoff enable

(Cisco Controller) >show debug - verify the debug's are running

If this doesn't work let me know, good luck!

 

~Please rate helpful post~

Thanks a lot! I need to be familiar with the correct operation of intra-controller roaming in order to be able to troubleshoot it. I guess debugs are a great way to know if something is working fine or not. I'm testing with your recommendations. 

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