12-03-2020 05:43 PM - edited 07-05-2021 12:51 PM
Given the current "situation" in the world, most of us are now working from home. I needed a more reliable WiFi implementation in my house to support the 5 of use (wireless laptops, cells phones, IOT devices, video streaming etc). Frankly I got tired of the "Why does the wifi suck at our house?" compliments
So I have embarked into this new exercise. Note: This is my first exposure to Cisco equipment.
The house is a 2 level + basement totaling about 3K sq/ft.
Current equipment:
1x Cisco 3750X
1x Cisco 5508
5x AIR-CAP3702I
3x AIR-CAP3702E
1x IPFire firewall appliance that handles DHCP (192.168.1.0/24)
I have created 1 WLAN, single SSID for both 2.4 and 5Ghz. Security Policy [WPA2][Auth(PSK)]
Phase 1.
Installed 1x AIR-CAP3702E in a central area of the second floor, 1x AIR-CAP3702E in the basement and 1x AIR-CAP3702I in the garage. All of the APs were connected to the same SSID.
The ladies in my house (wife and daughters) were all complaining that the wifi was unreliable. More times than not, their cells phones would switch over to cell.
So, quoting Tim the tool man, I decided that I needed "more power"!
Phase 2.
I added 4 AIR-CAP3702I to the second floor (1 in each bedroom). One AIR-CAP3702E on the main floor (in line with the one on the second floor).
Still, the cell phones were connecting unreliabily to the Wifi. Note, I had set the channel width to "Best" and Power Level Assignment Method to auto.
Phase 3.
I came across an article saying that the answer to my problem was mesh.
I have since implemented mesh (1x RAP and 7 MAP) with a channel width of 80Mhz
Current Channel |
(100,104,108,112)
and Tx Power Level Assignment set to Custom=1.
Range (RootAP to MeshAP) = 12000 feet
Backhaul Client Access = Enabled
Extended Backhaul Client Access = Enabled
RAP Downlink Backhaul = 5Ghz
It has since gotten better but I still have 1-2 devices that struggle to connect while on the main floor.
Let's start with a few basic questions.
1) Do I have too many APs deployed in the house?
2) Should I set the power level to a value other than 1?
3) Should I forget about the 80Mhz and perhaps go with 40Mhz?
4) What additional information can I provide?
I understand that the answer(s) may very well be "it depends" but I am not even sure where to get started.
Thanks in advance for your help
Renato
Solved! Go to Solution.
12-12-2020 12:24 PM
Hi Renato,
Hope wireless your home is stable & better now. Here is the summary of the steps you have implemented for anyone to understand easily
1. Convert back to Local mode from Mesh mode
2. Only focused on 5GHz & disable most of the 2.4GHz radio (as too much interference from your own APs)
3. Set 40MHz channel width under DCA & RF Profile
4. TPC min-max 0-17dBm in 5GHz band
5. By looking at WiFi scanner (WinFi), noticed CH36-48 & CH149-161 having too many other SSIDs, two important APs channel set to static out of those band.
6. Did iperf test using your iPhone & ~150-200Mbps & concluded it was a great result.
If all good & acceptable solution, you can close off this thread by marking it as "answer"
HTH
Rasika
12-03-2020 06:39 PM
Looks like an interesting project. Having 8 AP in a single house is a bit too much...
Anyway, I cannot believe that phase 2, how it did not work well (that should be the best option, AP in local mode). Also why things got better when you convert to mesh.
I would not leave to DCA channel width to "best" , suggest stick with 40MHz, if you have enough channel to workwith. Otherwise stick with 20MHz. If you can access WLC CLI, pls paste the below output to have an idea.
show advanced 802.11a summary
show advanced 802.11b summary
My general suggestion
1. Get an idea of how many of your home devices are 2.4GHz only. If most of the devices supporting 5GHz, your SSID should be set to 5GHZ
2. AP power should not be high, typically set to 14dBm or 17dBm (TPC max value)
3. If SSID configured with dual-band, then reduce 2.4GHz TPC max at least 8dB less compare to 5GHz
4. Using WiFi scanner (WinFi for Windows or WiFiAnalyzer for mac) have a look at channel distribution and see any co-channel interferences
HTH
Rasika
*** Pls rate all useful responses ***
12-03-2020 07:30 PM
Rasika
thank you for the quick reply.
Here is the information you requested:
(Cisco Controller) >show advanced 802.11a summary Member RRM Information AP Name MAC Address Slot Admin Oper Channel TxPower -------------------------- ----------------- ---- -------- ----------- ------------------ ------------- Green-2ndFloorLT ec:bd:1d:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-Garage 78:ba:f9:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-Bdrm3 50:87:89:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-MBdrm d8:b1:90:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-Bdrm1 50:87:89:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-Bdrm2 fc:5b:39:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-Basement 10:05:ca:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) Green-1stFloor a0:ec:f9:xx:yy:zz 1 ENABLED UP (100,104,108,112) 1/6 (17 dBm) * global assignment (Cisco Controller) >show advanced 802.11b summary Member RRM Information AP Name MAC Address Slot Admin Oper Channel TxPower -------------------------- ----------------- ---- -------- ----------- ------------------ ------------- Green-2ndFloorLT ec:bd:1d:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 6* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-Garage 78:ba:f9:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 11* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-Bdrm3 50:87:89:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 1* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-MBdrm d8:b1:90:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 11* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-Bdrm1 50:87:89:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 6* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-Bdrm2 fc:5b:39:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 6* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-Basement 10:05:ca:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 1* *1/8 (23 dBm) Green-1stFloor a0:ec:f9:xx:yy:zz 0 ENABLED UP 11* *1/8 (23 dBm
Thanks again
Renato
12-03-2020 08:45 PM
All 2.4GHz radios are maxed powered (23dBm) which is not good and most likely all your client prefer that band in given conditions. Below output tell in which band your client associate.
show client summary
With mesh, you can see all your APs operate on the same channel, and the capacity point of view limited to a single 80MHz. which is not good
Would you like to try local mode AP (similar to phase 2 of your work)?
Rasika
12-03-2020 08:36 PM
Rasika
I had another idea.......
The 2.4Ghz is used primarely by 1-2 ip cams and about a dozen or so IOT devices which use microcontrollers only supporting 802.11 b/g/n.
What if I were to dedicate one of the 8 APs (say the one on the second floor, middle of the floor) to the 2.4Ghz and the balance of the APs to only support ac?
Would this be a better use of the APs?
Renato
12-03-2020 09:15 PM
Hi Renato,
Do you want all these to be connected to the same SSID ?
My suggestion is to create two SSID, one with 2.4GHz or dual-band (let's say IoT) and one with 5GHz only (Home-WiFi). You can selectively advertise SSID using AP groups, in that way IoT SSID can broadcast on selective APs.
5GHz, you can assign those APs into 8 different channels, so you get 8AP capacity. In 2.4GHz, you can only assing CH1,6 & 11. So you can assign those 3 channels to 3APs and others you can either power off 2.4GHz band (if those AP hear each other) or you can put the same channel as long as they do not hear each other on stronger RSSI.
HTH
Rasika
*** Pls rate all useful responses ***
12-04-2020 05:10 AM
Rasika
Thanks again for your help. I will be trying out your suggestions over the weekend.
Will share the results.
Thanks again
Renato
12-06-2020 12:21 PM
Rasika
I have followed your suggestions.
1) Reverted back to AP set to "local mode"
2) Entered the following settings:
Wireless -> 802.11a/n/ac -> RRM -> TPC Power Level Assignment Method = Automatic Maximum Power Level Assignment (-10 to 30 dBm) = 17 Minimum Power Level Assignment (-10 to 30 dBm) = -10 Wireless -> 802.11a/n/ac -> RRM -> DCA Channel Assignment Method = Automatic Channel Width = 40Mhz Extended UNII-2 channels = Enabled Wireless -> 802.11b/g/n -> RRM -> TPC Power Level Assignment Method = Automatic Maximum Power Level Assignment (-10 to 30 dBm) = 9 Minimum Power Level Assignment (-10 to 30 dBm) = -10
Here is the output of the 3 commands you asked for before:
(Cisco Controller) >show advanced 802.11a summary Member RRM Information AP Name MAC Address Slot Admin Oper Channel TxPower -------------------------------- ----------------- ---- -------- ----------- ------------------ ------------- PA-AP-Basement 10:05:ca:88:75:00 1 ENABLED UP (64,60)* *4/6 ( 8 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm1 50:87:89:c0:68:f0 1 ENABLED UP (136,132)* *5/6 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-2ndFloor ec:bd:1d:31:12:30 1 ENABLED UP (52,56)* *5/6 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-1stFloor a0:ec:f9:71:ac:50 1 ENABLED UP (44,48)* *4/5 ( 6 dBm) PA-AP-MBdrm d8:b1:90:2e:ad:80 1 ENABLED UP (100,104)* *5/6 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm2 fc:5b:39:c9:ac:80 1 ENABLED UP (112,108)* *5/6 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-Garage 78:ba:f9:93:22:10 1 ENABLED UP (52,56)* *4/6 ( 8 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm3 50:87:89:a5:ad:70 1 ENABLED UP (36,40)* *5/5 ( 3 dBm) * global assignment (Cisco Controller) >show advanced 802.11b summary Member RRM Information AP Name MAC Address Slot Admin Oper Channel TxPower -------------------------------- ----------------- ---- -------- ----------- ------------------ ------------- PA-AP-Basement 10:05:ca:88:75:00 0 ENABLED UP 1* *7/8 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm1 50:87:89:c0:68:f0 0 ENABLED UP 1* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) PA-AP-2ndFloor ec:bd:1d:31:12:30 0 ENABLED UP 6* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) PA-AP-1stFloor a0:ec:f9:71:ac:50 0 ENABLED UP 11* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) PA-AP-MBdrm d8:b1:90:2e:ad:80 0 ENABLED UP 11* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm2 fc:5b:39:c9:ac:80 0 ENABLED UP 6* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) PA-AP-Garage 78:ba:f9:93:22:10 0 ENABLED UP 11* *7/8 ( 5 dBm) PA-AP-Bdrm3 50:87:89:a5:ad:70 0 ENABLED UP 1* *8/8 ( 2 dBm) * global assignment (Cisco Controller) >show client summary Number of Clients................................ 20 Number of PMIPV6 Clients......................... 0 Number of EoGRE Clients.......................... 0 GLAN/ RLAN/ MAC Address AP Name Slot Status WLAN Auth Protocol Port Wired Tunnel Role ----------------- ------------------------------ ---- ------------- ----- ---- ---------------- ---- ----- ------- ---------------- 08:05:81:e6:6b:91 PA-AP-2ndFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 0c:8c:24:8f:3d:0e PA-AP-2ndFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 14:95:ce:0b:26:e8 PA-AP-Bdrm3 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 14:95:ce:2a:2c:3d PA-AP-Bdrm3 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 1c:bf:ce:d9:bb:2f PA-AP-1stFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 24:62:ab:bf:91:28 PA-AP-2ndFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local Would you like to display more entries? (y/n) y 2e:b7:f7:07:69:90 PA-AP-Bdrm2 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local 42:7e:c2:fa:4f:d6 PA-AP-Bdrm2 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 62:e7:56:45:12:be PA-AP-Bdrm3 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local 6c:6a:77:e3:d1:e0 PA-AP-1stFloor 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local 84:f3:eb:3b:81:64 PA-AP-1stFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11g 1 No No Local 8c:aa:b5:0d:b0:66 PA-AP-1stFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11g 1 No No Local 90:8d:6c:71:91:19 PA-AP-1stFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local ac:ae:19:d7:9f:19 PA-AP-2ndFloor 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local b8:7b:c5:8b:47:fe PA-AP-Bdrm2 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local d4:ab:cd:f8:a8:de PA-AP-Bdrm2 0 Associated 1 Yes 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local d8:bb:2c:28:20:37 PA-AP-2ndFloor 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local f0:18:98:63:54:f5 PA-AP-Bdrm2 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local f0:a3:5a:95:75:69 PA-AP-Bdrm1 1 Associated 1 Yes 802.11ac(5 GHz) 1 No No Local f2:2d:05:c4:58:f2 PA-AP-1stFloor 0 Associated 1 No 802.11n(2.4 GHz) 1 No No Local
Next, I ran perf on my iPhone (while connected to the wifi) and got the follwing results:
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-30.01 sec 7.99 MBytes 2.23 Mbits/sec 77 sender [ 8] 0.00-30.01 sec 7.11 MBytes 1.99 Mbits/sec 100 sender [ 10] 0.00-30.01 sec 8.06 MBytes 2.25 Mbits/sec 94 sender [ 12] 0.00-30.01 sec 7.85 MBytes 2.19 Mbits/sec 72 sender [ 14] 0.00-30.01 sec 7.50 MBytes 2.10 Mbits/sec 91 sender [SUM] 0.00-30.01 sec 38.5 MBytes 10.8 Mbits/sec 434 sender
Note: The test was run from a location the mainfloor (about 20 feet from the PA-AP-1stFloor and right below the PA-AP-Bdrm3.
Renato
12-07-2020 12:26 AM
Hi Renato,
Thank you for all the output, that gives us a good indication of where things at.
Did you think about creating two SSID, one for your 2.4GHz devices and one for general use of home internet (prefer 5GHz only)?
When you do that perf test, which band your iPhone connect? 2.4GHz or 5GHz (suspect 2.4GHz)
Did iPerf run against an internal server or with a public internet host? what is your home internet link speed and what should we expect in that test?
Pls post the "show sysinfo" output to see code version you running too.
If you have windows 10, pls try WinFi software and show us how many SSIDs you see in 5GHz & 2.4GHz. I noticed 5GHz power level also very low, what kind of switch powering these APs ? you got POE+ on that switch ?
https://www.helge-keck.com/download.html
Sorry for the many questions being asked... hope we can improve it further..
Rasika
12-08-2020 04:59 AM
One more important thing about the reliability, what software version is running on your controller? Some older versions did have various issues with android 10 and iOS devices.
12-08-2020 05:22 AM
Here is a partial output of the "show sysinfo" command
show sysinfo Manufacturer's Name.............................. Cisco Systems Inc. Product Name..................................... Cisco Controller Product Version.................................. 8.5.161.0 Bootloader Version............................... 1.0.20 Field Recovery Image Version..................... 7.6.101.1 Firmware Version................................. FPGA 1.7, Env 1.8, USB console 2.2 OUI File Last Update Time........................ Sun Nov 1 22:19:31 2020 Build Type....................................... DATA + WPS
Thank you
Renato
12-08-2020 05:58 AM
Ok, that is the latest (and the last) officially released version for the 5508. There are some newer versions, but only available with a TAC.
Here some details about what is fixed: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/wireless-lan-controller-software/200046-tac-recommended-aireos.html#anc10
I don't think an upgrade is needed though, as your release is typically very stable.
12-12-2020 12:24 PM
Hi Renato,
Hope wireless your home is stable & better now. Here is the summary of the steps you have implemented for anyone to understand easily
1. Convert back to Local mode from Mesh mode
2. Only focused on 5GHz & disable most of the 2.4GHz radio (as too much interference from your own APs)
3. Set 40MHz channel width under DCA & RF Profile
4. TPC min-max 0-17dBm in 5GHz band
5. By looking at WiFi scanner (WinFi), noticed CH36-48 & CH149-161 having too many other SSIDs, two important APs channel set to static out of those band.
6. Did iperf test using your iPhone & ~150-200Mbps & concluded it was a great result.
If all good & acceptable solution, you can close off this thread by marking it as "answer"
HTH
Rasika
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