In some areas of campus I have enabled a sort of band-steering. Our multi-radio Xirrus units will attempt to "load balance" across their 8 radios. I am running 2x2GHz radios, 5x5GHz radios, and 1 radio in monitor mode. When I turn this setting on, the AP will attempt to steer the client away from highly-utilized radios and toward underutilized ones. When I turned this on, those units moved from almost entirely 2GHz clients to having approximately half and half 2GHz and 5GHz..
-- Hunter Fuller Network Engineer VBRH M-9B +1 256 824 5331 Office of Information Technology The University of Alabama in Huntsville Systems and Infrastructure I am part of the UAH Safe Zone LGBTQIA support network: http://www.uah.edu/student-affairs/safe-zone On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 6:39 PM, Jeremy Gibbs <jlgi...@utica.edu> wrote: > Does anyone employ band-steering? When we enabled it, we saw a massive jump > of users connecting at 5ghz. Obviously if the client doesn't support 5ghz or > it just prefers 2.4 because of various factors it can stay on 2.4. I have > only seen it improve throughput for everyone. Any opinions on this? We are > an extreme network shop, but our wireless is the enterasys (chantry) > solution with new 3825i 3x3. > > > On Wednesday, August 12, 2015, Jeffrey D. Sessler <j...@scrippscollege.edu> > wrote: >> >> Single SSID – anything else just adds confusion for the end-user. Then >> again, I was recently visited a spot where they had a different SSID for >> every building. :) >> >> Thinking more about this… >> >> If residence halls (academic buildings too) are well designed around 5 GHz >> and use in-room AP placement, the issues with 2.4 tend to melt away (or you >> can ignore them), with clients only falling back to 2.4 when they transition >> outside of a building. >> >> If you’re a Cisco shop (I assume Aruba has something similar), their >> automatic RRM (radio resource management) and TPC (Transmit Power Control) >> tend to result in very tiny cells where there is a lot of 2.4 radios talking >> (which is a good thing - tiny cells). Of course, this can be really >> problematic if the AP layout design is not-optimal such as in a typically >> budget-driven “down the center of the hallway” methods of deployment where >> adjacent AP’s tend to have clear line-of-sight of each other. In cases such >> as these, the reduction in radio output to reduce AP channel overlap can >> result in client connection troubles i.e. The clients are probably behind >> fire–proof metal clad doors, brick walls, etc. Coupled with coverage hole >> detection (where AP power is increased for client connectivity), you now >> have an environment that’s in constant chaos, where someone has to do a lot >> of manual adjusting of AP radios or disable the auto-adjusting. >> >> On the other hand, if AP layout is optimal where you’re deploying AP’s >> in-room, lower on the wall, avoiding line-of-sight, etc. then you get the >> benefit of the room’s construction (doors, floors, walls, what inside the >> walls, bed, desks, etc.). All of which help promote small cell isolation and >> reduce the number of adjacent neighbor AP’s you’ll see, resulting in less >> 2.4 GHz channel overlap. >> >> Now then, the same issues can crop up in 5 GHz, but it doesn’t propagate >> as far, so if you're using the in-room deployment method, it’s likely not as >> big of an issue even in dense deployments. That said, if you do have dense 5 >> GHz deployments, Cisco’s 8.1 code introduces 5 GHz dynamic channel-width >> allocation, somewhat eliminating the issue by dynamically moving between 20, >> 40, and 80 MHz channels. >> >> In my opinion, 2.4 GHz is slowly marching to its demise, and I’m focusing >> all of my attention on 5 GHz. We have the luxury of of a robust Mac >> population (~80% of the students), and Apple laptops and desktops have long >> since had access to 5GHz, so I’m not sure how much effort should be put into >> maintaining 2.4 if it’s ultimately only being used by old phones, devices >> that move little data, or have alternative data paths such as cellular, why >> expend a lot of effort on it? >> >> Jeff >> >> >> >> From: "wireless-lan@listserv.educause.edu" on behalf of Stephen Oglesby >> Reply-To: "wireless-lan@listserv.educause.edu" >> Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 9:41 AM >> To: "wireless-lan@listserv.educause.edu" >> Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Exclusive 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz SSIDs >> >> Paul, >> >> We're an Aruba shop and, as Bruce of Liberty mentioned, for dense >> deployments we turn 2.4 ghz radios off on every other AP (typically edge of >> building APs). Our main performance issues were due to interference and >> channel utilization on the 2.4 ghz spectrum. We attempted reducing 2.4 ghz >> (20 mhz channel) transmit power but still had issues. >> >> I also agree with keeping to the simplicity of a single SSID if at all >> possible. I can't imagine the number of issues that would be reported to me >> simply because the user exited the ideal range for 5ghz spectrum. Our >> student and staff networks support a wide range of client wireless cards, >> antenna configurations, and spectrum compatibility (many are including >> 2.4ghz only). Having users manually switch networks as needed may cause >> HelpDesk to become very popular. >> >> Good Luck, >> >> Stephen Oglesby >> Network and Telecommunications Architect >> Aims Community College >> 5401 W. 20th Street >> Greeley, CO 80634 >> 970.339.6350 (Office) >> stephen.ogle...@aims.edu >> >> IT staff will never ask you for your username and password. >> Always decline to provide the information and report such >> attempts to the help desk (x6380). >> >> >> On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 8:24 AM, Philippe Hanset <phan...@anyroam.net> >> wrote: >>> >>> Paul, >>> >>> Dorm design is an animal of itself and each school has its own set of >>> challenges based on >>> locations and policies. As much as I agree that 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz >>> shouldn’t be on separate SSIDs for main campus, >>> I have really changed my mind for dormitories. Those buildings are really >>> micro houses stacked on top of each other >>> with people bringing anything and everything they want which is quite >>> different than academic buildings. We all spend our summers designing >>> the best coverage that we can for those residential areas, and as soon as >>> students move in, the interference in 2.4 GHz makes our entire effort look >>> pointless in the eyes of the complaining student who is actually partly >>> responsible for the problem. >>> So, in dormitories only, I would have the regular set of SSIDs that the >>> campus provides plus and extra 5 GHz only called something like >>> "residential-preferred". >>> But I wouldn’t use “fast” or “5GHz” in the SSID name. >>> >>> Best, >>> >>> Philippe >>> >>> >>> Philippe Hanset >>> www.eduroam.us >>> >>> >>> >>> On Aug 11, 2015, at 4:22 PM, Paul Sedy <rps...@masters.edu> wrote: >>> >>> Hello everyone, >>> >>> We are a Cisco shop and have, up until now, employed a single SSID for >>> students, supporting both 2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz connections. During this summer, >>> we have been working to develop sufficient AP density to ensure good 5Ghz >>> cells throughout our dorms. In the past, we have seen numerous instances of >>> poorer performance on the 2.4 Ghz spectrum, but up to this point, have >>> relied on the client to make the decision between these two options. >>> >>> We are thinking of deploying two separate SSIDs, a 5Ghz network and a 2.4 >>> Ghz network, that are exclusive in order to promote a better experience for >>> the students with devices capable of 5Ghz connectivity. We would probably >>> use the original SSID name with an appended (5 Ghz) or (2.4 Ghz). >>> >>> Are any of you currently employing this type of configuration and how >>> well has it worked for you? >>> >>> We would appreciate any insights that anyone might have. >>> >>> Paul Sedy >>> The Master’s College >>> Director of IT Operations >>> 21726 Placerita Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91321 >>> 661.362.2340 | rps...@masters.edu >>> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >>> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >>> http://www.educause.edu/groups/. >>> >>> >>> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >>> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >>> http://www.educause.edu/groups/. >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/groups/. >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > > > > -- > -- > > Jeremy L. Gibbs > Sr. Network Engineer > Utica College IITS > > T: (315) 223-2383 > F: (315) 792-3814 > E: jlgi...@utica.edu > http://www.utica.edu > > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found at > http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
