Thanks for the info everyone. We are going to keep our minimum at 54Mbps right now and see what happens. We will do another quick survey to find any coverage gaps that may have cropped up as a result of the change.
The main reason for our change is to increase performance in our classrooms where we have 125 students in a small space. We have 2 AP's in each of these rooms and so far the change to 54Mbps has helped from what we can tell. Rick DeCaro (636)230-1911 rick.dec...@logan.edu -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Anthony Croome Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 11:06 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? Exactly, use 24Mbs to avoid weird behaviour. We looked at this a few years ago and found that XP could not handle management packets being sent at 48Mb/s or 54Mb/s despite the card connecting at 450Mb/s on 5GHz N or 144Mb/s on 2.4GHz N. On 5GHz the laptop could get an IP address but could not ping it's gateway. On 2.4GHz the laptop could get an IP, it could ping it's gateway, but it's performance was terrible. What we saw from a 5GHz packet capture was the AP continuously sending RTS to the client but never getting any packets from the client. On 2.4GHz it would reply but only after a random number of RTS were sent. Anthony IT Networks Queensland University of Australia -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Jason Cook Sent: Tuesday, 21 June 2016 11:20 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? Yeah my understanding is that as per the standard devices are required(mandatory) to support 6,12,24 rates for 802.11g. So to ensure all devices are happy then 24 would be the right minimum, therefore you may see some weird behaviour. So devices need to support that to be compliant, I'm not sure it means you have to use it. I'd say if your running 54 and there's no complaints.... why change. it will be interesting to see how things go. We disabled 802.11b rates about 3 months back with no issues reported. We've left it enabled in some of our remote campuses where we use lower rates to get distance. -- Jason Cook Technology Services The University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA 5005 Ph : +61 8 8313 4800 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Chuck Enfield Sent: Tuesday, 21 June 2016 6:21 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? Rick, If I were brave enough to do what you've done, here's what I would worry about: - 802.11a/g devices are getting scarce, but I've heard rumors that there were 802.11g devices that required a basic rate of 6, 12, or 24 Mb/s. It's possible that there are no such devices left, that driver updates have eliminated the limitation, or that no such devices ever existed. - Many client device drivers do unexpected things when connected to networks with unconventional settings. For example, will clients with a marginal MCS 7 connection probe for their next AP before their retry rate goes through the roof? - We use 40Mhz channels, so reliable comm at MCS 7 requires about 28 dB SNR. It could be very difficult to maintain that while moving. - Even if clients roam successfully, you'll see an increase in roaming activity. Moving clients may normally hit every second or third AP along the way, in your case they'll probably hit every AP. This could increase the overhead consumed by authentication and/or stress your AAA infrastructure. That said, the AAA load could be more than offset by reduced authentication attempts to indoor APs from outdoor passers-by. I'm not suggesting these are reasons not to do it. They're just things I'd worry about. I'd be interested in hearing how it works out for you if you find the time to follow up. Thanks, Chuck -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Rick.Decaro Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 2:10 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? It sound like a lot of people have already disabled the 802.11b data rates. That being said....what minimum rate is everyone using? We just changed ours last week from a minimum of 1Mbps to 54Mbps. So far we have not heard of any issues. Does anyone know what if any problems could arise from this being set to 54Mbps? Is there a sweet spot in between that is better? Thanks, Rick DeCaro (636)230-1911 rick.dec...@logan.edu -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Watters, John Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 1:01 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? We have had the b rates disabled for 2 months short of 5 years. Not a single complaint that I am aware of. -jcw John Watters The University of Alabama Office of Information Technology 205-348-3992 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Todd M. Hall Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 10:50 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] 802.11b data rates disabled? Do you have all of the 802.11b data rates disabled? If so, how long have they been disabled? Did you have many complaints when you disabled them? Were there any particular devices that could not connect as a result? I'm hoping this information will help us move towards disabling these old rates. Thank you for your feedback. -- Todd M. Hall Sr. Network Analyst Information Technology Services Mississippi State University t...@msstate.edu 662-325-9311 (phone) ********** 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/. ********** 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/.
