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Intermittent and poor WiFi performance

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Intermittent and poor WiFi performance

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Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-07-25 09:50:49
Model: Omada Software Controller (Windows)  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 5.9.9

I'm a bit stumped about this one so hoping for some input. Unsure if this is a controller issue or an EAP issue.

I have an Omada system with 10 (mostly) hardwired APs (225s, 245s and 115s) running off a software controller (5.9.9) with an ER605 v1. Internet access is a challenge here, so I have 2 primary WANs and a back-up WAN configured on the gateway. Almost all users are connected via WiFi. I have roughly 5 SSIDs per AP, some rate limited and others not.

I’m struggling with WiFi users experiencing small stutters / performance hits for a few seconds every couple of minutes on the WiFi network that I can't quite work out. These don’t impact wired users (connected directly to either the ER605 and the connected unmanaged switch) and appear to not be internet related as during these stutters WiFi devices also cannot access other devices on the local network / router landing pages etc. They seem to affect all APs and all SSIDs equally, including those that are in pretty isolated areas with minimal interference and no other detectable WiFi networks. Apart from the stutters, actual response times and download speeds via WiFi are also slowed (response times slow from 30ms wired to 65ms on WiFi, downloads from 40mbps wired to 10mbps on WiFi, BUT uploads are maintained at 20mbps both wired and WiFi).

Could this all be interference? No amount of adjusting channels / AI WLAN Optimisation has helped. The EAP CPU usage is never more than 5%, and memory usage between 50 and 70% on each unit. Of note, it seems that there are periods on each EAP where dropped packets (always Rx more than Tx) increase up to about 6%. How significant is this?

As an example, this is about as bad as my channel utilisation / dropped packets get:

Is this all a WiFi interference issue? Anything else I could try to improve it?

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#1
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Re:Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-07-26 03:06:51

  @ACMiller 

 

Set the separate SSID for 2.4G and 5G network. Change the channel width, tx power.

Tried to enable the fast roaming and AI Roaming. It seems like an issue of the wireless environment otherwise I can't image all eaps stuck at the same time.

Just striving to develop myself while helping others.
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#2
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Re:Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-07-26 19:58:59

  @ACMiller 

 

Here's what you need to do... with every special option disabled... Make it a vanilla wireless.

 

Click on the client list and click on the THREE dotts on the right.  Enable Customized Columsn. 

 

Click on Signal, Channel, Wireless Connection. RX, and TX.

 

Look at the signal levels the client is sitting at.  Anything HIGHER then -73 / -75 is about to be a shaky connection.  This means you could have a dead spot.  You may need another AP.  OR... The clients are not roaming between APs and BANDS.  So enable Mini Rssi at -73 on both bands (-73 is a good starting point).  

 

Then look at the RX/TX numbers, if theyre low, change the channel.  

 

Either way, you have the low end APs installed.  They have low horsepower.  You may need to upgrade to a beefer AP that can handle the load.  

 

At the end of the DAY... the signal of the clients will give you and idea of where to start.

 

Also - the controller doesnt have anything to do with Real Time Wireless Performance of the client or APs.  

I can not teach anyone anything - I can only make them think - Socrates
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#3
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Re:Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-07-31 14:16:37
Thank you for this, it's a helpful starting point to work out where I should probably look at upgrading APs. The network is very spread out, so I imagine you're correct about dead spots and weak signals impacting performance. Having a quick look I can see about 20% of the 100 or so clients falling below your threshold. Could you please explain how to enable mini RSSI? The network has a number of clients on a rate limited SSID in order to preserve bandwidth for other clients. However these clients generally have near continuous activity on the network. I have enabled airtime fairness as I wondered if that may also have impacted performance. Hard to know which change has helped, but there has been some improvement. Thanks for your inputs
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#4
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Re:Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-07-31 18:37:55

  @ACMiller 

 

Click on the AP in the device list. Goto Cofigs> Advance

 

Check RSSI Threshold.

 

I would start with -73, which is a good starting point.  Set it on both bands.  

 

This will force the clients to roam between bands 5ghz>2.4ghz and also roam between APs.  

 

With this enabled... you may need to manually boot the low signal wireless clients off and let them reconnect.  In the client list, they will have Chain Link icon on the far right.  That button will manually boot them.  IF they dont, then its a dead spot, you will need to add another AP.

 

BUT making sure the wireless clients have GOOD, reliable signal is the 1st step in the game.  

 

AirTime Fairness, does suck up AP horspower.  So I would turn  it off (for now).  Make the wireless vanilla as possible (excpect for the Rssi option and crank all the APs on high power).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can not teach anyone anything - I can only make them think - Socrates
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#5
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Re:Intermittent and poor WiFi performance
2023-08-01 11:30:51

  @ACMiller 

 

Great, I've set the RSSI threshold and will see how it performs. I've also disabled airtime fairness for now.

 

Thank you again for you help

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#6
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