clients roaming very frequently / hints how to improve the wireless network
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Since upgrading to Omada SDN Controller 4.1.5 I get a much more verbose log, which is very nice.
What I noticed though is that client seem to roam between EAP very frequently for a couple of minutes. Here's an example:
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:09:51
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:09:32
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:09:21
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:09:02
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:08:50
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:08:32
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:08:20
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:08:02
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:07:50
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:07:32
iPad is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 36] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:07:20
iPad is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 36] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 18:07:02
After about two minutes, the client has finally decided which AP it should pick. I see this pattern a lot with with the new Controller. Also for other clients (Android devices)
Is this normal?
Is this a misconfiguration of the controller / APs?
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Here's another example:
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:39:04
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:38:54
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:38:34
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:38:23
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:38:04
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:53
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:40
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:34
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:23
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:10
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:37:04
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:53
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:40
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:33
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:23
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:10
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:36:03
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:53
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:40
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:33
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 44] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:23
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 44] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:09
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:35:03
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:52
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:39
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:33
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:22
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-B[Channel 6] to EAP-E[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:09
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-B[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:34:03
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:33:52
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-E[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:33:39
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:33:22
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-E[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:33:09
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-E[Channel 6] to EAP-A[channel 11] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:32:52
Xiaomi-Mi-A2 is roaming from EAP-A[Channel 11] to EAP-E[channel 6] with SSID XXXXXX
Jul 16, 2020 17:32:39
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I notice the same behaviour. With the old controller I have never noticed it (but it might be that I just missed it).
I use the following hardware:
- OC200 with latest SDN software
- 2x EAP245 v3
- 1x EAP 225 outdoor
- A couple of Android smartphones which have this behaviour
- A couple of other devices (Windows, Linux, others...) that don't show this behaviour
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How are you guys getting these logs? I get nothing in the client section of my log, and all events are checked in the log settings for clients. My logs look just the same as the old controller, with just administrator logins and AP events logged.
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@matt25 I'm using the Software SDN Controller 4.1.5 and I find those logs under
Log -> Events (Alerts is selected by default)
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Hello ASCII,
ASCII wrote
Since upgrading to Omada SDN Controller 4.1.5 I get a much more verbose log, which is very nice.
What I noticed though is that client seem to roam between EAP very frequently for a couple of minutes.
After about two minutes, the client has finally decided which AP it should pick. I see this pattern a lot with with the new Controller. Also for other clients (Android devices)
Is this normal?
Is this a misconfiguration of the controller / APs?
Did you configure some advanced settings like Fast Roaming under Site Settings, or Load Balance, RSSI Threshold under Devices--Config?
It's suggested to disable the advanced settings for a test, check if it's related to the advanced settings.
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matt25 wrote
How are you guys getting these logs? I get nothing in the client section of my log, and all events are checked in the log settings for clients. My logs look just the same as the old controller, with just administrator logins and AP events logged.
Please check if >>Collect Client's History Data<< is enabled or not from Controller settings.
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@Fae Yep, that was what I was missing. Thanks!
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@Fae "Fast Roaming" and "Dual Band 11k Report" are enabled.
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I disabled Fast Roaming. Unfortunately that doesn't make a difference.
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ASCII, the roaming decision is made by the client device. Settings of an EAP or the SDN Controller have only limited possibilities to influence the roaming decision of a client device. That's the reason why you observe roaming behavior with certain devices only, most often with smartphones which – due to their design – have weak antennas or whose antennas are covered by the hands depending on how you hold it.
If there are two or even more overlapping WiFi cells, such client devices might go in to a loop playing »ping-pong« with the EAPs. This can happen if two or more EAPs are mounted too close to each other. Enabling/disabling Fast Roaming makes not much difference, except that with standard (basic) roaming the device might stick somewhat longer to an EAP before it roams the first time.
Things you can try:
- Relocate EAPs which are mounted too close to each other. I did read posts from home users who deployed half a dozen EAPs in a relatively small house, where I would deploy two EAPs to get a reasonable WLAN coverage in the whole building (those users wanted be able to use the maximum throughput of an EAP in every corner of their houses, which is unrealistic. Concentrating too many APs in a small area most often has the opposite effect. What's more, the question is a) whether one really needs maximum throughput for a single client device in every corner of the house and b) whether the application is actually able to make use of this bandwidth.
- Decrease the EAP's Tx power. Usually decreasing Tx power is recommended if the EAPs are closer to each other than ~15m, but this strongly depends on the location and even the region (EU/US Tx power limits are different).
- The controller can force clients to roam by kicking them off (disabled by default). This option is used if clients tend to stick to an EAP even if its Tx power has been decreased. Can help if you decide to decrease Tx power and certain other clients then have issues when roaming.
- Using the controller you can define a minimum RSSI level per EAP which must be met by the client device to let the device connect to this EAP. See RSSI Threshold under Advanced EAP settings in SDN Controller.
Except for this you can't do much on the EAP's / controller's side to influence the roaming decision of a device.
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