@DieterV. 

 

Hey

 

If you go with the following setup

 

Controller (software or OC200)

POE Switch (TL-SG2008p or similar)

EAP2xx or EAP6xx 

 

Manage the switch and APs via the controller, you can set a power down schedule which will turn OFF the POE to the port on a schedule.    I have this set in one business and it literally turns off the APs at night by cutting the power to the AP

 

When it powers on the next day (schedule ends) it will simply re-connect

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Too bad there's no WiFi standby modus; was hoping for such. And beacon interval is limited to 100ms, was hoping to delay it even more.

@DieterV. 

 

There is an option in the controller to turn off the SSID if thats what you are after?    I got impressions you just wanted it OFF totally

 

Option 1   -    Disable SSID on schedule, just turns off the WiFi     This might be what you are after

 

Option 2   -   Disable POE on schedule, bit hard core but will deffinately disable the WiFI.   My customer is a solar energy user so any power, however small can be saved at night is a winner.. hence the power down of APs.

 

 

@Philbert 

Thanks,

 

I've contacted TPlink for a standby mode, as currently this is not available (but they will send it as a request to consider by R&D). I was hoping the "energy saving mode" would suffice here, but doesn't seem to work that way. 

Altering the beacon time only goes to 100ms; further delay is not possible. So the AP will send out signals 10 times a second even when not in use. I was hoping for a "dead" signal when not in use untll the next request.

 

PS: making the SSID unvisible will most likely keep the beacon going I assume, it just won't come up in the list (it's more a security feature; signal stays the same).

 

 

@DieterV. 

 

Ah ok I think i know what you are looking for now.

 

Basically an AP that can go into   Listen Only Mode   where it sends virtually no beacons or signal until such time as it receives a request to   Wake / Respond.

 

Ive worked with multiple vendors (Meru, Fortinet, Dell, Cisco, Maraki etc) and never seen this feature.     Such a feature would break the criteria for 802.11 ratification and therefore would unlikely be classified as WiFi.    Beacons have to be maximum of 100 (TUs) or 102.4 ms to fall into ratification, setting it longer than could affect the client device handshake.   Also worth noting the client device would need to be active to send the beacon to "wake" the AP, which in itself is a form or radio and would happen every 100 TUs, you would require both the AP and Client device to know that you wish the beacon frames put into a greatly extended guard

 

I have never come across or even think of any manufacturer that would implement such a feature, and if they did it wouldnt work with other devices.  I honestly beleive if this is a concern for you, then you should consider either disabling the AP totally at night time.  

 

I dont think there is a technical solution to this concern you have

 

 

PS: making the SSID unvisible will most likely keep the beacon going I assume, it just won't come up in the list (it's more a security feature; signal stays the same).

 

It doesnt just hide the SSID, turns it off.   In thoery if you have only one SSID it would have no reason to send any beacons.. however not tested this

 

Thanks.

Yes I see there's room for improvement on WiFi in general then. It's time for "smart-WiFi" ;-)

 

In theory: If client devices keep notifications off or with a certain time interval (remember: refresh every x minutes), an AP in standby mode could be triggered on request, avoiding all the "noise" and improve the general quality of all signals broadcasted. Connected devices could be the master in this regard, whereas a first connection could be established via WPS or something alike. (and SSID hidden to avoid other unused devices interfering in one way or another)

 

Today it seems that adding signals is the go-to-solution from vendors, where it would be more beneficial to cut through the noise simply by eliminating noise instead of adding "exceptions" with other ranges. If you reduce what you don't need, the outcome could be even better and more stable. This should be "best practices" instead of "fighting" to be heard.

 

PS: I will most likely use 1 SSID (invisible) with a router and AP, will try to get them to work via MESH (wired), so might end up with 2 AP's, disabling the WiFi on the router and schedule night-time. Would be nice to have the above in terms of smarter WiFi as a standard, less unnecessary radiation and power reduction as a plus.

PS2: I was hoping this already existed, seemed obvious to me.