Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.

Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
2020-09-26 00:24:24
Model: EAP225-Outdoor  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.5.0

I've had a mesh network at a rural property that has been working very well for months. 

 

Base ap previously fed 3 APs, with -72 to -77 db connection strenths the weakest of which resulted in TX of around 117mbps , RX of between 117-234mbps

 

Last night at 3 am the connection on the weakest one dropped and wouldnt connect back to the mesh. I have a spare one that I used a portable battery pack to power up and placed  it midway between the AP and the root AP. Funily enough, the temp AP is getting a better signla from one of the other APs despite having a clear line of site and being closer to the root ap. 

 

Anyways, once I booted it up, now the disconnected AP is visible to the network and indicates a -77db connection and the speeds mentioned above. BUT the problem is speed tests wont load up and the ip cameras indicate connection speed topping out around 50 kb/s (not enough to load the stream). If I force the problem AP to link to the temp AP, speed tests now become possible and the cameras now seem to stream. 

 

Utilization rate on some of the APs bands are hovering around 80% (due to wifi cameras around the property)... but this hasn't been an issue before. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions about what is going on? 

  0      
  0      
#1
Options
4 Reply
Re:Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
2020-09-26 09:13:13 - last edited 2020-09-26 09:48:51

 

Chris.A.G wrote 

Base ap previously fed 3 APs, with -72 to -77 db connection strenths the weakest of which resulted in TX of around 117mbps , RX of between 117-234mbps

 

-72dBm to -77dBm is not a »strong« signal, it's a pretty weak signal  with packet loss occuring at around -77dBm.

 

For a stable mesh link you need much higher values (note that »higher« means lower numbers for negative values). The signal strength between two mesh nodes should be better than -60dBm (for example, -55dBm or -52dBm). Note that dBm is a decadic logarithmic unit for the attenuation of the signal, that means if your signal strength is -72dBm, it is 100 times weaker than a -52dBm signal.

 

A free line of sight (not »line of site«) is always required for a good signal between two wireless devices, it is not a special feature. Any obstacle in the line of sight between two devices will cause interference which will significantly decrease the signal strength. Even air, rain and snow causes attenuation, but trees and hedges etc. must be avoided at all costs.

 

What are the distances between the mesh nodes and the root node (in meters please)?

༺ 0100 1101 0010 10ཏ1 0010 0110 1010 1110 ༻
  0  
  0  
#2
Options
Re:Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
2020-09-26 15:34:55

@R1D2 

 

Thanks for getting back to me so 

R1D2 wrote

 

Chris.A.G wrote 

Base ap previously fed 3 APs, with -72 to -77 db connection strenths the weakest of which resulted in TX of around 117mbps , RX of between 117-234mbps

 

-72dBm to -77dBm is not a »strong« signal, it's a pretty weak signal  with packet loss occuring at around -77dBm.

 

For a stable mesh link you need much higher values (note that »higher« means lower numbers for negative values). The signal strength between two mesh nodes should be better than -60dBm (for example, -55dBm or -52dBm). Note that dBm is a decadic logarithmic unit for the attenuation of the signal, that means if your signal strength is -72dBm, it is 100 times weaker than a -52dBm signal.

 

A free line of sight (not »line of site«) is always required for a good signal between two wireless devices, it is not a special feature. Any obstacle in the line of sight between two devices will cause interference which will significantly decrease the signal strength. Even air, rain and snow causes attenuation, but trees and hedges etc. must be avoided at all costs.

 

What are the distances between the mesh nodes and the root node (in meters please)?

 

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! 

 

I should have said "strong enough" connection, in that we've been able to max out our LTE based internet speed from anywhere on the property and that our wifi cams seem to be accessible at highest quality. 

 

The distances of the currently active links to the root AP are ~115m (north) and ~150m (south east). The one that was working previously (and a -75 to -77db connection with throughput of 117/234) is aprx ~180m (southwest). What interesting is that it was working all summer long with full foliage, smoke, low clouds/fog, rain, etc. Yesterday was a cloudless, clear sky, and the leaves are falling so I would have thought that it would be getting a better connection.

 

I know im pushing the limits of distances, but its a rural property with limitations on where I can put in APs (short of trenching and running power lines, but there are certainly costs and challenges going that route... at that point, would need to decide if simply getting another internet connection for the  problem branch would make more sense). 

  0  
  0  
#3
Options
Re:Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
2020-09-26 18:26:19 - last edited 2020-09-27 11:39:24

 

Chris.A.G wrote

Yesterday was a cloudless, clear sky, and the leaves are falling so I would have thought that it would be getting a better connection.

 

 

Usually signals are be better in winter than in summer, but it depends on so many environmental parameters that it is difficult to establish general rules. For example, in my country we currently have high humidity – today over 95% – and this can attenuate signals, too.

 

I know im pushing the limits of distances, but its a rural property with limitations on where I can put in APs (short of trenching and running power lines, but there are certainly costs and challenges going that route... at that point, would need to decide if simply getting another internet connection for the  problem branch would make more sense). 

 

According to the TP-Link FAQ for mesh networks 180m is the maximum recommended distance outdoors with a free LoS, but it's also recommended to not exceed -62dBm (see Q6-3 in the FAQ). Note that the 180m is for U.S. models, for EU models I would not even try to cover distances more than 100m (we have much lower limits allowed for the signal strength).

 

What you can try:

  • If possible, connect the cams to the 2.4 GHz radio and use the 5 GHz radio exclusively for the mesh backhaul.
  • If you use controller v3.2, set WiFi mode to 802.11ac-only.
  • Try different fixed channel widths for 5 GHz: 80 MHz, 40 MHz, 20 MHz.
  • Always check signal strength after changing settings.

 

If this does not improve signal strength, try to reduce the distance between mesh nodes, i.e. use longer cable for the PoE supply ad move the antenna pole nearer to the root AP. Except for the above measures there isn't much you can do if the signal strength is weaker than ~-62dBm.

 

I all this doesn't help, consider use of directional wireless links, e.g. with Pharos CPE510. I always use CPEs for long distances > 100m. But CPE510 is limited to N300 WiFi rate, that's max. 100 Mbps Ethernet throughput. Alternatively, CPE710 is a new AC867 device matching WiFi rates of an Omada mesh. But I haven't tested CPE710 since it's still not available here in my country.

 

༺ 0100 1101 0010 10ཏ1 0010 0110 1010 1110 ༻
  0  
  0  
#4
Options
Re:Slow internet speeds despite "strong" mesh network connection
2020-12-17 07:20:24

@R1D2 Thanks for the details. I ended up placing a node in between and it helped the weak branch where it has not been having any issues since. 

 

Interestingly enough, a different branch is now having issues...so I tried the same solution.... the new ap is getting -55 to -60, to the main ap, and the original node is getting a -60 connection to the new node (vs -69 to -72 recently). 

 

So... looks like it should work well... but when I try to link the far node to the new intermediate node, it tries to connect... but it looks like the 5ghz is not able to lock in a channel... 157 pops up for a second but then loses it and stays at 0...and then eventually says offline. 

 

I'm going to post a new thread, but figured I'd ask if you had any ideas! 

 

Thanks! 

  0  
  0  
#5
Options