RE: Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

2017-05-11 Thread Thomas Carter 


Thomas Carter
Network & Operations Manager / IT
Austin College
900 North Grand Avenue
Sherman, TX 75090
Phone: 903-813-2564
www.austincollege.edu

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Jeffrey D. Sessler
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 11:11 AM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

Glenn,

Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI) product can assist with a lot of this diagnosis 
since it collects trend data including information specific to the client such 
as AP associations, roaming, RSSI, etc. It is a indispensable tool for getting 
to the bottom of reported client issues. If you don't have it, I'd look at 
getting it. Your life will be far better.

That said, a few comments:

* SSIDs - have you confirmed that they are all setup identically? Lots 
of knobs can be turned for each SSID that can impact the client

* Do you have client band steering or load balancing enabled? In 
general, while clients have gotten better about honoring the trickery, many 
still don't. In most cases, clients (especially Apple's) do a great job now in 
picking the best SSID, so the need for controller tricks is diminished. In 
other words, disable these if you have them enabled and see if client happiness 
improves.

* Code - Get off of 8.0 (or at least get to 8.0.140.0). Preferably, get 
to 8.2MR5 where you will benefit from a lot of improvements, not only in 
client-AP compatibility, but additional features that will make your life a lot 
easier.
Jeff

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Glenn Rodrigues
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 7:36 AM
To: 
WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

Hello Peers

Fairly new to the business of Wi-Fi for Higher Ed  and was recommended to join 
Edu cause

Would appreciate if anyone can provide feedback for the following

Main theme:   It seems to be like client Wi-Fi devices have some weird logic in 
blocking an SSID or AP if they had a bad experience on one of them

I am aware we can't control client roaming decisions, but just wondering if you 
guys have done anything to minimize it   (I have implemented RF profiles..etc)

Scenario 1
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  One SSID works better than the other (All APs are 
broadcasting 3 SSIDs )
Observation:  User idle time outs are different per SSID
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to view trends via debug client via Cisco 
cli
Recommendations -?


Scenario 2
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  I get slow internet
Observation:  Customer device not connected to the strongest/closest AP

* They might have been until  an event happened (rogue AP or channel 
change) , but they don't go back
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to find root cause via status codes
Additional notes:  I am using RF profiles controller power and data rates in an 
attempt to force them to connect to the strongest and closest AP
Recommendations -?




Thanks
___
Glenn Rodrigues, PMP|CWNA|CWAP|CWSP|CWDP
Senior Wireless & Mobility Architect
OIT Network Engineering & Operations
T 303 492 2193
C 720 934 2565
[tmb_logo]

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

RE: Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

2017-05-11 Thread Glenn Rodrigues 
Jeff

Thanks for taking time.


* Yes I use Prime.. data is kinda funky at times especially via reports 
due to data aggregation  (we just upgraded to 3.1 and need to do a lot of 
tuning)

* Yes client band steering is enabled .. load balancing I didn't quite 
understand the algorithm as it was based on "group floor average"

* Question on Apple devices selecting the best SSID  (do you know the 
algorithgm.. best ssid.. that is 802.1x or that doesn't require web auth.. just 
curious)

Good tip on the code.. I am working with Cisco TAC on this exact thing as we 
speak

Appreciate the feedback

Glenn


From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Jeffrey D. Sessler
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 10:11 AM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

Glenn,

Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI) product can assist with a lot of this diagnosis 
since it collects trend data including information specific to the client such 
as AP associations, roaming, RSSI, etc. It is a indispensable tool for getting 
to the bottom of reported client issues. If you don't have it, I'd look at 
getting it. Your life will be far better.

That said, a few comments:

* SSIDs - have you confirmed that they are all setup identically? Lots 
of knobs can be turned for each SSID that can impact the client

* Do you have client band steering or load balancing enabled? In 
general, while clients have gotten better about honoring the trickery, many 
still don't. In most cases, clients (especially Apple's) do a great job now in 
picking the best SSID, so the need for controller tricks is diminished. In 
other words, disable these if you have them enabled and see if client happiness 
improves.

* Code - Get off of 8.0 (or at least get to 8.0.140.0). Preferably, get 
to 8.2MR5 where you will benefit from a lot of improvements, not only in 
client-AP compatibility, but additional features that will make your life a lot 
easier.
Jeff

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Glenn Rodrigues
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 7:36 AM
To: 
WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

Hello Peers

Fairly new to the business of Wi-Fi for Higher Ed  and was recommended to join 
Edu cause

Would appreciate if anyone can provide feedback for the following

Main theme:   It seems to be like client Wi-Fi devices have some weird logic in 
blocking an SSID or AP if they had a bad experience on one of them

I am aware we can't control client roaming decisions, but just wondering if you 
guys have done anything to minimize it   (I have implemented RF profiles..etc)

Scenario 1
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  One SSID works better than the other (All APs are 
broadcasting 3 SSIDs )
Observation:  User idle time outs are different per SSID
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to view trends via debug client via Cisco 
cli
Recommendations -?


Scenario 2
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  I get slow internet
Observation:  Customer device not connected to the strongest/closest AP

* They might have been until  an event happened (rogue AP or channel 
change) , but they don't go back
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to find root cause via status codes
Additional notes:  I am using RF profiles controller power and data rates in an 
attempt to force them to connect to the strongest and closest AP
Recommendations -?




Thanks
___
Glenn Rodrigues, PMP|CWNA|CWAP|CWSP|CWDP
Senior Wireless & Mobility Architect
OIT Network Engineering & Operations
T 303 492 2193
C 720 934 2565
[tmb_logo]

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

RE: Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

2017-05-11 Thread Jeffrey D. Sessler 
Glenn,

Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI) product can assist with a lot of this diagnosis 
since it collects trend data including information specific to the client such 
as AP associations, roaming, RSSI, etc. It is a indispensable tool for getting 
to the bottom of reported client issues. If you don't have it, I'd look at 
getting it. Your life will be far better.

That said, a few comments:

* SSIDs - have you confirmed that they are all setup identically? Lots 
of knobs can be turned for each SSID that can impact the client

* Do you have client band steering or load balancing enabled? In 
general, while clients have gotten better about honoring the trickery, many 
still don't. In most cases, clients (especially Apple's) do a great job now in 
picking the best SSID, so the need for controller tricks is diminished. In 
other words, disable these if you have them enabled and see if client happiness 
improves.

* Code - Get off of 8.0 (or at least get to 8.0.140.0). Preferably, get 
to 8.2MR5 where you will benefit from a lot of improvements, not only in 
client-AP compatibility, but additional features that will make your life a lot 
easier.
Jeff

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Glenn Rodrigues
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 7:36 AM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Consumer devices - SSID or AP blocking/excluding

Hello Peers

Fairly new to the business of Wi-Fi for Higher Ed  and was recommended to join 
Edu cause

Would appreciate if anyone can provide feedback for the following

Main theme:   It seems to be like client Wi-Fi devices have some weird logic in 
blocking an SSID or AP if they had a bad experience on one of them

I am aware we can't control client roaming decisions, but just wondering if you 
guys have done anything to minimize it   (I have implemented RF profiles..etc)

Scenario 1
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  One SSID works better than the other (All APs are 
broadcasting 3 SSIDs )
Observation:  User idle time outs are different per SSID
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to view trends via debug client via Cisco 
cli
Recommendations -?


Scenario 2
Physical area:  In-doors in Dorms/reshall
Infrastructure : Cisco 702W(80%) AND 3702I(20%)  with WISM 8.0.133
Customer report:  I get slow internet
Observation:  Customer device not connected to the strongest/closest AP

* They might have been until  an event happened (rogue AP or channel 
change) , but they don't go back
Client devices - Apple/Samsung/ laptops/tablets/smartphones
Troubleshooting - it is not intuitive to find root cause via status codes
Additional notes:  I am using RF profiles controller power and data rates in an 
attempt to force them to connect to the strongest and closest AP
Recommendations -?




Thanks
___
Glenn Rodrigues, PMP|CWNA|CWAP|CWSP|CWDP
Senior Wireless & Mobility Architect
OIT Network Engineering & Operations
T 303 492 2193
C 720 934 2565
[tmb_logo]

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.