topic Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please in Unleashed

My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 11:27:10 GMT

This is the log for around the time it was kicked off (I have smart roam on at level 2 btw)

Jun 10 07:14:02 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2279, stamgr_cfg_adpt_build_ap_port_status():LAN label, the ap model is r510, the eth num is 0, the lan_append is Port1, the label is 10/100/1000 PoE Port1
Jun 10 07:14:02 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30926, get_ap_list(): see [/tmp/unleashed_upgrade/upgrade_ap_list_from_election.xml.ready], ap-list ready!
Jun 10 07:14:02 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30926, get_ap_list(): ap-list loop 0.
Jun 10 07:13:48 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 10 07:13:29 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2279, _loadXmlStr():Unable to parse XML string (null)
Jun 10 07:13:28 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30702, get_ap_list(): see [/tmp/unleashed_upgrade/upgrade_ap_list_from_election.xml.ready], ap-list ready!
Jun 10 07:13:28 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30702, get_ap_list(): ap-list loop 0.
Jun 10 07:13:23 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 10 07:13:18 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 10 07:13:03 master - 1707 attic last message repeated 2 times
Jun 10 07:12:52 master - 1707 attic stainfo[3871]: sta_info_detection_qmdpi_receive(911): Failed to identify device..!!!! No browser information
Jun 10 07:12:48 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 10 07:12:34 master - 1707 attic Eved: wlan1 88:a4:79:5e:82:55 : Authentication Difficulty
Jun 10 07:12:28 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2279, _loadXmlStr():Unable to parse XML string (null)
Jun 10 07:12:28 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30284, get_ap_list(): see [/tmp/unleashed_upgrade/upgrade_ap_list_from_election.xml.ready], ap-list ready!
Jun 10 07:12:28 master - 1707 attic syslog: upgrade_debug: pid=30284, get_ap_list(): ap-list loop 0.
Jun 10 07:12:26 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2280, AuthAdmin():password recovery already enabled, do not need prompt promotion
Jun 10 07:12:26 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2280, AuthAdmin():admin login succeed, is_local_auth is 1
Jun 10 07:12:26 master - 1707 attic syslog: pid=2280, LogoutAdmin():cred lookup fail
Jun 10 07:12:21 master - 1707 attic kernel: [369641.595741] FWLOG: [110310706] RATE: ChainMask 3, peer_mac 82:55, phymode 5, ni_flags 0x00201006, vht_mcs_set 0x0000, ht_mcs_set 0xffff, legacy_rate_set 0x6933532
Jun 10 07:12:21 master - 1707 attic kernel: [369641.483149] net80211_tac_cfg_sta_set_param(): set station 88:a4:79:5e:82:55 vlan_id = 1
Jun 10 07:12:18 master - 1707 attic last message repeated 2 times

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

pasquale_monar3 — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 14:30:15 GMT

Have you opened a case to see why?

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 09:18:12 GMT

How many APs and why did you enable smartroam?

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:15:41 GMT

9 access points. 7 510s and 2 t310’s

ive enabled smart roam and disabled it. Doesn’t solve issue. Tried it it 2,3 and 4.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:16:16 GMT

Where do I open a case?

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 16:42:53 GMT

For starters I would completely disable smartroam. The feature can be useful in certain situations, but most of the time it creates more problems than it solves. The reason is that normal wifi roaming is a graceful make-before-break process. The client is fully aware and in charge every step of the way. Smartroam is the opposite - the AP boots the unsuspecting client off the network by sending a deauth frame. The client sees this as an abrupt and unexpected disconnect, and then scrambles to find a new radio to associate with. Unless you have an extreme sticky client issue, it's best to not use smartroam.

To disable, execute CLI command "no smart-roam" from the WLAN context.

I assume the disconnects are not mere inactivity timeouts. Are you being disconnected while in the middle of doing something? This is just a guess due to lack of data, but you might try whacking transmit power. Excessive transmit power is the root cause of a lot of issues. Whatever you do on 5GHz, drop at least -4 more on 2.4 (eg: 5GHz -3; 2.4GHz -7 or -8).

Lastly, if you have an active Unleashed support plan, you can create and account and open a case with Ruckus TAC https://support.ruckuswireless.com. If you don't have support, go to the same site and click the "purchase support" tab at the top.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

jp — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 17:37:47 GMT

Thanks, sounds like useful hints. Since I also received complaints from iPhone users I had a look at the settings on my R650s (Unleashed), their TX power is set to "auto". What does this actually do? I could not find details in the documentation.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 18:17:51 GMT

Unless you've enable so-called "self-healing" (default state is off), Ruckus' auto mode = full power. Assuming the AP locations and density are correct, auto mode (full power) is almost always too hot, especially in high density deployments. This creates sticky clients in some cases, confuses clients in other cases due to too many targets, exacerbates co-channel interference, guts network capacity, and drives retries through the roof due to the mismatch in client and AP transmit powers. It's hard and sometime risky to offer advice when the design details are not known, but in general the first step is to determine the weak spots. If you have a predictive, you can use that to discover where RSSI is weakest. If no predictive, study the floor plan and AP locations. Considering AP locations, distance, and number of walls, try to "eyeball" where the weakest coverage might be. Go to those locations and using an analyzer such and Metageek Inssider or Farproc's WiFi Analyzer, measure the 5GHz RSSI. Decrease transmit power one step at a time until the RSSI tends to hover around -65. Next, decrease 2.4 until RSSI is about the same (or a little worse) which should be -4 to -6 down from the 5GHz setting.

You may want to try the self healing first since it's easier. Simply go to services/radio control/self healing and check the box for "automatically adjust AP radio power..." Make sure background scanning is enabled for both bands. Let it cook for a couple of days and see if things improve. If you're still having problems, you can adjust power manually. And be sure to not select ChannelFly. Ruckus loves the feature, but to those on the front line who install and manage hundreds of networks, ChannelFly is the kiss of death.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

jp — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 19:29:50 GMT

I did indeed enable ChannelFly, since it sounds smart - kudos to marketing 🙂 .
Thanks a bunch, I will give it a try with self-healing!

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 19:33:28 GMT

And switch to Background Scanning for both bands. After a few days, you can drop the scan interval from the default of 20 seconds to 3600 or so.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

eizens_putnins — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 07:03:06 GMT

So start from disabling ChannelFly, it alone is capable to get iPhones disconnected. As usually - 2 smart technologies, expecting "standard" behaviour from the other side, don't work together at all. Unfortunately, iDevices are always a pain -- they typically have weaker RF capabilities and always the highest user expectations. Users don't understand that the fact that they have paid a lot for the terminal, don't buy them a better environment, they are equal to any other device there.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

jp — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:17:25 GMT

I failed to find a way to show the current TX pwr ... is there a way to check it?

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:31:00 GMT

It's under the AP group. Go to Access Points, select the AP Group View by clicking the weird icon on the right (one square on top of another), select the System Default box on the left side of the window. You should see 2 tabs - 2.4 and 5GHz. (I'm pulling from memory here so my directions may be off a little)

Click the 5GHz tab, check all channels except 120, 124, 128

If you don't see those channels, go to Admin and Services/System/Country Code and select "Optimize for Performance"

Now go back to the 5GHz tab and clear 120, 124, 128

Set TX Power to the desired value (example -3)

Click the 2.4 tab, uncheck all channels except 1, 6, 11.

Set Channelization to 20

Set TX Power to the desired value (example -8 or -9) Should be 5 or 6 less than the 5GHz setting.

Test and see if things improve. Measure the RSSI in some of the weak spots as described earlier. Adjust transmit power as needed.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

jp — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 11:54:48 GMT

Sorry, I was not precise enough: I meant the result of the "self-healing" process in terms of automatically reduced TX power.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

jp — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 20:32:44 GMT

Here's some feedback: I switched smart-roam and Channelfly off, and I am running self healing since 10 days now. The iPhone users report that the situation did indeed inprove.
I'd still be interested to learn to what values self healing actually adjusted the TX power of my APs.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 17:45:00 GMT

Thank you. I will try and report back

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 01:12:26 GMT

I did everything everyone said here - disabled smart roam - no channel fly - lowered transmit power - turned on self healing

and my phone just dropped the nework and i sat directly under an access point for 3 minutes before it picked it up again

The other detail i did not include is that i am using a 2.4 network for my phone because it gives me more range outside

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

david_black_594 — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 05:04:13 GMT

Have you tried using 5GHz only and if so, was the behavior the same? The 2.4 band is full of trashy interference, especially if surrounded by lots of other WiFi networks. I’m often amazed that it works at all. My guess is that if you switch to 5GHz, you will have much better luck. If you need more range, you can add another AP or two.

When you say that the iPhone took 3 minutes to connect, do you mean you were trying to access something and the phone’s connection icon just kept spinning and spinning? Just a guess but there could be a lot of congestion on the channel - so much so that the authentication and association management frames are having a real hard time getting through without errors. If you insist on using 2.4, be sure to use channels 1, 6, or 11. Try to pick the one with the least amount of traffic snd noise.

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:14:24 GMT

It didn’t see any network. For like two minutes. The phone call was dropped (I’m in a remote place so I have to use wifi calling). I would go to settings and neither my 2.4 network I use for the phone nor the 5/2.4 network I use for computer were showing up. So I’m guessing I would have the same problem on 5 network. I did select those three channels - all three. And then I also tried it allowing all channels. Same problem. It just happened again ten minutes ago. Is there a specific log that could tell me what went wrong. Since I know the exact time

Re: My iPhone keeps getting kicked off network - Help please

douglas_liman — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:43:25 GMT

This is the log from before and after - i notice several things: 1 - i see a smart roam kick off when i have turned off smart roam (what is the ssh way to confirm that it is off?) 2 - a lot of activity around a mac id i don't recognize

Jun 29 09:03:50 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017919.732213] Added Mac with tsf - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:03:45 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017914.575884] Deleted Mac - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:03:34 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017903.652454] Added Mac with tsf - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:03:32 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017901.492962] Deleted Mac - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:03:23 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:03:21 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 0== ^G^AE^A^OH4^P`,r^W^X
Jun 29 09:03:21 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 5==^A^A
Jun 29 09:03:21 master - 1707 attic Eved: SMARTROAM-KICKOFF: addr=2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 rx_tot_cnt=150 rx_rssilo_cnt=150
Jun 29 09:03:21 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 0== ^G^AA
Jun 29 09:03:21 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017891.032891] Added Mac with tsf - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:03:03 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017872.932621] FWLOG: [54241680] RATE: ChainMask 3, peer_mac 28:65, phymode 9, ni_flags 0x02213002, vht_mcs_set 0x00fa, ht_mcs_set 0xffff, legacy_rate_set 0x33ba991
Jun 29 09:03:03 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:03:01 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017870.568053] Deleted Mac - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:02:53 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:02:53 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017862.883210] FWLOG: [54231192] RATE: ChainMask 3, peer_mac 28:65, phymode 5, ni_flags 0x00201002, vht_mcs_set 0x0000, ht_mcs_set 0xffff, legacy_rate_set 0x33b8099
Jun 29 09:02:53 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:02:53 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 5==^A
Jun 29 09:02:49 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 0== ^G^AE^A^OH4^P`,r^W^X
Jun 29 09:02:49 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 5==^A^F
Jun 29 09:02:48 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017858.162654] ieee80211_timeout_macfilt: Deleted 0 stale entries from mac filter
Jun 29 09:02:46 master - 1707 attic Eved: SMARTROAM-KICKOFF: addr=2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 rx_tot_cnt=176 rx_rssilo_cnt=150
Jun 29 09:02:46 master - 1707 attic Eved: BTM.indication 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65 0== ^G^AA
Jun 29 09:02:46 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017856.152903] Added Mac with tsf - 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:02:30 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:02:23 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:01:54 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:01:53 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:01:52 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:01:41 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017790.955709] FWLOG: [54157635] RATE: ChainMask 3, peer_mac 28:65, phymode 9, ni_flags 0x02213002, vht_mcs_set 0x00fa, ht_mcs_set 0xffff, legacy_rate_set 0x33a6144
Jun 29 09:02:30 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017839.946377] FWLOG: [54207835] RATE: ChainMask 3, peer_mac 28:65, phymode 9, ni_flags 0x02213002, vht_mcs_set 0x00fa, ht_mcs_set 0xffff, legacy_rate_set 0x33b255b
Jun 29 09:01:41 master - 1707 attic stainfo[3871]: sta_info_detection_msg_handler(741): Sending hostname IOCTL as MAC address for 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65return value:0
Jun 29 09:01:41 master - 1707 attic stainfo[3871]: sta_info_detection_msg_handler(738): DHCP Option 12 (hostname) is not present for 2a:55:3e:a8:28:65
Jun 29 09:01:24 master - 1707 attic stamgr: tac_del_arp:dev=br0 SIOCDARP failed, errno=6
Jun 29 09:01:23 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:00:53 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON
Jun 29 09:00:28 master - 1707 attic kernel: [2017718.113607] ieee80211_send_probereq: chan=36, v54_ie2_size=15
Jun 29 09:00:23 master - 1707 attic ZD-APMgr: IPC_thread rcv ping from TACMON