topic Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9) in Wireless Questions and Best Practices

R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

victorals_n — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 19:15:22 GMT

My standalone R700 will not use MCS 8 or 9 for any clients connected over the 5GHz 80Mhz AC-band. Even when the client is very close to the AP with direct line of sight, the MCS index stays at 7 with a reported Tx rate of 878Mbps. How can I get it to use the higher and faster 256 QAM rates of MCS 8 and 9? The clients, for example Macbook Pros, do support 256 QAM, so that should not be the issue.

Specs:
R700
Firmware 100.1.0.0.432

Macbookpro
OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

Interfaces:

en0:

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x133)

Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (7.21.95.175.1a6)

MAC Address: f4:5c:89:c2:86:25

Locale: FCC

Country Code: US

Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 144, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165

Wake On Wireless: Supported

AirDrop: Supported, Channel 149

Status: Connected

Current Network Information:

K-Town R 5G:

PHY Mode: 802.11ac

BSSID: 2c:c5:d3:24:3f:0c

Channel: 149

Country Code: US

Network Type: Infrastructure

Security: WPA2 Personal

Signal / Noise: -38 dBm / -92 dBm

Transmit Rate: 878

MCS Index: 7

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

john_d — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 20:23:46 GMT

So the diagnostics you're looking at on your Mac is showing the Tx rate from the perspective of the client. That is, client -> AP "upload". This transmit rate is 100% under the control of the client, and the client is choosing it.

In the other direction, the Ruckus AP will choose the best transmit speed, the one that leads to the highest observed throughput. This is not necessarily the highest MCS rate. And thousands of packets are sent per second, while what you are looking at is a very instantaneous snapshot of the last-used Tx rate.

If you pull the support log from the AP, you can see some per-station debug info that lists the full table of rates (and even antenna patterns!) the AP likes to use to talk to your client. Remember that the higher MCS rates require both excellent SNR and minimal interference. Otherwise excessive retry rates may result in lower throughput compared to lower MCS rates.

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

robert_lowe_722 — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:28:17 GMT

I would echo Johns comments but also add that the SNR readings you posted indicate that you should be able to obtain MCS 8 & 9.

I would certainly be looking to put the latest firmware onto the AP as I am aware of recent fixes in ZD platform around association at highest rates although I think this may have been on R710. Either way no harm in upgrading to 104.0.0.0.1306

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

john_d — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:18:08 GMT

Just to point out: He has an R700 and there hasn't been a standalone firmware update for R700 since 100.1

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

robert_lowe_722 — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:41:47 GMT

My bad

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

robert_lowe_722 — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:48:54 GMT

Just so I have understand fully. Although RNs for 104.0.0.0.1306 supports R700 you are saying no enhancements or bug fixes for R700 since 100.1?

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

john_d — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 22:00:51 GMT

That's what it seems. All I know is that the support portal doesn't have anything newer for R700 than 100.1 to download. 100.4 was posted as single images for R510, H510, R710.

Hopefully someone from Ruckus can chime in.

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

scurrier03 — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 02:44:21 GMT

I'm also wondering what's going on with the R700 and the 104.0.0.0.1306 firmware. Seems like the firmware support page on the Ruckus site is not very reliable, as I previously had an R500 and had to go to the R700 page to get a particular firmware for the R500 because it wasn't on the R500 page!

Re: R700 not connecting with 256 QAM speeds (MCS 8, 9)

scurrier03 — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 02:23:44 GMT

Update: I managed to get a support case opened with Ruckus over this, and the very nice and knowledgeable support agent informed me that 104.0.0.0.1306 is expected (not guaranteed) to be posted for the R700 later this month. It sounded like it wasn't yet built for the R700 and would be made available when possible.