topic Re: Signal drop issue in Wireless Questions and Best Practices

Signal drop issue

pankaj_darji — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 16:32:34 GMT

Hi,
We have used Ruckus Zone-Director ZD1106 (ver 9.5.1.0 build 50) with total 3 AP, 2 Access Point model 7343 (25 & 29 clients) and one Access Point 7363 (51 clients) :

This arrangement was with us for 5 days to test:

The configuration details in ZoneDirector/AP is as follows:
Encryption : wep64/128 & wpa-mixed turn by turn
Authorization : open
Total clients connected : 105 (laptops and various Mobile devices)
Average single % = 82%
No of Rouge Devices = 59
Mesh mode = disabled

The overall performance of the wireless setup was up to the mark except one corner where we always getting the signal drop issue, this corner is equipped with 8 ton duct air-condition unit already mounted over the celling in office.

Another fact is that, using inSSIDer utility we came to know that there are 27 networks overlapping there.

Getting signal drop /strength issue in the surrounding area.

Can anybody suggest what is the problematic element and remedy too.

Our planning is to connect around 200+ clients per AP in near future, can 7372 able to handle this load on 2.4 GHz channel, as we have less devices for 5 GHz comparatively. please suggest the suitable AP.

Re: Signal drop issue

dheeraj_shukla — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 05:50:05 GMT

Hi Pankaj,

Good morning!!

As per your query,You are having signal drop or week signals from client stations.

One of the biggest causes of dropped or weak wireless signals is interference from other objects (including walls, metal objects like filing cabinets, etc.). Being very far from the wireless signal source also negatively impacts signal strength.

Here are few things which you might want to try to mitigate this:

1.It is highly recommended to have site surveying done prior to Access points deployment.

2.Ensure that your Client station OS and wireless card updated with latest driver.

3.Assign static channel such as 1,6 or 11.You may be able to get a clearer signal on your network by changing the channel that the wireless AP is using. You can use a utility like" InSSIder" to see what channels nearby wireless networks are using and choose a different one for your wireless network.

As per your requirement you could go with ZF7372 and ZF7982 APs ,capable of supporting 500 clients ,for more details you could refer to "www.ruckuswireless.com.

hope that helps!!

We appreciate your input here and love to help you through this forum.

Cheers,
Dheeraj

Re: Signal drop issue

keith_redfield — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 16:50:30 GMT

A couple of other notes:

1) The maximum number of client associations is dependent on the encryption used. With WPA2 as mentioned - you'd be limited to about 100+ clients/radio (so up to 200 on a dual radio setup). The 500/AP maximums are for an open network (such as a hotspot config).

2) It might be a good idea to swap the AP in the trouble area just to rule out a hardware issue. Since it sounds like this is demo gear, it's possible some damage occurred in transit.

3) To properly provision 5Ghz requires higher AP density than for 2.4 (since it does not propagate as well). In practice this will be helpful for a high-density scenario as the AP's will load balance the client connections.

4) Plan for the future - 5Ghz will be dominant in clients before long.

Re: Signal drop issue

pankaj_darji — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 11:04:04 GMT

Hi Dheeraj & Keith,
Thanks for sharing technical updates.
--> our site was surveyed by Ruckus authorized partner and we did installed the AP as to get better strength at particular location.
-->our laptops are MNC branded i3 processor with updated wifi drivers.
excluding the specific area we are not getting signal issue / drop difficulty. we have other brand basic AP also at the same floor where we didnt experience the wifi connectivity issue.
-->As i stated in first communication, there are 27 networks overlappng at particular floor/location.

Re: Signal drop issue

keith_redfield — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:17:04 GMT

Assuming you've swapped the AP in that area, I think the next step is to get a spectrum analyzer in there (as of 9.6 the ZD can help with this - check the user guide). There may be non-wifi sources of interference (aircon..) saturating the available spectrum in addition to the co-channel interference you are seeing with inssider.

The 7982 may offer some help as it's got slightly more power than the 7363 and features like PDMRC that enable it to more effectively channel the power, particularly for mobile devices.

Re: Signal drop issue

dtsblake_588878 — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 17:05:41 GMT

Pankaj Darji:

Did you determine a solution?

ThX

Re: Signal drop issue

hemang_bhavsar — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 10:54:08 GMT

do ruckus has in build spectrum analyzer in 7372 or 7352 ?

Re: Signal drop issue

keith_redfield — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 15:12:52 GMT

This is a great conversation that's separate from the main topic, so I created a new topic to continue the discussion. Please reference the new topic here: Spectrum Analyzer in 7373/7352?

Re: Signal drop issue

bob_williamson — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 01:13:05 GMT

We had a some very similar situations

One area was rectified by putting an additional AP with a clear line of site to the users desk.

Another was solved by changing orientation of the AP relative to the user/location.

We have had quite a number of issues when a user is to close to the AP. Moving the user away from the AP made a HUGE impact on stability and speed.

I have definitely found that 5GHz devices are much pickier than 2.4GHz connections. Also the 7372 gave us an immediate jump over our 7363s.

Hope that helps,
Bob