ZD1000 + 7962 + 9.3.4 build 21 Issues

[james_maslen]

Greetings,
First off, I'm well aware that the ZD1000 is EoL - I really just want to see if anyone else is or has experienced these issues, or may have some suggestions. That said, I have observed an interesting pattern with the combination of a ZD1000 with 7962 APs all running 9.3.4.0.21.

First off, certain devices intermittently won't see or be able to connect to any SSIDs being broadcast by 7962 APs with this firmware version. WPA and other settings don't seem to matter, and it only affects random devices (Nexus 5s, Samsung Notes, Nest thermostats, Roku media players so far), and only when broadcast on a 7962 AP - the same ZD configuration on a 7363 or 2942 work fine every time with the above listed devices.

The second issue I've noted is the Automatic 1/6/11 Channel Selection seems to be ignored on all AP models with this firmware. Each AP Group is configured to "Auto" Channel Selection between 1,6,11 per the GUI, and I have attempted setting it via CLI as well - the setting appears set in both instances, but APs are frequently seen on any of the twelve channels.

Finally, I set up a spare ZD1000 in our lab, factory defaulted it, upgraded to 9.3.4.0.21 from some older version, added a few APs and each of the above scenarios are repeatable, so I don't think it's anything in my config in the 'in production' device'.

[monnat_systems]

for your second issue,

As far as i know - when Auto channel change feature based on background scanning is used then it will select channels based on 1,6,11 etc

however when Auto channel change feature based on channelfly then any channel out of all channel can be selected.

what do you see in your ZD for this? Take a look at below screenshot.

http://pbrd.co/1AZvFRh

[michael_brado]

I'll pitch in, that yes, 9.3.4.0.21 is the last release for ZD1000. 
No, we have not seen where 7962 in particular had client SSID visibility issues that other models didn't. 
And yes, if you specify Channelfly as your global Self-Healing method on 2.4G, having 'Auto' under the AP Group Channel will utilize all channels 1 - 11.
Note: While Channelfly will employ all available channels, AP Group "Auto Channel Selection" only shows a channel 1/6/11 dropdown choice.

[james_maslen]

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay, I stopped getting email updates for this thread! And thank you for your responses.

ChannelFly: ChannelFly is enabled, yes. When I re-enable Channel Scanning, all 2.4Ghz channels now follow the three-channel plan as expected, so that certainly does appear to be the case here. Forgive my ignorance, but did this behavior change after 9.3? I have other sites with ZD3050's running 9.7.2+ with ChannelFly enabled and auto-selecting from 1,6,11 per their Group configuration.

Monnat, I definitely agree with your assessment in theory, but I'm pretty hung up on that the issue with intermittently seeing the SSID in certain devices, has completely dissipated since replacing all 7962's with 7363 APs.

Regarding my testing methodology, I did not run all three model of APs at once - each was brought online one at a time to test everything I have described. Standard operation of this network is three APs, staggered vertically and spaced horizontally.

As for the building, it's a greenfield install in a primarily brick-exterior building isolated from most other buildings in the area. For what it is worth I have AirMagnet + Spectrum XT surveys that show low interference in both bands, at least at the time of the survey.

I'm going to do some additional testing in our lab (completely different location) with everyone's input in mind, just to be sure I'm not missing anything - I'd like to see what the behavior of a standalone 7962 on the same and higher firmware versions.

[monnat_systems]

James,

I started using Ruckus since 9.4 however while researching about some technical issue and digging the archives of Ruckus i learnt that channel fly channel change tech was introduced before 9.3 version.

Having said that it has gone through lots of changes and improvement since then.
Cheers

[james_maslen]

Well like I said, I have other sites with ZD3050's running 9.7.2+ with ChannelFly enabled and auto-selecting from 1,6,11 per their Group configuration - it really seems that this changed after sometime after 9.3 - 9.7 but I'm sure you could test that too with your ZDs.