Need Help on Cisco Wireless Solution!

maldin · ‎09-16-2009

Hello Netpros!

I have some issues that probably most of wireless implementers faced after implementing a wireless solution. This is an actual feedback from the customer and These issues can be broken down to the following:

1. The wireless Network is slow! (wireless performance)

The customer has Airtight in placed and airtight reports that users are mostly connected to the wireless network on 2 mbps speed. Users also says that their network experience using wireless are slow compared to wired network.

My question is what reports or guides that cisco wireless cotroller system or WLC can shows that proves the network is working as it is intended. Any guides on how to improve the user experience? Any guide from Cisco IT?

During these slowness, what reports from WCS or WLC that can best shows the problems and helps us implementers to mitigate the problem?

2. Baseline Wireless Performance.

When asked about a baseline performance of wireless network, what reports from the WCS or WLC that can show this and what is the acceptable or baseline values?

3. Is there a general guideline on how to use WCS or WLC reporting tools to troubleshoot a wireless performance issue? What reports to see? and how to translate that to say to the customer that the wireless network is under performing?

The main reasons i am asking these questions is because i cannot find any useful documents in cisco that guides the wireless implementers on how to use the reports generated by WCS or WLC when it concerns the performance of the wireless.

Most of the reports WCS generate that relates to the performance normally rounds up the AP performance, channel, noise, but how to translate that to user concerns is another matter.

Perhaps these issues are partly due to user expectations or maybe the wireless setup need to be tweaked or even might requires a spectrum analyzer to pinpoint interferences.

In either cases, I hope netpros can help direct me to good documentation albeit from cisco or other sources that can best outline wireless performance reporting using cisco wcs and wlc.

Background information:

The wireless network setup has one WCS, one location appliance, 4 WLCs and around 150 to 200 APs, most running Local and some running HREAP. Most of the issues concerns the local type APs.

Thanking all in advance!

maldin

Leo Laohoo · ‎09-17-2009

Hi Maldin,

The WLAN is slow - There are a number of reasons why the WLAN is slow. Among them are: improper placement of the APs, improper configuration of the WLANs, signal strengths, speed/duplex mismatch, channel conflict, incorrect client drivers, AP-to-client ratio or saturation. WSC/WLC can drill down and interrogate the link of the client. The new WCS version 6.X also has a "troubleshooting" feature too.

Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 6.0

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/6.0/configuration/guide/Controller60CG.html

maldin · ‎09-27-2009

Yup,

thats what we told the customer and even showed them the wlc/wcs reports.

Unfortunately, these customers are lacking in wireless knowledge and they want a streamlined, documented steps to generate the reports and also to help them understand in laymen terms.

At the moment we are formulating a holistic approach to the customer to get them understand wireless first, get them to have a policy and enforce and then drill down to management, reporting and troubleshooting.

The thing is, the wireless is always working fine, but sometimes so it happens some bigshots unable to connect to the wireless network in meeting rooms or somewhere and the become jumpy and pointing fingers.

So the IT manager wants to reduces the finger pointing by having the WLC/WCS to produce reports to them.