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AP Selection

salterinc
Level 1
Level 1

I have several AP's throughout my facility. I am having a problem where a computer does not connect to the closest AP and therefore has slow performance. As far as I know the computers are set to to connect to whichever AP has the best signal strength but this is not happening. Any ideas?

EDIT: Most of the time the computers are connecting correctly. But every once in a while I'll have a laptop that does not connect to the closest AP.

5 Replies 5

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

salterinc wrote:

As far as I know the computers are set to to connect to whichever AP has the best signal strength but this is not happening. Any ideas?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this isn't necessarily true.  Wireless NIC manufacturers have their own set of algorithms.  Whether or not they follow common sense, i.  e.  associate/authenticate with the strongest signal, is something open to debate and discussions.

A number of significant reasons can cause the a client to associate/authenticate or "go" to the wrong AP.  Among them:

1.  Quirks in the wireless NIC;
2.  Channel congestion (when a number of APs talk at the same channel and in close proximity of each other);
3.  Client saturation point (when too many clients have joined one AP);
4.  I can't think of the rest.  It's early in the morning and I'm NOT a morning person. 

Shouldn't the controller help? I'm using a Cisco 2125 along with 1130AG Access Points.

Unfortunately no.  Because of the crazy algorithm.  What you can do to help/assist is to download and install the latest and safe wireless NIC driver.

I just wanted to mention, Leo is on target. Things you may want to consider also is updating the drives on your wireless nics. also check the supplicant the nic uses. for example, intel allows you to configure roaming aggressiveness and other options that could lend itself to better ap selection.

I hope this helps. If you find this helpful please doent hesitiate to rate the post. Leo, myself and others work hard to anwser your questions!

"Satisfaction does not come from knowing the solution, it comes from knowing why." - Rosalind Franklin
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Ok, I will have a look at the drivers, but I thought that having a controller, I could force the way AP's worked with clients.

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