roam assist

[bsholbrook]

I have a network with 35-40 clients. network is running two 86u's in aimesh with smart connect. stability and performance have been good with 1 exception, I'm seeing roamasst put one specific client into a disconnect reconnect loop for hours on end and then stopping for 1-2 hours. At the client location connectivity and speeds test far greater than what I'd anticipate from the router system logs which disconnt the client from 2.4ghz radios based on a rssi rating between -60 to -70dbm where the cut off is -50 for 2.4. The Node itself is max 15feet from WAP through a single drywall wall. Support case filed, hope this single issue to be remedied very soon. I've been reluctant to change or disable roam assist as I'd like client to move around the mesh if needed as was the design and intent.

Anyone seeing similar or have suggestions? I've logged a case with ASUS will post updates.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I have a network with 35-40 clients. network is running two 86u's in aimesh with smart connect. stability and performance have been good with 1 exception, I'm seeing roamasst put one specific client into a disconnect reconnect loop for hours on end and then stopping for 1-2 hours. At the client location connectivity and speeds test far greater than what I'd anticipate from the router system logs which disconnt the client from 2.4ghz radios based on a rssi rating between -60 to -70dbm where the cut off is -50 for 2.4. The Node itself is max 15feet from WAP through a single drywall wall. Support case filed, hope this single issue to be remedied very soon. I've been reluctant to change or disable roam assist as I'd like client to move around the mesh if needed as was the design and intent.

Anyone seeing similar or have suggestions? I've logged a case with ASUS will post updates.

No particular insight to offer other than to also consider the potential for trouble on the client side, like a problem wireless adapter. I recently concluded that the 2.4 circuit in my Nexus 7 is going bad, not the network.

OE

 

[bsholbrook]

Thanks, good consideration, I could temporarily turn off roam assist and run connectivity test over the course of a day to see how the client responds.

 

[bones20]

Thanks, good consideration, I could temporarily turn off roam assist and run connectivity test over the course of a day to see how the client responds.

A novice opinion: -50db cut off seems pretty high unless your nodes are less than say 15-20 feet apart.

-50db is good signal!

 

[bsholbrook]

Interesting, the bugs that are causing constant rebuild of client lists Have made it hard to notice, but I now believe the node that keeps getting knocked off of the network by roam assist resumes right back on the farther away mesh Router, not the closer mesh node.

Anyone have suggestions on how to unstick a client from the router it is choosing?

 

[bones20]

Interesting, the bugs that are causing constant rebuild of client lists Have made it hard to notice, but I now believe the node that keeps getting knocked off of the network by roam assist resumes right back on the farther away mesh Router, not the closer mesh node.

Anyone have suggestions on how to unstick a client from the router it is choosing?

If you check the review of this router (68u), unintuitively, it seems the signal is not at its strongest within first 5 feet. It may perhaps have to do with beam forming. you can try disabling both the beam formings and see if that helps better affinity.

 

[bsholbrook]

Thanks, I’m using a pair of 86u routers versus 86u’s, but will test that today.

Testing now, will need about 24 hours to see how the clients react over time, but thus far on the 2.4ghz side universal beam forming is off and roaming assist is set to -50.

 

[bones20]

Thanks, I’m using a pair of 86u routers versus 86u’s, but will test that today.

Testing now, will need about 24 hours to see how the clients react over time, but thus far on the 2.4ghz side universal beam forming is off and roaming assist is set to -50.

What is the total area coverage and how many nodes? Each of these routers can cover upto 3000 sq. ft.

You may want to lower the RSSI threshold to -65db (or even -70db) for 2.4ghz & -70db for 5ghz.

 

[thiggins]

The client (STA) decides when and where to roam to and it sounds like you have a classic "sticky" client.

In roaming, the problem is often too much overlap between APs. If a STA's signal level never hits its roam threshold, it won't roam.

As bones20 said, -50dBm is too high for the Assistance setting. That is a typical strong signal level. Why would you want to push a device to roam when it has a good signal?

You also don't know what the device's roaming criteria are. If it has a target RSSI of -60 and you are telling your routers to disconnect it at -50, it will never connect.

 

[monaro-ds]

its a good question to ASUS why did they set roamasst default for 2.4 to -50dBm ...

 

[thiggins]

its a good question to ASUS why did they set roamasst default for 2.4 to -50dBm ...

On which router? If I remember correctly it was set to -70 on both bands on the Blue Cave...

 

[wshuman3]

On which router? If I remember correctly it was set to -70 on both bands on the Blue Cave...

on my RT-AC1900P it is was set to -50 on 2.4 and -70 on 5 after a reset

 

[thiggins]

on my RT-AC1900P it is was set to -50 on 2.4 and -70 on 5 after a reset

Well, that's not a good setting for the reasons I gave above.

 

[wshuman3]

Well, that's not a good setting for the reasons I gave above.

correct, which is why it isn't set to that now, but out of the box that was the configuration

 

[maxbraketorque]

on my RT-AC1900P it is was set to -50 on 2.4 and -70 on 5 after a reset

Its -70 dBm for both frequency ranges on my AC86U.

 

[monaro-ds]

Its -70 dBm for both frequency ranges on my AC86U.

are you sure you did not change it ?
my AC86U , 68U ,1900P and 5300 all set to -50 on 2.4 and -70 on 5

 

[thiggins]

-50 on 2.4 could be a misguided attempt to bandsteer STAs to 5 GHz. Is that working for anyone?

 

[maxbraketorque]

are you sure you did not change it ?
my AC86U , 68U ,1900P and 5300 all set to -50 on 2.4 and -70 on 5

I didn't look when it was brand new, but after doing a factory reset a few firmware's ago, it was set at -70 dBm.

 

[LimJK]

-50 on 2.4 could be a misguided attempt to bandsteer STAs to 5 GHz. Is that working for anyone?

Tim,

As I follow this thread, I noted that some people have different default settings for Roam Assist. Thanks for your question as it prompted me to spend an hour over the weekend to do Factory Reset to all my 3 AiMesh Devices to find out what the default factory settings were using 3.0.0.4.384_20648-g21e3702:

Default Roam Assist: -55 dBm for the 2.4GHz Band
Default Roam Assist: -70 dBM for both the 5.0GHz Bands

The following is the default Smart Connect Rules after Factory Reset:

Novice Question with regards to value of RSSI Greater then -52 dBm
... is the RSSI of value of -55 dBm greater or lesser than -52 dBm (pardon my ignorance)

Any case all our 5 iPhones and 3 iPads roam pretty seamlessly at home, I use iOS Network Analyzer App and observe the almost instantaneous switch of BSSIDs of my 3 AiMesh Devices without drop in connection as I move around the house

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for doing the work to look at the default levels.

Novice Question with regards to value of RSSI Greater then -52 dBm
... is the RSSI of value of -55 dBm greater or lesser than -52 dBm (pardon my ignorance)

-52 represents a stronger signal than -55. Every 3 dB represents a doubling (or halving) of power.

As I said previously, the likely reason for setting 2.4 GHz roam trigger level would be an attempt to band-steer devices to 5 GHz. Might work with some devices, not with others.