SSID/Channel configuration help

[sugargenius]

I am looking for help with optimizing my wireless setup. I have a Linksys E2000 in the front of house in AP mode. In the center of the house, I have an RT-N66U as primary router/gateway. Finally, in the back of the house, I have another Linksys E2000 in AP mode.

My first question is should have 1 SSID or more? I would like to use 1 SSID if possible. Would there be any benefit to having separate SSID's for 2.4 and 5 gHz?

The AP are single band, so I plan putting them both in 5 gHz mode. Should I use the same channel for all 5 gHz radios or different channels for each? Specific channel(s) recommendations? How about 'Auto' mode?

For the 2.4 gHz radio, is there any reason to initially select one channel over another? I've always heard not use channel 1, but I don't know if there's any validity to that advice.

 

[rototiller]

In my home network setup I use different SSIDs for each radio band that my router and AP support w/ different passwords too for each. It may be a pain for some people to have that set up but for me doing it the way I have set up, it allows me to isolate problems that pop up in my network. If I am on "Joe" SSID and I am getting connection issues, I know that "Joe" is on my main router so I can log into that router and fix the problem. Also, having different SSIDs, I know which SSIDs I have set up in different radios, i.e., "Joe" is AC, "Blow" is N, "Jane" is G. In 2.4 Ghz, there are only 3 non overlapping channels which are 1, 6, and 11. I've never heard that advice about not using channel 1. I use channels 1 and 6 on my 2.4 Ghz radios and no probs.

 

[sfx2000]

Take a look on the main site:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

 

[stevech]

I am looking for help with optimizing my wireless setup. I have a Linksys E2000 in the front of house in AP mode. In the center of the house, I have an RT-N66U as primary router/gateway. Finally, in the back of the house, I have another Linksys E2000 in AP mode.

My first question is should have 1 SSID or more? I would like to use 1 SSID if possible. Would there be any benefit to having separate SSID's for 2.4 and 5 gHz?

The AP are single band, so I plan putting them both in 5 gHz mode. Should I use the same channel for all 5 gHz radios or different channels for each? Specific channel(s) recommendations? How about 'Auto' mode?

For the 2.4 gHz radio, is there any reason to initially select one channel over another? I've always heard not use channel 1, but I don't know if there's any validity to that advice.

Kind of complex questions...
Single SSID: OK but... some/most client devices will not choose "best" access point/router, Especially after the user moves to a different room where there's a close / better access. So the user suffers none, but weaker signal may be noticeable as lower speed. If each AP has SSID that implies its location (MBR, PATIO) the the user can elect to choose the best by name.

Channel numbers.. no matter the band; Each AP can be on a different channel. In 2.4GHz, the channels overlap, so use 1, 6 or 11. Choice of channel number is if there is a neighbor that is a bandwidth hog consistently.

 

[sfx2000]

Kind of complex questions...
Single SSID: OK but... some/most client devices will not choose "best" access point/router, Especially after the user moves to a different room where there's a close / better access. So the user suffers none, but weaker signal may be noticeable as lower speed. If each AP has SSID that implies its location (MBR, PATIO) the the user can elect to choose the best by name.

Channel numbers.. no matter the band; Each AP can be on a different channel. In 2.4GHz, the channels overlap, so use 1, 6 or 11. Choice of channel number is if there is a neighbor that is a bandwidth hog consistently.

Steve - I think we have some pretty strong opinions on both sides of the issue...

My side is probably more based on Qualcomm CDMA, where there are many base stations, all on a single freq, and a client needs to choose (and provide feedback vis PSMM's, if you know that term, you know where I'm coming from).

In the end - single freq, single serving network, it always wins... and that's the sound basis behind common SSID...

There's a few clients that are pretty "sticky", even in a single SSID scenario, but these are getting sorted fairly quickly... enterprise feedback for those clients - laptops, pretty much solved, but the real movement is in the handhelds, as they're very likely to be mobile... so it's not in the best interest to stick with a particular MAC address of a singular AP - e.g. BSSID

(BSSID is the MAC addr of a specific AP, BSS is one level up - multiple AP's is an collection of BSS all on a common set).

One can always have strong granularity within one's WLAN - SSID1/SSID2/SSID3 associated with AP1/AP2/AP3...

That's ok - one can do that - but then also consider the alternative - which is moving up the stack - if one wants to have VLAN1/VLAN2/VLAN3, the AP's at a basic level when in a multiple AP (AP's 1-3 above) environment need to have some level of commonality...

7 layers, at the end of the day, and we all want to keep things as simple as they can be - simply put, got better things to do once the WLAN is set up...

What you have - works for you - I get it, but keep mind open, and let the 802.11 design within the larger scope of IEEE802 work for others...

 

[stevech]

Qualcomm CDMA is full duplex and exclusive-use licensed, so it's apples and oranges v.s. WiFi.

 

[sfx2000]

Qualcomm CDMA is full duplex and exclusive-use licensed, so it's apples and oranges v.s. WiFi.

Steve - you and I are both very experienced engineers - and the principles behind that are not only known, but proven... we've both worked on alternate WAN tech, and looking at capacity studies - I have a lot of respect for you, but your posts, I have to firmly disagree... the 25 years of working on CDMA/EVDO/LTE/Wimax/WiFi in different capacities - from SW to Standards to Platform/Services delivery - I'm pretty firm on my stand... and you are as well...

Need to find some common ground...

 

[stevech]

Steve - you and I are both very experienced engineers - and the principles behind that are not only known, but proven... we've both worked on alternate WAN tech, and looking at capacity studies - I have a lot of respect for you, but your posts, I have to firmly disagree... the 25 years of working on CDMA/EVDO/LTE/Wimax/WiFi in different capacities - from SW to Standards to Platform/Services delivery - I'm pretty firm on my stand... and you are as well...

Need to find some common ground...

it's just minutiae!!!