DFS and R7800 in USA

[ablatt]

Is anybody successfully using DFS in the USA?

My son has a DG2470 with RCN in Chicago. The WIFI on that 3-in-1 router is horrible and I will be giving him a spare R7800 to use as a Wireless AP. The 5GHz channels are heavily used around him in the low (UNII-1) and high (UNII-3) ranges. There are 1 or 2 DFS channels that show up used as well, but far fewer. For that reason, I am considering using DFS channels, but never have in the past.

What channel and width are you using, and where are you located?

Is DFS as reliable as non-DFS? For example does it lose connections or need to be rebooted?

Is there anything else to watch out for compared to using non-DFS channels?

Do the DFS channels use much less power and have less range than non-DFS channels?

Any DFS channels better or worse than others? Are there some to avoid (like weather)?

Any client issues to watch out for?

Any comments or advice are appreciated.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I have a Netgear X4S R7800 and use channel 52 in 160MHz mode. At first it takes about a minute or 2 to search for satellites. If no satellite is found it then attaches all of my 5GHz devices. Once they connect I never have an issue. I'm not near any airports so my connection is stable.


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[avtella]

I have no issue either.

 

[bodean]

I have a Netgear X4S R7800 and use channel 52 in 160MHz mode. At first it takes about a minute or 2 to search for satellites. If no satellite is found it then attaches all of my 5GHz devices. Once they connect I never have an issue. I'm not near any airports so my connection is stable.


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What devices do you have that support 160MHz? Haven't been able to find any

 

[avtella]

There are very few and if a 160 MHz client device connects the router interacts with it in a 2x2 mode regardless of if the client has more than two antennas and overall range will also be less for that client in 160Mhz mode vs 80Mhz mode. The Intel 9260ac will support 160Mhz and I assume Qualcomm based mobile devices released this year already do.

 

[sm00thpapa]

What devices do you have that support 160MHz? Haven't been able to find any

Not sure if I have any. Just testing the router to see if all 5GHz devices can connect on a DFS channel in 160MHz mode and they all do with no issues.

 

[pege63]

What devices do you have that support 160MHz? Haven't been able to find any

A second R7800 Router

 

[avtella]

It will still connect at a max link rate of 1733 Mbps.

 

[RMerlin]

Is DFS as reliable as non-DFS?

No. If there's any radio signal that appears to be a radar (or is actually a radar), then the router will have to free the channel for a given period of time, causing you to be disconnected.

DFS channels should be your last resort, not your primary choice. Personally, I would rather use a channel from one of the other bands. 5 GHz attenuates greatly through walls, so chances are your neighbour will have limited impact on your own network (unless they are just on the other side of an apartment's wall).

 

[sm00thpapa]

I'm running CH 52 with no issues for about 2 weeks now. I'm 35 miles from my nearest airport.

 

[ablatt]

No. If there's any radio signal that appears to be a radar (or is actually a radar), then the router will have to free the channel for a given period of time, causing you to be disconnected.

DFS channels should be your last resort, not your primary choice. Personally, I would rather use a channel from one of the other bands. 5 GHz attenuates greatly through walls, so chances are your neighbour will have limited impact on your own network (unless they are just on the other side of an apartment's wall).

Given that ISP gateways, here in Toronto at least, are defaulting 5GHz to 80MHz wide channels, DFS is going to be the first choice for many people. My ISP is now providing DFS channel choices on their gateways.

 

[sfx2000]

Is DFS as reliable as non-DFS?

Can be - but I wouldn't worry so much about it... DFS is generally an AP thing, and if the AP detects something, it'll jump to non-DSS space, and the clients should make the jump with them - some clients might need to reasscociate with the AP, but that is the client - you might see a service interruption on streams...

 

[sfx2000]

Is anybody successfully using DFS in the USA?

Yes, use it all the time - but depending on the router/AP - might need to set them to Auto - they'll start on non-DFS, and then scan in, if it's clear...

My Airports, and my DirecTV Wireless Bridge generally live in DFS space, if I reboot them, like above, then they move over...

 

[sm00thpapa]

Yes, use it all the time - but depending on the router/AP - might need to set them to Auto - they'll start on non-DFS, and then scan in, if it's clear...

My Airports, and my DirecTV Wireless Bridge generally live in DFS space, if I reboot them, like above, then they move over...

What router are you using and is Auto really a good feature to set? I always heard Auto does not work well and stays on crowded channels.

 

[sfx2000]

What router are you using and is Auto really a good feature to set? I always heard Auto does not work well and stays on crowded channels.

Router - pfSense
AP's - Airport Extreme AC (x2)
DirecTV Wireless Video Bridge (oem'ed by Linksys, Quantenna 802.11n chipset based)

Auto channel selection, along with DFS, is going to be dependent on any vendor's implementation - as AP's, the Airport's work well enough...