Is your Router/Mobile Device mature enough to switch between 2.4 & 5 GHz ?

[coxhaus]

So with this beacon coming from every device even though small, this increases with more devices. If the client devices are scanning all channels for a stronger signal then more devices more increased delay. This is what I have gathered from above discussions.

I have 24 2.4GHz networks around me which seems to slow down 2.4GHz communication for me. I assume only one device at a time per channel (2,6,11) can communicate so all devices are waiting on other devices per channel. The handhelds since scanning all channels for stronger signals are waiting on all channels and all devices. I assume since 5Ghz is short ranged this overhead all goes away and only your own devices are included in the overhead equation.

 

[sfx2000]

So with this beacon coming from every device even though small, this increases with more devices. If the client devices are scanning all channels for a stronger signal then more devices more increased delay. This is what I have gathered from above discussions.

In Infrastructure Mode - only the AP sends beacons...

I have 24 2.4GHz networks around me which seems to slow down 2.4GHz communication for me. I assume only one device at a time per channel (2,6,11) can communicate so all devices are waiting on other devices per channel. The handhelds since scanning all channels for stronger signals are waiting on all channels and all devices. I assume since 5Ghz is short ranged this overhead all goes away and only your own devices are included in the overhead equation.

In your network, everybody listens when one station is transmitting, and if there are two stations transmitting at same time, then the Collision is detected, and they both back off a random time value, and try again...

The 24 other 2.4GHz networks - what you're seeing is their Beacon's - Beacons are high gain/low data rate, but generally, they're not a problem - if one is on the same channel and at the same strength, this can be a problem, but if the other network is 20dB* or so less on RSSI, then again, it's not a problem, as it's basically "in the noise".

So not much to worry about...

*20dB - this is old 802.11b adjacent BSS rejection for co-channel interference - 11n (and 11ac) have tightened that up quite a bit, if I recall, it went to -3dB for co-channel interference rejection, which basically means that two AP's with different SSID's on the same channel, the non-attached SSID can be up to twice the power of the attached, and still be rejected as co-channel interference.

 

[stevech]

Beacons.. layman terms.
Lighthouses along the shoreline and on islands. Boats observing the lighthouses - are kind of like WiFi client devices detecting beacons. Each beacon (usually) as the SSID of that access device. Some lighthouses are lightly coded - double blinks and so on. Kind of like their SSID.

It's not the number of SSIDs you detect, it's if any of them sometimes carry an extreme amount of traffic (like streaming 1080 HD video - not Netflix). If so, you can move away by 3+ channels. You do this by changing the channel number in your WiFi router and APs if you have any.

(An Access Point (AP) is inside a WiFi router - which is a combo product: AP and router, all in one box. APs per se don't route.

 

[sfx2000]

It's not the number of SSIDs you detect, it's if any of them sometimes carry an extreme amount of traffic (like streaming 1080 HD video - not Netflix). If so, you can move away by 3+ channels. You do this by changing the channel number in your WiFi router and APs if you have any.

My recommendation is to move +/- 5 Channels, assuming a 1, 6, 11 (the non-overlapping channels).

 

[stevech]

I agree - 1, 6, 11 are optimal.

 

[tim]

I agree - 1, 6, 11 are optimal.

That's what I always aim to do. Most of my neighbors are also using 1, 6 or 11
But there is one neighbor with a Virgin Media super hub that is has center channel set as 9. Not sure if this is F/W decision or manually set by the owner.

 

[sfx2000]

That's what I always aim to do. Most of my neighbors are also using 1, 6 or 11
But there is one neighbor with a Virgin Media super hub that is has center channel set as 9. Not sure if this is F/W decision or manually set by the owner.

Grrr... devices like this - also older HP printers that default to CH10... in the US, 2Wire is famous, at least here in SoCal, for camping on CH8 as a default... 2Wire is a DSL Gateway/Router AP associated with a major telecom...

Again, if the SSID's RSSI in InSSIDer isn't so high, don't worry about it.

Pick the channel with the lowest RSSI, and that's where you want to be...

 

[stevech]

well, it's OK to use an overlapping channel like #9, if they don't stream a lot!

I wonder if the "auto channel select" in all or most routers have a 1,6,11 policy?

 

[sfx2000]

My response is awaiting moderator approval, as such, it's invisible to you and other visitors...

Which is most unfortunate...

 

[sfx2000]

well, it's OK to use an overlapping channel like #9, if they don't stream a lot!

Hehe... unfortunately, many of these "devices" are also media gateways for content delivery, so yep, they can be a bit active there.

 

[sfx2000]

And for what it's worth, most AP's will do an OBSS channel scan on the following schedule

First look for OBSS on 1, 6, 11 - The OBSS scan is looking for other SSID's that not yours....

Then scan in the following schedule:

1;3, 6:3, 11:3, and then 2, 7, 3, 8, 4, 9, 10 - it's fairly primitive, but it works, - basically 3 interleaved scans on the primary three non-overlapping channels, and then back to ch 2, then up to 7, back to 3, up to 8, back to 4, then over to 9 and then 10, rinse and repeat...

This is why many older 11g, and early 11n operators provided AP's in 'auto-mode' land on CH8 and CH9....

Can't really say why/how I know this...

 

[sfx2000]

1;3, 6:3, 11:3, and then 2, 7, 3, 8, 4, 9, 10

And this channel pattern - lots of Academic papers in periodic distributions on likely channels...

I've confirmed this twice with college interns in 4 different markets, they were all pretty much the same for channel opportunity - most are on 1, 6, 11, but there's opportunistic chances with CH4 and CH8, along with CH1 and CH11...

Outside of North America, CH9 can be an alternative on auto-scan/mode setting...

 

[sfx2000]

And now, we're going way deep into the, well, whatever it is...

As a refresher - I've designed carrier premises equipment across multiple chipset vendors...

 

[sfx2000]

I wonder if the "auto channel select" in all or most routers have a 1,6,11 policy?

see comments above...

 

[lifespeed]

Sometimes easier said than done - one walking around on a amartphone in a voip conversation - swapping from SSID 1 to SSID 2 is likely going to drop the call.

Unhappy customer then :|

This is interesting, another VoIP smartphone user. I have had exceedingly poor experiences with mixed 2.4/5GHz networks when using VoIP and dropping calls. These have been networks I don't control, corporate or home. Most have had the same SSID. So I would generally just lock my phone on 2.4GHz, as I wanted the phone to make reliable phone calls. Imagine that. And even then roaming between corporate (cisco or other brands) controller-based access points would still drop the call. Pitiful.

All I can control is my home network covered by a single Engenius EAP350 2.4GHz 802.11n access point. Although coverage is pretty darn good for a single high-power access point (power control set to "auto"), I would like to increase coverage using two access points but the lack of fast-roaming implementation at a sub $500 price point and 2.4/5GHz dropouts has kept me from upgrading my older hardware.

Aren't there any reasonably-priced competent wireless access points out there?

 

[stevech]

I use a form of VoIP with WhatsApp on my Android phone. Works quite well.
But I don't move about in the home while doing this.

To do mobile device with SIP based VoIP with fast / directed handoff as in Vocera's products, you need a suitable professional WiFi network and client devices as below that collaborate.

http://www.vocera.com/products/voice-communication