SSID - Do you use separate for both 2.4 and 5.0?

[bodean]

Running an Asus 87R router, and getting mixed messages from posts and people which is the best configuration. Curious what other users do with their SSID

 

[SnakeByte]

My AT&T router is pre-configured to use the same SSID for both 2.4 and 5ghz bands. That right there suggests that a large number of people are doing this since this demographic is full of people who have no idea about SSIDs and are unlike to change the default setting.

An ex Apple Wifi engineer discussed best practices for wifi that you should read:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/answers/4-wi-fi-tips-from-former-apple-wi-fi-engineer

He suggests using the same SSID and leaving it up to the device to connect to what works best. He also talks about TX Power and why it's /not/ a good idea to bump up that setting... worth a read.

However, in practice, I've found wifi devices that get confused with this setup and are unable to connect, so YMMV.

 

[sfx2000]

Running an Asus 87R router, and getting mixed messages from posts and people which is the best configuration. Curious what other users do with their SSID

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

worthwhile read...

 

[joegreat]

Running an Asus 87R router, and getting mixed messages from posts and people which is the best configuration. Curious what other users do with their SSID

Hi,

I am using separate SSIDs for 2.4 & 5 GHz WLANs. The main reason is that the 2.4 GHz network's reach is by far better and therefore the devices always will connect to the stronger network only.
Only be "forcing" the devices to the 5 GHz SSID I can ensure to use the high(est) speed wireless connection!

Given the lower reach of the 5 GHz network, the roaming between my 2 routers works well for it.
On the 2.4 GHz side, I even use different SSIDs to the nearest router and with the full speed.

But if you do not see this kind of problems/differences, you can have all over the same SSID - and let the devices (or fortune ) decide for you...

With kind regards
Joe

 

[Nullity]

I currently use different SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, for no real reason. It is useful to know which spectrum I am using when doing performance tests, but I rarely do that anymore.

Personally, whenever possible, I like to choose things manually rather than depend on some unknown/flakey automation algorithm. More of an emotional choice though, rather than logical.

 

[PolarBear]

At home, we have a router and 2 APs, all with 2.4 and 5Ghz radios. All 6 use the same SSID, but each uses a different channel.

Walking around the house works seemlessly. Apparently, this is more a feature of the clients rather than of the router or APs, so maybe we are just lucky with the clients we happen to be using.

For me seemless roaming is important, for reasons of "family acceptance factor".

In a related topic, someone else posted a few weeks ago (sorry, I don't remember who) that clients using Skype are less likely to drop the connection while the user is walking around the house, if hardware acceleration is disabled.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I use separate. I'll name them, for example, SSID and SSID5.
I put devices that have a 5.0 radio (such as iphones, ipads)..on the 5 radio, leaving the 2.4 radio for older clients that only support that.
Improves wireless performance, since less client devices per radio. I'll do same password for the sake of simplicity for the clients connecting.

Has zero effect on moving around the home or office.

 

[charlie2alpha]

I use the same SSID for both bands, this enables seamless switching from one band to the other depending on the signal strength. Well, for the most part as not all clients work as they should and they may end up stuck at 2.4GHz. Using 2 SSIDs wouldn't solve that problem though.

 

[RMerlin]

Separate SSIDs means that *I* decide where something connects to. Not some unpredictable driver/OS behaviour.

 

[RogerSC]

Separate SSIDs means that *I* decide where something connects to. Not some unpredictable driver/OS behaviour.

I agree 100% with this. Well put.

 

[sfx2000]

Separate SSIDs means that *I* decide where something connects to. Not some unpredictable driver/OS behaviour.

Depends on the client... and every network is different - but if one wants relatively seamless roaming across bands/AP's, common SSID/keys are the the best way - otherwise, the devices will camp on what could be a bad connection until that connection is lost..

 

[stevech]

Separate SSIDs means that *I* decide where something connects to. Not some unpredictable driver/OS behaviour.

That's what I do.
My Apple iPad, iPhone and Android table and Android phones... none will choose the "best" access device (I have 2) nor the best band, except by chance.
then I look later, and it's flopped from 5GHz to 2.4GHz due to the phase of the moon.

Choice of AP and band is made by the client device's driver and OS as you say. User can manually override if the SSID at each access device differs, but no assurance what happens thereafter.

 

[htismaqe]

My devices don't have any problems making the "right" decision, so for me using the same SSID across all radios works flawlessly. I wouldn't go back to separate SSIDs for anything now.

 

[htismaqe]

My Apple iPad, iPhone and Android table and Android phones... none will choose the "best" access device (I have 2) nor the best band, except by chance.
then I look later, and it's flopped from 5GHz to 2.4GHz due to the phase of the moon.

I know we've discussed this ad nauseum but I'm still just flabbergasted at how different the experiences are here among different members. Not only do my iPads and iPhones choose wisely nearly all of the time, they're FAR better at it than anything else on the network. I went to the same SSID configuration BECAUSE of the 5 iOS devices we have and how much better they work in that configuration.

 

[L&LD]

I know we've discussed this ad nauseum but I'm still just flabbergasted at how different the experiences are here among different members. Not only do my iPads and iPhones choose wisely nearly all of the time, they're FAR better at it than anything else on the network. I went to the same SSID configuration BECAUSE of the 5 iOS devices we have and how much better they work in that configuration.

I too am amused at how important 'seamless switching' is to some.

I think it is highly overrated and not worth giving up the control I have to connect to the network that I choose.

If there is any doubt what network I am about to connect to; I don't. Even at a friends home.

 

[htismaqe]

That's just the thing. I haven't given up any control. I want my iPhone to connect to 5Ghz when the signal is strong enough and connect to 2.4Ghz when it moves out of range of 5Ghz. And it does just that. Without me having to do anything.

I get exactly the same performance as I did having 2 separate SSIDs and my phone does the switching for me. I really don't understand the need for more control than that.

 

[htismaqe]

Separate SSIDs means that *I* decide where something connects to. Not some unpredictable driver/OS behaviour.

And philosophical discussions about control aside, this post demonstrates what I'm talking about in terms of differing experiences.

It seems that the majority of people are trying to prevent unpredictability based on poor client decision making.

I simply don't SEE poor client decision making in my environment. And the devices that many seem to indicate are the worst - iOS devices - are the BEST at making good decisions in my environment.

That's truly what baffles me - that the technology itself works so drastically different depending on the situation.

 

[Nullity]

And philosophical discussions about control aside, this post demonstrates what I'm talking about in terms of differing experiences.

It seems that the majority of people are trying to prevent unpredictability based on poor client decision making.

I simply don't SEE poor client decision making in my environment. And the devices that many seem to indicate are the worst - iOS devices - are the BEST at making good decisions in my environment.

That's truly what baffles me - that the technology itself works so drastically different depending on the situation.

Don't clients switch to the best WiFi AP, regardless of SSID? Regardless, knowing precisely which device or frequency simplifies the inevitable debugging session.

Anyway, I am a bit confused myself that you are so surprised that other people have a different experience with the same devices. Some people prefer Coca-Cola while other prefer Pepsi. What you call a "good decision", I might call a "AAAAHHHH, WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU POS COMPUTER!!!".

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[sfx2000]

Don't clients switch to the best WiFi AP, regardless of SSID? Regardless, knowing precisely which device or frequency simplifies the inevitable debugging session.

Anyway, I am a bit confused myself that you are so surprised that other people have a different experience with the same devices. Some people prefer Coca-Cola while other prefer Pepsi. What you call a "good decision", I might call a "AAAAHHHH, WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU POS COMPUTER!!!".

Different strokes for different folks.

Networks are like snowflakes - each is a little bit different...

iDevices actually do pretty decent sorting out where they should be, but some clients don't - I've got a high-end Android Device that absolutely hangs on to a connection - even when one is better in a dual AP/dual band environment (it's from a certain Korean company that isn't LG)...

Windows - spotty luck - some are very good in a single SSID setup (Intel 11n/11ac cards are very good), some need some tweaks from the defaults (Asus USB-AC56 is a good example, default won't handup on a single AP, preferring 2.4GHz, and camps when it should handover).

 

[sfx2000]

I simply don't SEE poor client decision making in my environment. And the devices that many seem to indicate are the worst - iOS devices - are the BEST at making good decisions in my environment.

That's truly what baffles me - that the technology itself works so drastically different depending on the situation.

iDevices tend to either be zero concern or very problematic...

I'm not sure what Asus is doing that the other vendors aren't, but most of the reports on iOS related issues come from folks having Asus routers... and it doesn't seem to be specific to a certain model of Asus...