Controllerless Networks

Hi all,

I now have four access points in a house, IAP-205's. I can turn them into "spectrum scanning" access points which means they don't handle access points, so I won't do that. But, suppose, I'd buy another one, place that one centrally and configure it to be "spectrum scanning", would that benefit my wireless performance? Or would it only give me graphs in the WebUI and numbers in the cli? Currently I am seeing frequent channel "hopping" of the access points due to "interference" or "empty channel". Would this process go smoother with a spectrum scanning access point in the swarm?

Thanks,
Erik.

IAP-205's will be making their own decision about channels within the spectrum relevant to each AP. A spectrum scanning AP might provide you, as the administrator, some insight as to what kind of interference is causing the frequent channel changes but should generally not be required in a home environment. It would not improve the channel selection of other APs. The APs can do off channel scanning to periodically monitor other channels for rogue devices and other threats (Wireless Intrusion Detection), or you could dedicate an AP to this purpose if you felt it was necessary.

The recorded spectrum is not reported to the virtual controller. A spectrum alert is sent to the virtual controller when a non-Wi-Fi interference device is detected. -https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/central/latest/content/nms/access-points/mrt/spectrum.htm

Hi,

Thanks for your information, clear. What makes it interesting for me is that I had the access points in "monitoring" mode (as apposed to standard "access"  mode) but it appeared some clients where very much disturbed by it. Apparently the access point spends somewhat more time off-channel in this mode. So they're all on "access" mode again. The option "scanning" is still on, that didn't make a big difference.

So without the "monitoring" mode being active, I understand the access points can still make good judgment about the RF environment without the need for an extra access point in either "monitor" or "spectrum monitor" mode?
Original Message:
Sent: Feb 01, 2023 05:06 AM
From: ProbeRequest
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

IAP-205's will be making their own decision about channels within the spectrum relevant to each AP. A spectrum scanning AP might provide you, as the administrator, some insight as to what kind of interference is causing the frequent channel changes but should generally not be required in a home environment. It would not improve the channel selection of other APs. The APs can do off channel scanning to periodically monitor other channels for rogue devices and other threats (Wireless Intrusion Detection), or you could dedicate an AP to this purpose if you felt it was necessary.

The recorded spectrum is not reported to the virtual controller. A spectrum alert is sent to the virtual controller when a non-Wi-Fi interference device is detected. -https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/central/latest/content/nms/access-points/mrt/spectrum.htm

Hi, yes, the APs will scan the air but Only in their current channel. When you have a dedicated Instant AP in Monitor or Spectrum Monitor it can scan all the channels and give a wider view of the environment.

I hope this helps.
Original Message:
Sent: Feb 02, 2023 03:32 AM
From: Erik Slagter
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

Hi,

Thanks for your information, clear. What makes it interesting for me is that I had the access points in "monitoring" mode (as apposed to standard "access"  mode) but it appeared some clients where very much disturbed by it. Apparently the access point spends somewhat more time off-channel in this mode. So they're all on "access" mode again. The option "scanning" is still on, that didn't make a big difference.

So without the "monitoring" mode being active, I understand the access points can still make good judgment about the RF environment without the need for an extra access point in either "monitor" or "spectrum monitor" mode?

Original Message:
Sent: Feb 01, 2023 05:06 AM
From: ProbeRequest
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

IAP-205's will be making their own decision about channels within the spectrum relevant to each AP. A spectrum scanning AP might provide you, as the administrator, some insight as to what kind of interference is causing the frequent channel changes but should generally not be required in a home environment. It would not improve the channel selection of other APs. The APs can do off channel scanning to periodically monitor other channels for rogue devices and other threats (Wireless Intrusion Detection), or you could dedicate an AP to this purpose if you felt it was necessary.

The recorded spectrum is not reported to the virtual controller. A spectrum alert is sent to the virtual controller when a non-Wi-Fi interference device is detected. -https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/central/latest/content/nms/access-points/mrt/spectrum.htm

for your reference



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Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of HPE or Aruba.
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Original Message:
Sent: Feb 03, 2023 09:00 AM
From: ulises.cazares
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

Hi, yes, the APs will scan the air but Only in their current channel. When you have a dedicated Instant AP in Monitor or Spectrum Monitor it can scan all the channels and give a wider view of the environment.

I hope this helps.

Original Message:
Sent: Feb 02, 2023 03:32 AM
From: Erik Slagter
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

Hi,

Thanks for your information, clear. What makes it interesting for me is that I had the access points in "monitoring" mode (as apposed to standard "access"  mode) but it appeared some clients where very much disturbed by it. Apparently the access point spends somewhat more time off-channel in this mode. So they're all on "access" mode again. The option "scanning" is still on, that didn't make a big difference.

So without the "monitoring" mode being active, I understand the access points can still make good judgment about the RF environment without the need for an extra access point in either "monitor" or "spectrum monitor" mode?

Original Message:
Sent: Feb 01, 2023 05:06 AM
From: ProbeRequest
Subject: Dedicated "spectrum scanning" access point useful?

IAP-205's will be making their own decision about channels within the spectrum relevant to each AP. A spectrum scanning AP might provide you, as the administrator, some insight as to what kind of interference is causing the frequent channel changes but should generally not be required in a home environment. It would not improve the channel selection of other APs. The APs can do off channel scanning to periodically monitor other channels for rogue devices and other threats (Wireless Intrusion Detection), or you could dedicate an AP to this purpose if you felt it was necessary.

The recorded spectrum is not reported to the virtual controller. A spectrum alert is sent to the virtual controller when a non-Wi-Fi interference device is detected. -https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/central/latest/content/nms/access-points/mrt/spectrum.htm

To be succint, all access points scan other channels to understand if they are on the best channel or not.  This happens while access points are also serving channels.   In Instant, Adaptive Radio Management or ARM is largely unchanged for years and how it functions is summarized here:  https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/HPE/MigratedAssets/ARM+Doc+Supplement.pdf

You have the option of enabling spectrum analysis, which would allow access points to be able to not only see interference, but be able to identify individual devices based on RF signatures, which can help you understand what non-wifi device you are trying to locate and possibly mitigate.  Since most devices are 5ghz band capable, with much fewer non-wifi interferencing devices and many more channels to avoid interference, the need for dedicated spectrum analysis has diminished considerably.  Even if spectrum analysis is turned on, the devices seen by that access point are only used for decisionmaking for the access point that has observed those devices.

I hope any of this makes sense.


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Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

HPE Design and Deploy Guides: https://community.arubanetworks.com/support/migrated-knowledge-base?attachments=&communitykey=dcc83c62-1a3a-4dd8-94dc-92968ea6fff1&pageindex=0&pagesize=12&search=&sort=most_recent&viewtype=card
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