Managing the Radio Frequency and Spectrum is a critical challenge for modern WLAN networks especially with advanced applications like VoWLAN. This session looks at the theory of operations and best practices for taking advantage of Radio Resource Management and usage of several tools included or available from Cisco like ´Planning Mode´ and ´Cisco Spectrum Expert´. This session is updated to reflect new advances contained in release 7.0 of CUWN and is of an advanced level.
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Content
Wireless LAN Radio: Spectrum Management Best Practices
BRKEWN-3013
The Dynamic Nature of Spectrum
You are breathing the physical layer RF reflects off things RF is absorbed by things It’s a shared medium (as such, not all RF is always yours) Requirements change in response to changes in the environment— not always helpful Yet, if implemented and maintained properly, it’s a technology enabler providing
Increased productivity Creative freedom Enhanced user experience—by putting the power of the network where the user lives and works
Mobility Refers to the Client— Not the Infrastructure
Radio assets are fixed devices Autonomous AP channel and power must be set in advance Clients move about Resource demands shift with client location, and density
Clients Associate to AP with Strongest Signal
Even When Well Planned, Things Change
Mission critical requires HA Client technology refresh—additional device types PDA’s, Tablets New neighbors?
Does Non–Wi-Fi Interference Matter?
A Series of Papers on Wi-Fi Interference Concluded…
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9393/prod_white_papers_list.html
“When the students returned this year, if you asked me what percentage of students are using the Wi-Fi network – I would have told you 40%. I was shocked to see 85% of them using the Wi-Fi network.”
Scott Ksander – September 2009 – Cisco Education TAB Purdue University
Deploying with Spectrum in Mind
Role of site survey is as important as ever—but has evolved Evaluate the existing application requirements, available spectrum and Clients Focus should be on fixed infrastructure
AP placement Density is important Protocols supported Rates supported Interference sources
A Word About Tools
How to Compare Apples to Apples What you use is less important than how you use it Internal vs. external adapters
Internal adapters – even the same model will have different antenna arays and placement for different model laptops External adapters – can be moved with the application – and provide consistent results – regardless of the platform used
2.4 or 5 GHz Cordless Phones Video Camera Wi-Fi
(Busy Neighbor)
100% 100% 90% 63% 20% 18%
100% 57% 75% 53% 17% 10%
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Microwave Oven Bluetooth Headset DECT Phone Source: FarPoint Group
Cisco Public
What Is CCA and SOP?
802.11 is CSMA/CA – collision avoidance CCA is Clear Channel Assessment – and is the listen before talk component of Collision Avoidance With 802.11n radios CCA is typically linked to Preamble/Start of packet Radios are better these days (mostly) CCA - is -65 and SOP is -85 dBm for 802.11b/g/a If you can hear it above these levels – you are sharing the spectrum
How Does Interference Impact Wi-Fi?
Separating the FUD from the Facts
Collisions - Non Wi-Fi devices do not participate in our CA mechanism – they have their own rules No respect for Wi-Fi – results in:
Corrupted packets Increased retransmissions Increased Duty Cycle Less available bandwidth
802.11 and Duty Cycle – Channel Utilization
Retransmit a packet Duty Cycle of interference is logarithmically proportionate to channel time available Busy network – less interference tolerance Less busy – might not even notice low levels of interference Bandwidth is like Money – the more you get the more you spend
RRM—Radio Resource Management
What are RRM’s objectives?
To dynamically balance the RF infrastructure and mitigate changes Monitor and maintain coverage for all clients Manage Spectrum Efficiency so as to maintain the optimal throughput under changing conditions
What RRM does not do
Substitute for a site survey Correct an incorrectly architected network Manufacture spectrum
RRM Monitors the RF Group
Continuously monitors dynamic changes in environment
Collection of statistics and metrics used by DCA, TPC, and CHDM Provides assessment of the overall “RF health” of the network
Stats/metrics include:
Noise (e.g., radar, Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens) Interference (802.11—rogue APs) Signal – (our AP’s) Load
How Does RRM Do This?
DCA—Dynamic Channel Assignment
Each AP radio gets a transmit channel assigned to it Changes in “air quality” are monitored, AP channel assignment changed when deemed appropriate (based on DCA cost function)
TPC—Transmit Power Control
Tx Power assignment based on radio to radio pathloss TPC is in charge of reducing Tx on some APs— but may also increase Tx by defaulting back to power level higher than the current Tx level
CHDM—Coverage Hole Detection and Mitigation
Detecting clients in coverage holes Deciding on Tx adjustment (typically Tx increase) on certain APs based on (in) adequacy of estimated downlink client coverage
Case Study 1 – College High Rise Dorm Channel Utilization
• 26 story dormitory • Low user count – but high channel utilization • Did an Active site survey • Customer complaint – disconnects and low throughput
Duty Cycle – and Spectrum Capacity
Duty Cycle is the on time of a given transmitter It is measured as percentage of total time available, this relates directly to channel utilization, but is only part of the story – protocol overhead is the full story 802.11 can only do essentially two things to recover in a challenging RF environment
Retransmit a Frame – Turn the radio on again to send information that has already been sent once = Increased Duty Cycle Rate shift to a slower speed that can be supported – If retries are excessive, then the link will be rate shifted to a slower speed in an attempt to gain reliability
Both of these will increase Duty Cycle and make the problem worse if it is a dense network
Each SSID requires a separate Beacon Each SSID will advertise at the minimum mandatory data rate Disabled – not available to a client Supported – available to an associated client Mandatory – Client must support in order to associate
WCS – Map View – Show Neighbors
Select any AP on the map and right click Select View RF Neighbors Table displays (1) Neighbors on the current map Table displays (2) neighbors not on the current map
Initial Measures – Before and After
Eliminated center 2.4 GHz radios – on each floor Eliminated all but 11 Mbps Enabled Client Link Enabled Band Steering
Case 2 – RF Groups
After conducting a multi floor active site survey using a 4400 and 10 x 1140 AP’s, coverage looked good at power levels 2-3. The customer then deployed 3500 series AP’s according to the plan, and RRM set the power levels to 6! What’s different about the 3500?
About RF Groups
RF Groups Are Clusters of Controllers that Share the Same RF Group Name. RF Neighborhoods Are Groups of APs that “Hear” Each Other
Wireless Controller A RF Group = <asciii string>
RF Group Controllers Elect an RF Group Leader That Analyses RF Data and Neighbor Relationships to Make More Intelligent Decisions About Optimizing the RF Environment for the System
Wireless Controller B RF Group = <ascii string>
IF APs on Different Controllers Hear Neighbor Messages from APs in the Same RF Group at –80 dBm or Greater They Will Group in an RF Neighborhood, Channel, and Power Then Compute as a Group
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RF Grouping and RF Neighborhoods
RF Neighborhood (a)
RFGroup - Bob
RF Neighborhood (b)
Multiple “RF Neighborhoods” can exist within a single RF Group RRM is calculated on a per RF neighborhood basis RF Neighborhoods can be inter-controller or intra-controller Multiple RF Neighborhoods may be formed even when controllers share same RF Group name
RF Groups/Neighborhoods Apply per PHY Type
RFGroup 1 RFGroup 1
Configuring RF Grouping
RF Group Name Is Configured From: Controller > General on the WLC GUI: Configure > Controllers > controller > System > General in WCS:
By Default the RF Network Name and Mobility Domain Name Are the Same, but This Is Default Behavior
RF Grouping
By looking at the RF neighborhoods from the network perspective, you can determine which APs are literally within the same RF domain or neighborhood. Placing like groups of APs into a separate RF group is perfectly ok, and in fact can provide much better design options
Case -3 DCA
New Building installation CU has a very high density of I-phone’s Main Architect – good RF knowledge Without RRM – channel distribution matched plan With RRM – AP’s on same channel adjacent to one another Did not trust RRM
Channel Utilization – vs. Spectrum Expert – did not match Neighbor Lists and spot check with Client card – vastly different
RRM Put Adjacent APs on the Same Channel!
Looking at the 1st floor we see two APs on the same channel At the 2nd floor, we see 3 APs The 3rd, we see 3 APs And the 4th we see 2 APs But look at the APs channels as they stack! 11 1 6 1
AP Placement
Omni Antenna’s have an Elevation pattern of a donut 12 dB attenuation between floors Customer intentionally stacked the AP’s to protect against direct exposure Had these been 1130’s – possibly a valid argument
DCA 6.0 and Beyond
CM= RSSI, Noise, Interference, signal, and a constant (threshold) An AP list ordered by CM’s in the RF Neighborhood is created worst to best Prior to release 6.0 – we solved for the worst AP CM in the RF Neighborhood 6.0 and after - DCA now operates on multiple local searches – and randomly selects CPCI (channel Plan Change Initiators) from the CPCI list and calculates optimal solutions for the CPCI and it’s first and second hop neighbors The calculation completes with the NCCF function – a goodness value for the group – indicating positive change for the CPCI and it’s immediate neighborhood
Redesigned DCA Benefits
Faster Convergence– calculations for an RF group are much faster – can complete 6 iterations in the previous time it took for one. More Granular – more flexible for the dynamic needs of an RF Neighborhood System wide View – every AP’s assignment is known and managed by a centralized resource Much better for integrating Spectrum Intelligence and makes CleanAir integration exciting.
Case 4 – Transmit Power Control
New construction Predictive site survey done for Vocera 11.b badges Predictive survey called for 25 – 30 foot spacing Power at 13 dBm power (power level 3) to cover TPC forced AP’s to power level 7 Result was coverage holes for Voice
TPC—How It Works
Assume an AP’s TX neighbors hear it at the following RSSI levels (listed in decreasing order; units are [dBm])
–45, –55, –67, –75, –78, –80
For third loudest neighbor RSSI_3rd > TPC_Threshold
TPC_Threshold = –70 dBm
TPC—How It Works
There are two main TX power scenarios that can trigger an increase
There is no third neighbor – will result in maximum power TPC Equation evaluates the recommended Tx_Ideal to be in between Tx_max and Tx_current (rather than lower than TX_current)
Power decreases take place gradually –1 power level at a time (3 dB) TPC power increases happen immediately
TPC 6.0 MR1 Algorithm Changes
Several changes to how power is calculated where made in the 6.0 MR-1 release A smoothing algorithm was added that takes into account the power levels of the next neighboring AP’s and their neighbors In situations where there is no third neighbor – the old algorithmic behavior was to default to power level 1 (no RSSI_3rd) With these changes, if there is no third neighbor TPC looks for any neighbors heard above the TPC threshold, and interrogates those neighbors that are heard above the current TPC Threshold An average of averages is factored against TPC recommended power That average is used to modify the recommendation from TPC
Facts
At static power level 3 – no clients on the network – average channel utilization was 30-40%! At power level 7- Utilization was much lower at 10% – more representative of what the unloaded network should look like Three options under current RRM –
Add more AP’s – too late Split RF group into new group Risky – live hospital borders 1 full side of the new building – separation was 6 meters Use TPC Min Max settings to raise power levels in this building Better – less risk of affecting neighboring AP’s
Use TPC Min/Max
Set TPC Min/Max to 9 dBm and 6 dBm Network settled at power level 5 Eliminated 1, 2 Mbps AP’s stayed at power level 5 Channel Utilization Dropped Voice Survey showed good coverage
Challenge
Dual-Band Clients Persistently Connect to 2.4 GHz 2.4GHz may have 802.11b/g clients causing contention 2.4GHz is prone to interference
Dual-Band Client Radio 2.4/5GHz
Solution
BandSelect Directs Clients to 5 GHz Optimizing RF usage Better usage of the higher capacity 5GHz band Frees up 2.4 GHz for single band clients
Discovery Probes Looking for AP
Higher System Capacity
Up to 27% Improvement in Channel Capacity
Channel Util of 74.2%
Channel Util of 45.2%
Faster data transmission, less retries = more efficient use of RF channel. Faster 11a/g transactions opens airtime for 11n devices, providing them improved experience
High-Resolution Interference Detection and Classification Logic Embedded into Cisco’s 802.11n Radio ASIC. Inline Operation with no CPU or Performance Impact.
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Wi-Fi and Spectrum Knowledge – Why Is Silicon Important?
A Wi-Fi chip is a communications processor – a MODEM It only knows
Energy that can be demodulated = Wi-Fi Energy that can not be demodulated = Noise
Noise is complicated –
Collisions, fragments, corruption Wi-Fi that is below sensitivity threshold of the receiver
Peaks in Wi-Fi activity can cause all of the above to occure
High Resolution Spectral Advantage
The Industry’s ONLY In-Line High-Resolution Spectrum Analyzer
Typical Wi-Fi Chipset Spectral Resolution at 5 MHz Cisco CleanAir Wi-Fi Chipset Spectral Resolution at 78 to 156 KHz
BlueTooth BlueTooth
‘Chip View Visualization’ of Microwave Oven and BlueTooth Interference
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