Okay so I built a CAPsMAN network with 3 APs all using the same configuration set (the APs are just two 2011s and a Cloud Switch), which scuttlebutt says will result in zero-handoff roaming.

It doesn't actually work, my wifi devices see one SSID and connect to it, and on CAPsMAN I can see the device is registered on the closest radio, but if I wander away from one radio into range of another, the wifi signal doesn't elegantly handover to the next AP. There's a downtime of around 15 seconds.

Is there any specific datapath settings I should mess with here or is a 15 second downtime pretty normal for this kind of thing?

firts of all

zero-handoff roaming its ubiquiti unifi functionality

not mikrotik

15 seconds its too much time to roam, the client disappears from global capsman registration table during all time?? or its registered but losses packets??

be sure you are using a a proper channel planing, using the correct power levels.

take in count roaming mostly depends on client decisions wlan design and configuration can help but results vary fron one client to another.

some times wireless ACL help to force to roam a sticky client.

I personally use a lot datarate setting to manipulate roaming behavior but with capsman you lost that function.

If CAPsMAN is not capable of zero-handoff, that's all I need to hear. Like I said, I saw elsewhere on the forums that it was capable, but if it is not, then I will just use UniFi if I want that capability.

The client remains in registration but all packets are just dropped for about 15 seconds.

If CAPsMAN is not capable of zero-handoff, that's all I need to hear. Like I said, I saw elsewhere on the forums that it was capable, but if it is not, then I will just use UniFi if I want that capability.

The client remains in registration but all packets are just dropped for about 15 seconds.

i recommend you take a walk in unifi forums about zero-handoff experiences before you buy

if client its on registration table its a networking configuration problem, not roaming itself.

There's like two boxes of UniFi APs in the office here, I'll just play with them and see what they're like.

Wouldn't mind seeing both ubiquiti and mikrotik support 802.11r in future products as a more standards based method of fast roaming. Although it needs client support as well.

Try following the guide from this page(not mine) --> https://blog.linitx.com/howto-improved- ... t-roaming/

You have to help the clients get kicked off their current AP otherwise they will try to hold onto the connection as long as possible. With the above method, the AP will send disconnects at the desired signal strength, which will trigger the client to get disconnected and find the next available AP. All of which should happen in less than a second.

You'll need to do some testing to figure out which signal strength you should kick the clients depending on how far apart or close your APs are.

Okay so I built a CAPsMAN network with 3 APs all using the same configuration set (the APs are just two 2011s and a Cloud Switch), which scuttlebutt says will result in zero-handoff roaming.

It doesn't actually work, my wifi devices see one SSID and connect to it, and on CAPsMAN I can see the device is registered on the closest radio, but if I wander away from one radio into range of another, the wifi signal doesn't elegantly handover to the next AP. There's a downtime of around 15 seconds.

Is there any specific datapath settings I should mess with here or is a 15 second downtime pretty normal for this kind of thing?

Thanks, beggar! I'll play with those settings tonight!

Meru owns that whole single channel architecture thing.

Zero-handoff is the UBNT trademark version.

Unlike Meru where all data goes through the controller. Ubnt has the APS constantly talking to each other trying to guess about when to move a device.

There is a ton of retransmit info and multicast going on. And you need to "really plan out APS". You need to space them and dial in power and rssi or its just a mess.

Once you nail it down... you can wander around on a skype call and it is damn near seamless. However... throughput SUFFERS! Also the system is not very tolerant of co channel interference.

High density causes even more issues.

Proper set up of properly spaced channels and power levels is really the standard. It's how every other wifi system works.

Once dialed in... you might get a studded in your Skype call. But roams are usually under a second.

Make sure you send the datapath via the CAPsMAN, then the ARP entry for the client will remain on the central bridge.

NIck

I would suppose the part of the roaming process that consumes the most time is re-association with the new access point and re-obtaining an IP address (even if it is the same as before). UBNT eliminates these steps by having all APs in the system present themselves as a single AP to the client. So the client does not get into the process of re-authenticating itself and re-requesting an IP address.

It is not clear to me how Mikrotik could facilitate this, but possibly a centralized (on the CAPsMAN) cache of client credentials which could reduce if not eliminate the time it takes for re-authentication, would maybe help. See: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/do ... gy-00.html

There is also the Fast Romaing Protocol, 802.11r (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11r-2008) which is an emerging standard and could be implemented.