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WAC5x0 Home Network Configuration Observation/Question
Hi, I have just a general observation and am also seeking some opinions.
I run a setup in my rather large multi-story house that is probably serious overkill, but am retired and like to play around with tech, so that is what it is. I have 5 wireless access points connected to a BR500 router, mostly through some switches. The WAPs are a WAC540 in my office, and then 4 other WAC510s sprinkled throughout the house. Two in the basement at opposite ends of the house, one in the storage attic above my garage, and one in the family room.
I thought that with such a setup it would automagically run like a load-balanced network, with the devices smart enough to spread the load around rather than just go to the strongest signal. Don't get me wrong. The setup works just fine. Once in a while I will reboot the WAPs. But generally over time the one in the garage ends up with no client devices connected to it at all. I wonder why that is? There are two Nest cameras quite close to it (10 ft or so) and another device directly below it (Google Home).
Any comments, thoughts, ideas?
A side question. How would a newer WAX630 play in my environment if I wanted to swap out one of the older WAC510s?
Re: WAC5x0 Home Network Configuration Observation/Question
First, most IoT WiFi implementation are substandard, and don't support the alternate BSSID (radios on the same or on different APs). They stick to the first BSSID they can find.
Factors are the first one coming on-air, radios not depending on DFS die to regulatory requirements, APs operated over wireless links like Insight Instant Mesh. This can and will delay the available for many minutes.
Then, many deployment don't have ve the critical mass, number of WiFi clients, and especially where operated on relative low Internet bandwidth where load balance would become a factor. Trouble is when optimizing things towers load balancing, you will create more negative issues under these circumstances. Load balance can be effective where multiple AP are covering the same area for a large number of concurrent clients. All this is typically not the case on our home and Soho networks. Read the simple info available on load balance on Insight:
"Load balancing facilitates equal distribution of clients across your available access points. When an AP reaches its capacity based on number of clients or channel utilization, load balancing prevents new clients from connecting. It can prevent far away clients with low RSSI from connecting, and dissociate connected clients so they can connect to a neighboring AP."
No, it's not a traget having X + X + X + X clients.
If you try to optimize toward a small number of clients, the day all your family and friends are on a party, you will have much bigger issues.
Deploying more capable AP make only sense if you have many capable wireless clients, 6E only I you have 6E capable clients and you have an infrstructure able to handle the traffic, being towards the Internet, being eg. towards local powerful storage - applications able to use the bandwidth. Last but not least, in the hih bandwidth usage case, the switch infrastructure needs to be boosted towards 2.5G for te APs, and either 10G or LAGed 2.5G/5G trunks.
