Controllerless Networks

Hi,

We have two IAP clusters setup. One for our warehouse and one setup for our office. The warehouse and office IAPs are different models which is why we separated them.

Each IAP cluster broadcasts the same SSID and gives out the same VLANs and user roles.

When a client roams from the office cluster to the warehouse cluster and vice versa the client can experience connectivity issues.

Both clusters connect back to the same ClearPass servers and in the ClearPass logs I get a ton of EAP timeout's reported. In some cases the client can get connected after a few minutes, in other cases it can take longer for them to connect.

I do not have L3 mobility turned on (although this seems like something I may want to consider, but may not necessarily impact this scenario).

Just curious if there is anything else I should be checking for that might explain why the clients have such a hard time when moving between clusters.

Regards,

Todd

Is there overlapping coverage between the warehouse and the offices?  The APs in the warehouse could provide too much coverage to the office area, so that clients might hold onto them too long.

Which clients are having the issues?

Do you have the same channels enabled in the regulatory domains of both environments?

There are so many things that I could guess, but a warehouse is the most difficult environment next to a hospital.  There are so many possible variables...  I am not convinced that l3 roaming is your solution, really.

@cjoseph

There is a small bit of overlap in some areas. There is basically a dividing line between the office area and the warehouse area and there is definitely some overlap. But it would only be along that line where the warehouse and office area meet.

Right now, it seems all clients have issues. I did a test yesterday with my own laptop, I couldn't get connected at all when I transitioned from the Office to the Warehouse, but as soon as I moved back to the Office area my device connected without issue.

I didn't do any specific channel planning so it is possible that there is some channel overlap.

The L3 mobility doesn't sound like it will resolve the issue to me either since we have the same VLANs across both clusters.

I also agree there are a ton variables between in a warehouse. It is by far the most challenging area for us. Especially since I am still not a wireless guru like all of you

@Dustin-Burns

We are currently running IAP-325's for our office area and IAP-305's for our warehouse. They are running the same firmware version. It was recommended to use that we split the IAP's into two distinct clusters since they are two different models. Besides them being separate models, we have no other special configuration that differentiates one cluster from the other.

Are the different models not capable of running the same version of code your looking for? If they are, why did you decide to split them up based on model?