Wireless Access

We're looking to increase our max associations across our campus on all SSIDs. The figure needs to be able to be able to cater for all environments as we have such a mixed deployment from small offices and student accommodation with 505H/505s to large public spaces and lecture theatres with 535/575s. We'd like to use a standardised figure across all APs and SSIDs. Currently it is set to 128. 256 is probably too high so between the two is 192 could be the magic number. 

There is some evidence to suggest that this needs to increase - the historical figures state that some areas such as lecture theatres/public spaces consistently have 100-150+ clients connected - mostly 5GHz (this can vary quite dramatically due to weather and in term/out of term/ exams/ open days etc.). So we need a number which is suitable for all scenarios throughout the year to avoid having to adjust the figure to suit a particular event, for example. 

Also, for clarity, the AP data sheets state the max association numbers are per radio, which seems a little bit open for interpretation? Is this the collective number per frequency band across all SSIDs or does this allow 128 max associations per radio per SSID? We broadcast 4 SSIDs (in some cases more) so this is quite important to get right. If this is a collective figure why is the max associations set within the SSID profile? 

Think of it of max clients per bssid.  The default setting is 64, which means for each SSID , you can have 64 max clients on the 2.4ghz band and 64 clients on the 5ghz band for that specific SSID.  Do by default, on each SSID, you can have 128 clients....64 for each BSSID on that SSID.

In Airwave, in the RF health report, there is a section that talks about the AP with the maximum number of clients.  Expand the 5ghz radio on that access point and see your highest number.  Go back as far a possible.  See what the maximum number of clients on the 5ghz band of your most populous SSID is.  That would be your max clients.

In auditoriums and wide open spaces, 64 gets exceeded all of the time and should be increased, but you rarely see 100 clients on a radio for a specific SSID

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Original Message:
Sent: Sep 29, 2022 05:35 AM
From: Adam Newson
Subject: Max associations

We're looking to increase our max associations across our campus on all SSIDs. The figure needs to be able to be able to cater for all environments as we have such a mixed deployment from small offices and student accommodation with 505H/505s to large public spaces and lecture theatres with 535/575s. We'd like to use a standardised figure across all APs and SSIDs. Currently it is set to 128. 256 is probably too high so between the two is 192 could be the magic number.

There is some evidence to suggest that this needs to increase - the historical figures state that some areas such as lecture theatres/public spaces consistently have 100-150+ clients connected - mostly 5GHz (this can vary quite dramatically due to weather and in term/out of term/ exams/ open days etc.). So we need a number which is suitable for all scenarios throughout the year to avoid having to adjust the figure to suit a particular event, for example.

Also, for clarity, the AP data sheets state the max association numbers are per radio, which seems a little bit open for interpretation? Is this the collective number per frequency band across all SSIDs or does this allow 128 max associations per radio per SSID? We broadcast 4 SSIDs (in some cases more) so this is quite important to get right. If this is a collective figure why is the max associations set within the SSID profile?

It is set on the SSID because you probably don't want that many clients on a single SSID. As mentioned above, the default of 64 is enough in most of the cases, and if you hit that number you should consider adding more accesspoints. That does not work in all environments, in which case you can increase the number of concurrent clients. If you have like a corporate and a guest SSID, you could keep the number of concurrent sessions relatively low on the guest to avoid that the corporate SSID is no longer accessible.

If you have 4 SSIDs or more, in those environments where you need more associations, you probably run into airtime issues. You should keep the number of SSIDs low, especially when you have many clients on a radio.

Your deployment sounds relatively complex, so it may be best to consult a WiFi expert to see why you have that many clients and if that is acceptable given the capacity and performance requirement you may have.

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Herman Robers
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If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.
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Original Message:
Sent: Sep 29, 2022 05:35 AM
From: Adam Newson
Subject: Max associations

We're looking to increase our max associations across our campus on all SSIDs. The figure needs to be able to be able to cater for all environments as we have such a mixed deployment from small offices and student accommodation with 505H/505s to large public spaces and lecture theatres with 535/575s. We'd like to use a standardised figure across all APs and SSIDs. Currently it is set to 128. 256 is probably too high so between the two is 192 could be the magic number.

There is some evidence to suggest that this needs to increase - the historical figures state that some areas such as lecture theatres/public spaces consistently have 100-150+ clients connected - mostly 5GHz (this can vary quite dramatically due to weather and in term/out of term/ exams/ open days etc.). So we need a number which is suitable for all scenarios throughout the year to avoid having to adjust the figure to suit a particular event, for example.

Also, for clarity, the AP data sheets state the max association numbers are per radio, which seems a little bit open for interpretation? Is this the collective number per frequency band across all SSIDs or does this allow 128 max associations per radio per SSID? We broadcast 4 SSIDs (in some cases more) so this is quite important to get right. If this is a collective figure why is the max associations set within the SSID profile?