Many people glance at the Wi-Fi bars on their smartphones to get a sense of network performance. However, “full bars” only means that the device is close enough to the router to hear its radio waves loudly. The connection can still crawl if the airwaves are crowded or there’s radio interference.
However, many organizations fall into the trap of focusing on signal strength when designing a Wi-Fi network. They deploy a few high-powered access points (APs) to blast a strong signal across the entire office.
The focus should shift from maximizing individual signal strength to maximizing network capacity. The right Wi-Fi technology backed by a qualified managed services provider (MSP) can ensure the performance needed to support today’s business demands.
The Root Causes of Poor Performance
Wi-Fi is a shared medium. Only one device at a time can transmit on a specific channel. As more devices connect, they must wait longer for an opening. Similarly, co-channel interference occurs when multiple APs are configured to use the same channel. They must wait for one another to stop transmitting, shrinking the available airtime.
Many devices operate on the same 2.4GHz frequency of legacy Wi-Fi, causing radio interference. Data packets are dropped if they encounter interference or physical obstacles.
For every data packet sent, the receiving device must send back an Acknowledgement (ACK) packet. If the ACK is lost in transit, the sender assumes the data never arrived and resends it, doubling the traffic load for one transmission.
Designing the Network to Avoid Performance Problems
To overcome these issues, organizations should deploy more APs running at lower power. Instead of 100 workers crowding onto two loud APs, they are distributed across six or eight quieter APs, reducing contention.
Network designs should relegate the crowded 2.4GHz band to legacy office equipment. Critical devices should be steered to the 5GHz and 6GHz bands, which offer dozens of non-overlapping channels. Corporate networks should also use 20MHz or 40MHz channels. This increases the number of unique channels, eliminating co-channel interference as device density increases.
A corporate AP handling dozens of Wi-Fi 6 users can easily exceed 1Gbps of traffic. Connecting these APs to old 1Gbps switches creates a physical bottleneck. Modern designs require 2.5Gbps or 5Gbps switch ports with robust Power over Ethernet.
How RUCKUS Improves Performance
RUCKUS addresses performance killers through two primary innovations: BeamFlex+ (adaptive antennas) and ChannelFly (predictive channel selection).
Traditional enterprise APs use omnidirectional antennas that blast radio waves in a circle. RUCKUS APs feature a smart antenna array. Software chooses from up to 4,200 unique directional antenna patterns in real time.
BeamFlex focuses the radio signal into a tight beam, so the signal arrives stronger and cleaner. Data transfers faster, preventing the congestion that cripples standard APs. As a bonus, RUCKUS APs cover up to two times more physical area, reducing the number of APs needed for full coverage.
ChannelFly actively assesses throughput on all available channels. If a channel’s capacity dips due to a bottleneck, ChannelFly seamlessly migrates users to a higher-capacity channel without dropping active sessions.
The Power of Partnering with an MSP
An MSP with Wi-Fi expertise gives organizations access to an outsourced network engineering team. Qualified MSPs use specialized software and proven methodologies to turn the network into a high-performance asset.
To eliminate guesswork, the MSP’s team will perform RF site surveys and identify the ideal placement for each AP. They will also configure the Wi-Fi hardware to maximize performance and ensure the underlying wired network can handle the wireless capacity.
Because Wi-Fi is dynamic, the MSP’s ongoing monitoring and management is indispensable. Qualified MSPs use unified cloud platforms to monitor metrics such as time-to-connect, roaming success rates and capacity limits. They will resolve any issues before users open a help desk ticket. The MSP will also test and install new firmware and schedule rolling security updates during off-hours.
How Verteks Can Help
The Verteks team has years of experience deploying and managing Wi-Fi networks. We can help you select the right solutions and ensure the technology performs up to its technical specifications. If your team is seeing “full bars” on their phones but complaining about performance, give us a call to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
