best practices on migrating to 802.11ac wi-fi

Best Practices on

Migrating to 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Peter Lane

March, 2014

CONFIDENTIAL

© Copyright 2013. Aruba Networks, Inc.

All rights reserved2 #airheadsconf

Changing networks- Capacity & Bandwidth

More devices

• Average 3 devices per user

• Smartphone, tablets, laptops, ultrabooks

More applications per

device

• Average 40 apps per mobile device

• Estimates > 300 billion app downloads by 2016

More traffic

• HD mobile video, video telepresence, collaboration programs

• Tablet traffic ~ 3.4x greater than smartphone traffic

Shift in W-Fi Usage

• Pervasive, primary access

• Mission critical

• Multimedia –Voice, IPTV, older legacy media transport systems (i.e. cable TV)

3CONFIDENTIAL


All rights reserved#AirheadsConf

What type of Apps are on your network ?

• Mix of personal and corporate applications

• Design for the highest bandwidth demand that you intend to

support

• Multiply this number by the number of connections that you

need to support

Personal Apps Throughput Requirements

FaceTime 400 Kbps

AirPlay Video 1 Mbps

Netflix 1.5 or 5 Mbps*

Pandora 150 Kbps

YouTube 500 Kbps

Skype 500 Kbps

HTTP 500 Kbps

Corporate Apps Throughput Requirements

Lync Desktop Sharing 1.5 Mbps

SIP Softphone 90 Kbps

Citrix Internet + Office 150 Kbps

Webex iPad Desktop Share

250 Kbps

WebEx High Quality Video

1.5 Mbps

GoToMeeting Desktop Share

500 Kbps

Desktop Backup 10 – 50 Mbps

Printing 1 Mbps

4CONFIDENTIAL



Clients

11ac Clients– Samsung Galaxy S4 (1x1:1 11ac)

• 40 million units by late October (6 months)

– HTC One (1x1:1 11ac)• 5 million sold in first 45 days

– Moto X, Moto droid Ultra, etc.

– 2013 MacBook Air (2x2:2 11ac), iMacs and MacBook Pros

– Select Dell and Alienware laptops

– USB dongles (2x2:2 11ac)

• Look for USB 3.0

No significant impact on client battery life

5CONFIDENTIAL



802.11ac Technology Overview

Think of 11ac as an extension of 11n

• 11n specification introduced/leveraged:

• 2.4 and 5 GHz supported

• Wider channels (40 MHz)

• Better modulation (64-QAM)

• Additional streams (up to 4 streams)

• Beam forming (explicit and implicit)

• Backwards compatibility with 11a/b/g

• 11ac introduces

• 5 GHz supported

• Even wider channels (80 MHz and 160 MHz)

• Better modulation (256-QAM)

• Additional streams (up to 8)

• Beam forming (explicit)

• Backwards compatibility with 11a/b/g/n

• Refer to http://www.802-11.ac.net for in-depth information

6CONFIDENTIAL



More Spatial Streams

• Spec allows up to 8 spatial streams (4 max in 802.11n)– 8SS performance will only be possible where both devices have 8 antennas

– Space, power and cost constraints will dictate the number of streams supported by the client

• Smart phones – 1 stream

• Tablets – 2 stream

• Laptops – 2 or 3 streams

– Speed of connection is decided by the device with the lowest number of streams.

• Adding spatial streams increases throughput proportionally. – Assuming multipath conditions are favorable:

• Two streams offer double the throughput of a single stream

• Eight streams increase throughput eight-fold

7CONFIDENTIAL



Wider Channels

• 80 MHz channel widths supported in first

generation

– 80 MHz is 4.5x faster than 20 MHz

– 80 MHz is contiguous

– Per packet dynamic channel width decisions

• Future releases will allow for 160 MHz

channel widths

– 160 MHz can be either contiguous or in two non-

contiguous 80 MHz slices

8CONFIDENTIAL



802.11ac Channels (FCC)

Channel

Freq (MHz)

UNII I and UNII II

2x 80 MHz

4x 40 MHz

8x 20 MHz

Band

EdgeChannel

Freq (MHz) 5850

US UNII III

1x 80 MHz

2x 40 MHz

5x 20 MHz

Channel

Freq (MHz)

UNII II extended

3x 80 MHz

6x 40 MHz

12x 20 MHz

36 4844 5240 56 6460 Band

Edge

5180 5200 5220 5240 5260 5280 5300 5320 5350

Band

Edge

5150

149 161157153

5745 5765 5785 5805

Band

Edge

5725

165

5825

100 112108 116104 120 128124

5500 5520 5540 5560 5580 5600 5620 5640

Band

Edge

5470

136 140 Band

Edge

5680 5700 5725

132

5660

144

5720

Weather

Radar

9CONFIDENTIAL



802.11ac Channels (ETSI)

Channel

Freq (MHz)

UNII I and UNII II

2x 80 MHz

4x 40 MHz

8x 20 MHz

Channel

Freq (MHz)

UNII II extended

2x 80 MHz

5x 40 MHz

11x 20 MHz

36 4844 5240 56 6460 Band

Edge

5180 5200 5220 5240 5260 5280 5300 5320 5350

Band

Edge

5150

100 112108 116104 120 128124

5500 5520 5540 5560 5580 5600 5620 5640

Band

Edge

5470

136 140 Band

Edge

5680 5700 5725

132

5660

10CONFIDENTIAL



Channel Usage with two APs

11CONFIDENTIAL



ARM Primary channel mapping

• ARM chooses primary 80, 40 and 20 MHz

channels

• Same way as existing channels are chosen

• Show AP details will show the channels selected

• 36+ means

12CONFIDENTIAL



Max Data Rates per Client Type

Channel

bandwidth

Transmit – Receive

antennas

Typical client scenario Max individual link rate Max aggregate link

rate

40 MHz 3x3 PC 606 Mbps 606 Mbps

80 MHz 1x1 Smartphone 433 Mbps 433 Mbps

80 MHz 2x2 Tablet, PC 867 Mbps 867 Mbps

80 MHz 3x3 PC 1300 MBPS 1300 MBPS

160 MHz 1x1 Smartphone 867 Mbps 867 Mbps

160 MHz 2x2 Tablet, PC 1.73 Gbps 1.73 Gbps

160 MHz 4x Tx AP,

4 clients of 1x Rx

Multiple smartphones 867 Mbps per client 3.47 Gbps

160 MHz 8x Tx AP, 4 clients

with total of 8x Rx

Digital TV, set-top box,

tablet, PC, smartphone

867 Mbps to two 1x clients

1.73 Gbps to one 2x client

3.47 Gbps to one 4x client

6.93 Gbps

13CONFIDENTIAL



802.11ac Channel Width and Datarate

• Maximum datarates (in Mbps) for each channel

width

802.11n 1SS

802.11n 2SS

802.11n 3SS

802.11ac 1SS

802.11ac 2SS

802.11ac 3SS

20 MHz 72.2 144.4 216.7 96.3 192.6 288.9

40 MHz 150 300 450 200 400 600

80 MHz N/A N/A N/A 433.3 866.7 1,300

14CONFIDENTIAL



Coverage Example

1. Sample coverage for 3x3 11n AP (or 3x3 11ac AP with

11n clients) in HT40 mode

•Coverage area sustains MCS5 and up

360405

450

15CONFIDENTIAL



Coverage Example

2. Upgrade to 3x3 11ac AP with 11ac clients, still using

40Mhz channels (VHT40)

•Radius for 600Mbps (MCS9) area is 1/4 of that for 450Mbps (MCS7)

360405

450

540

600

16CONFIDENTIAL



Coverage Example

3. Equivalent range for clients using 80MHz channels

(VHT80)

•Rates roughly double, relative range for each of the MCS rates

does not change, but 80MHz range is ~70% of equivalent (same

MCS) 40MHz range

780878

975

1170

1300

585

17CONFIDENTIAL



Relative Range 802.11ac Rates

Datarate40MHz 80MHz

MCS0 45 97.5MCS1 90 195MCS2 135 292.5MCS3 180 390MCS4 270 585MCS5 360 780MCS6 405 877.5MCS7 450 975MCS8 540 1,170MCS9 600 1,300

Signal level and relative range-dB r

MCS0 87 63MCS1 85 50MCS2 83 40MCS3 79 25MCS4 76 18MCS5 71 10MCS6 66 5.6MCS7 63 4.0MCS8 58 2.2MCS9 51 1.0

18CONFIDENTIAL



Beamforming: Notes

• AP 22x series has 11ac beamforming support in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands

• Works with clients that support 11ac beamforming function– This is at a minimum all 11ac client devices using Broadcom chipsets

– Support will have to come to all devices to compete with Broadcom offering

• 11ac beamforming is standards based– first standard that is doing this the “right” way

– 11ac beamforming represents the consensus view of the 1000’s of contributors to the standards process

• 11ac beamforming is implemented in baseband. – It works with all antenna subsystems

– The total number of beamforming combinations is effectively infinite

• 11ac actively tracks users so has a recent channel estimate between the AP and client that is updated frequently

18

19CONFIDENTIAL



Channel state information, implicit and explicit beamforming estimation

19

Implicit feedback for beamforming (802.11n not 802.11ac)

1 (Beamformer) Send me a sounding frame

2 (Beamformee) Here’s the sounding frame

3 OK, I’ll pre-code assuming you hear me like I heard you

Request for sounding

sounding frames

Explicit feedback for beamforming (802.11n and 802.11ac)

1 (Beamformer) Here’s a sounding frame

2 (Beamformee) Here’s how I heard the sounding frame

3 Now I will pre-code to match how you heard me

sounding frames

Beamformed frames

feedback from sounding

Implicit and explicit feedback for beamforming

Beamformer BeamformeeBeamformeeBeamformer

Beamformed framesActual

CSI

Implied

CSI

20CONFIDENTIAL



Limits

• If the number of scatterers increases do the

degrees of freedom continue to increase?

• The simple answer is no.

• In order to be effective the system has to be able

to resolve the various paths

• As the angle between paths decreases the ability

to resolve them also decreases

• Also, paths with large power differences will not

contribute to the system performance

20

21CONFIDENTIAL



AP Throughput > 1Gbps

• “How fast can I go?”

– Simple question with very complicated answer

– Depends on many factors

• Device type

• Distance

• Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)

• Access Point configuration

• Channel width

• Number of Spatial Streams

• Short/long guard intervals

• Link aggregation

– Your mileage WILL vary

22CONFIDENTIAL



Pros and Cons of 802.11ac

• Pros1. APs can accommodate more users/devices

• Increased capacity

2. Standards based Explicit Beam-forming increases SNR

• Higher data rates over longer distances

3. 256-QAM

• Increased throughput at high SNRs

• Improved modulation and coding techniques

4. Multi-User MIMO (future generations)

• Improved utilization of RF capacity

5. Use of 5 GHz spectrum

• More non-overlapping channels

• Quieter RF environment

23CONFIDENTIAL



Pros and Cons of 802.11ac

• Caveats

1. Hardware update required to support 802.11ac

• Some features will not be available on legacy devices

2. Increased product cost• Small premium for 3x performance

• Prices will come down

3. Supporting 802.11ac will result in increased load on the

infrastructure

4. AP-225 requires 802.3at (PoE+) for full functionality &

performance

• However, no restrictions on 11ac radio with 802.3af POE

• USB disabled, second Ethernet port disabled, 2.4GHz radio in

1x3:1SS mode

24CONFIDENTIAL



Wave 2 of 11ac

• What will wave 2 802.11ac deliver?

• MU-MIMO

• Use AP MIMO resources more effectively

• Transmit data to multiple devices simultaneously:

for example 4SS AP streaming data to four 1SS

clients simultaneously

• 4x4:4SS

• Benefit of additional stream mostly for MU-MIMO

• Not anticipating any 4x4:4SS client devices

• Adds 33% to max datarate

• VHT160

• Doubles max datarate

• Practical problem: only 2 VHT160 channels

available in entire 5GHz band

• Max 5GHz radio throughput triples again!

• 450 (11n 3x3 HT40), 1,300 (11ac 3x3 VHT80), 3,467

25CONFIDENTIAL



11ad and what it means

• 60GHz band, three channels in most countries (each

2.16GHz wide), each providing up to 6.8Gbps PHY

datarate

• No MIMO

• Challenges: Non-Line of Sight (NLOS)

connections, range, penetrating obstacles (and people)

• Targeted to clean up a cluttered desk or TV cabinet

• Likely not appropriate for traditional AP use. But can be

interesting for related applications like wireless

docking, high-capacity WLAN hotspots, AP

backhaul/aggregation, etc.

• It is being investigated (but no product plans as of yet)

• Standard is available, certification program in place

• Wi-Fi Alliance WiGig Alliance

26CONFIDENTIAL



AP Platforms not supported in 6.4

• In AOS 6.4, support for the following AP platforms will be

removed:

– Legacy (a/b/g): AP-60/61, AP-65/65WB, AP-70, AP-85, RAP-2WG

– First gen 11n: RAP-5WN

– Other: RAP-5 (wired)

• Note that all of these platforms are EOS now:

– AP-60/61, AP-65, AP-70: 6/1/2011

– AP-120/121, RAP-5: 2/1/2012

– AP-85: 5/1/2012

– AP-65WB: 10/1/2012

– AP-124/125: 8/1/2013

– RAP-2WG, RAP-5WN: 11/1/2013

• This implies that AOS 6.3 will be around at least until 11/1/2018

• AP 12x will be supported in AOS 6.4

27CONFIDENTIAL



MacBook Pro 3SS NIC

28CONFIDENTIAL



Samsung Galaxy S4

29CONFIDENTIAL



Indoor Campus APs

30CONFIDENTIAL



Rate vs Range: AP-225 vsAP135

• AP-225 11n performance is considerably better than AP-135 -> up

to 5.35x

• AP-225 TCP down throughput @ 120ft 128Mbps

23%

23%

40%

5.35x

43% 39%

56%

3.32x

31CONFIDENTIAL



AP-114/115: 3 stream 11n AP

• Enterprise class baseline 3x3 802.11n

– Physical Design: similar to AP-224/225 (but smaller)

– Reuse AP-130, AP-220, RAP100 mount accessories

• Two platform models:

– AP-114: external antennas (3x, dual band diplexed)

– AP-115: integrated antennas (6x)

• Advanced Cellular Coexistence (ACC) support

• Dual radio 802.11n 3x3:3 (450Mbps)

– SDM, CSD, STBC, MRC, LDPC support

• Wired interfaces

– Network: 1x 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet (no MACSec)

– USB 2.0 host interface, console port, DC power

• Power: 12Vdc or 802.3af/at POE, 12.5W max (excluding USB)

• Enterprise temperature range, plenum rated, TPM

32CONFIDENTIAL



AP-224/225 802.11ac 3x3 AP

• Enterprise class 3x3 802.11ac

• Aggregate TCP platform throughput performance >1Gbps

• Two platform models:

– AP-224: external antennas (3x, dual band)

– AP-225: integrated antennas

– “Advanced Cellular Coexistence” support

• Dual radio:

– 802.11n 3x3:3 HT40 2.4GHz(450Mbps), support for “TurboQAM”

– 802.11ac 3x3:3 HT80 5GHz (1.3Gbps)

– 11ac beamforming supported in both bands

• Wired interfaces

– Network: 2x 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet, with MACSec support

– USB 2.0 host interface, console port, DC power

• Will require 802.3at PoE (or DC power) for full functional operation

– Functional, but capabilities reduced when powered from 802.3af POE

• Enterprise temperature range, plenum rated, TPM

$1,295 U.S. List

33CONFIDENTIAL



11ac Controller Support

Performance

Sc

ale

CAMPUS

LARGE OFFICE

320032 CAP/128 RAP

2K Users

3 Gbps Firewall

340064 CAP/256 RAP

4KUsers

4 Gbps Firewall

3600128CAP/512 RAP

8K Users

4 Gbps Firewall

7210512 CAP/512 RAP

16K Users

20 Gbps Firewall

M3512 CAP/1024 RAP

8K Users

20 Gbps Firewall

72201024 CAP/1024 RAP

24K Users

40 Gbps Firewall

72402048 CAP/2048 RAP

32K Users

40 Gbps Firewall

34CONFIDENTIAL



7200 Series Controller: Front and Rear Views

7200 Front View

7200 Rear View

Capacity • 7210/7220/7240

• 512/1024/2048 APs

• 16K/24K/32K users

Interfaces• 4x 10G SFP+

• 2x Dual personality ports

10/100/1000Base-T (RJ-45) or

1000Base-X (SFP)

Modular Components• Power Supply

• Fan Tray

• Expansion Slot

Management• Console RS-232 (RJ-45) or usb

• LCD Display

4x 10GBaseX

(SFP+) PortsExpansion Slot for DPI

LCD

Display

usb

Field-Replaceable

Fan Tray

Hot-Swappable, Load-Sharing,

Redundant Power Supplies

dual personality

ports (RJ-45 or SFP)

I/O, HA, MGMT

Console

RJ-45 or usb

Coverage for 6.5M sq ft, equivalent to the area of the Pentagon, the office space of 3 Empire State

Buildings or 60 Home Depots. Capacity to stream NetFlix for every student in a large university.

35CONFIDENTIAL



Customer scale points

• Large Software company

– 20,000 APs

– 55,000 users

– Never exceeded 12 gbps combined throughput

• Medium Sized US University

– 2,000 APs

– 12,500 Students

– Never exceeded 6 gbps combined throughput

36CONFIDENTIAL



AP Uplink Considerations

• Assess the environment: Brownfield vs. Greenfield

• 2 x Ethernet/LAG cables is NOT a requirement for wave 1 11ac

• For a Greenfield environment (new building), laying out 2 x Ethernet cables makes it future proof

• For a Brownfield environment (an existing site with 1 x Ethernet cable), you don’t loose anything

• TODAY – 2 x Ethernet cables are used by a few customers• salt and pepper designs – PoE

redundancy

37CONFIDENTIAL



PoE Considerations

802.3af 802.3at

2.4 GHz radio 1x3:1 3x3:3

5 GHz radio 3x3:3 3x3:3

Ethernet ports 1 2

USB Disabled Enabled

• af vs. at: What do you get vs. loose• Customers who do not have at; why is it not a big problem

• Most 2.4 GHz only devices are single stream• 2.4 GHz has limited throughput already due to 20 MHz

channels• Competitors don’t have a USB port to begin with• 2nd Ethernet port isn’t that important. And competitors can’t

have it both ways. It can’t be important when its not powered and unimportant when it is.

• Advanced filtering requires a little more power

38CONFIDENTIAL



AP Replacement Considerations

• If the existing 802.11n network was designed for capacity then 1-for-1 AP replacement with 802.11ac AP is viable.• Capacity = APs that are 2500 sq.ft apart

• If the existing network is designed for supporting• 802.11 a/b/g• Or a coverage only 802.11 n

• Redesign will be required

• Redesigning might includes a combination of both physical and virtual survey.• Depending on the environment

39CONFIDENTIAL



AP Forwarding Mode Considerations

• Tunnel mode is the preferred forwarding mode

• For high performance using tunnel mode – enable Jumbo frames to support the increased AMSDU• Expect a 10 – 15 % drop in

performance when jumbo frame is not enabled (800 vs. 600 Mbps)

• D-Tunnel mode can be used to achieve high performance (equivalent of tunnel mode + jumbo frames• NOTE: D-tunnel mode also

takes a minor hit after 50 clients per radio

40CONFIDENTIAL



11n + 11ac co-existence & Channel Considerations

• 11n + 11ac = No problem

• Assuming HD deployments (APs are 15 meters apart)

• 80 Mhz – Technology Demonstration and greenfield 802.11ac ONLY• 40 Mhz – 802.11n compatibility modes to avoid client driver issues • 20 Mhz - 802.11a and 802.11n NON-DFS environments

• Assuming Ultra HD deployments (APs less than 15 meters apart): Use one of

the following• Consider using 20 MHz channels to get more re-use• Tx power considerations, and use of CSR (available 6.3.1.3) should be

considered to avoid CCI• Use of DFS as appropriate

41CONFIDENTIAL



Transmit Power Considerations

• Assess the environment• How much are my AP’s able to hear each other?

• Modern offices like Facebook, square, twitter etc. (hoteling environments) – a lot• Traditional offices like MSFT (lots of offices) and K12 classrooms – Not as much• Universities there is a mixture of both – Variable

• How much is “too much”• If the Rx channel busy is > 30% during slow time• It is due to ACI and CCI• This has a direct impact on performance; worsens during peak hours

• What is the solution – Tx power on AP’s, high data rates on clients and low ACI/CCI• Guidance

• For modern offices• Min EIRP – 9 dBm; Max EIRP – 12 dBm

• For Traditional offices• Default (Min EIRP – 9 dBm; Max EIRP – Max)

• For environments that are a mix• Default (Min EIRP – 9 dBm; Max EIRP – Max)

• Set 802.11a basic and beacon rate to 24 Mbps; 802.11g basic & beacon rate to 12 Mbps to avoid CCI/ACI and increased channel utilization

42CONFIDENTIAL



Profile level Configuration Cheatsheet

Profile Configuration Summary

RF Management Profile Power:

Min – 9, Max – 12 for modern offices

Min – 9, Max – max for traditional offices

Min – 9, Max – max for mixed environment

Measure Rx channel busy during slow time in all cases

Channel

Use 40 MHz (when mixing 11n and 11ac)

use 80 MHz (greenfield 11ac environment) (case by case:

DFS needs to be enabled for re-use)

Use 20 MHz channels for APs closer than 30 feet (for ultra

HD deployments

Use CSR - set to 25 or 30 (if running 6.3.1.3)

43CONFIDENTIAL



Profile level Configuration Recommendations

Profile Configuration Summary

SSID Profile 802.11a basic & beacon rate- 24 Mbps

802.11g basic & beacon rate – 12 Mbps

HT-SSID Profile Default settings

VHT Profile Default settings

44CONFIDENTIAL



Configuration recommendations for bake-offs

• AOS 6.3.1.2 build 41701. This is a technology release

• Use D-Tunnel forwarding mode.

• Try to use Cisco Switch in the set up. Use 1G uplink in case Aruba switch is used. 10G has caused problems.

• Enable end-to-end jumbo frame support.

• Use 20 Chariot end point pairs for single client, 4 pairs for multi-client test case.

• Use high performance TCP script with 1MB file size for TCP tests.

• For small packet test, use UDP script and modify the send/receive buffer size and data rate according to test case.

• Use Max EIRP for during our test. Adjust power levels as necessary for maximum PHY rates.

• Set AMSDU to 3 for BE,BK and VI under Ht-SSID Profile.

• Set ARM WIDS override to Dynamic

For more information seehttps://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/AP_225_vs_Cisco_3702i_Performance_Results_and_Bake-off_Recommendations

https://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/AP_225_vs_Cisco_3702i_Performance_Results_and_Bake-off_Recommendations



45CONFIDENTIAL




!

rf arm-profile "arm-disable"

assignment disable

min-tx-power 127

!

rf dot11a-radio-profile "custom-a"

channel 100E

tx-power 127

spectrum-monitoring

disable-arm-wids-functions Dynamic

arm-profile "arm-disable"

!

rf dot11g-radio-profile "custom-g"

channel 11

spectrum-monitoring

disable-arm-wids-functions Dynamic

arm-profile "arm-disable"

! For more information seehttps://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/AP_225_vs_Cisco_3702i_Performance_Results_and_Bake-off_Recommendations




46CONFIDENTIAL




wlan ht-ssid-profile "ArubaShowcase-AS-htssid_prof"

temporal-diversity

max-tx-a-msdu-count-be 3

max-tx-a-msdu-count-bk 3

max-tx-a-msdu-count-vi 3

!

wlan ssid-profile "ArubaShowcase-AS-ssid_prof"

essid "ArubaShowcase-AS"

opmode wpa2-psk-aes

max-clients 150

wmm

wmm-vo-dscp "56"

wmm-vi-dscp "40"

wmm-be-dscp "24"

wmm-bk-dscp "8"

wpa-passphrase xxxxxxxxxxxxx

mcast-rate-opt

ht-ssid-profile "ArubaShowcase-AS-htssid_prof"

!For more information seehttps://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/AP_225_vs_Cisco_3702i_Performance_Results_and_Bake-off_Recommendations




47CONFIDENTIAL




!

wlan virtual-ap "ArubaShowcase-AS-vap_prof"

aaa-profile "ArubaShowcase-AS-aaa_prof"

ssid-profile "ArubaShowcase-AS-ssid_prof"

vlan 881

forward-mode decrypt-tunnel

band-steering

dynamic-mcast-optimization

dynamic-mcast-optimization-thresh 100

!

ap-group "ArubaShowcase-AS"

virtual-ap "ArubaShowcase-AS-vap_prof"

virtual-ap "MBP-AS-vap_prof"

dot11a-radio-profile "custom-a"

dot11g-radio-profile "custom-g"

ap-system-profile "apsys_prof-iiu58"

! For more information seehttps://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/AP_225_vs_Cisco_3702i_Performance_Results_and_Bake-off_Recommendations




48CONFIDENTIAL



Resources

• Evaluating a Config template on ASE for 11ac

• 11ac deployment guidelines on Arubapedia

• Click here

• Other specific guidance

• Early 11ac swat team

• Email [email protected]

https://arubapedia.arubanetworks.com/arubapedia/index.php/802.11ac_Deployment_Guidelines

mailto:[email protected]



49CONFIDENTIAL



General

• “Can I simply do a 1:1 replacement

of all my existing Access Points?”

– It depends on a number of factors

• Original AP density/RF environmental challenges

• Types of applications currently running – or

expected to be running – over the existing

network

• Existing network infrastructure

• i.e. Gigabit uplinks

• 802.11at port availability

50CONFIDENTIAL



Capacity Planning

• Plan on a minimum of 3 devices per person

– IP phone, tablet, laptop

– Consider number of VLANs and subnets based on these

increased amounts of devices

– Consider how many of these devices will be active on the

network concurrently

• Plan on ~50 active devices per AP

• 802.11at on all edge switches

• Review existing controllers to ensure adequate

performance

• All Aruba controllers running version 6.3 of ArubaOS will support

802.11ac, however network performance will vary depending on

increased throughput resulting from higher 802.11ac speeds

(don’t expect much out of the 6x0)

51CONFIDENTIAL



The Planning Process

• Perform an initial environment evaluation:

– Is there an existing wireless network?

• Is it capacity or coverage based?

– What types of client devices will be used?

– What applications will be deployed?

• Select the proper APs and antennas for the

deployment:

– Internal

• Ceiling mount

• Standard option

– External

• Wall mount

• Unique coverage pattern needed (aisles in a warehouse)

• Outdoor coverage

52CONFIDENTIAL



The Planning Process

• VisualRF Plan (Virtual site survey):

– VisualRF Plan is the Aruba pre-deployment site planning

tool.

– Covers most standard deployments

– Outdoor, warehouse, non-standard environments may need

extra work

• Physical site surveys:

– Best way to characterize the RF propagation of a given

facility

– Time consuming

– Costly

53CONFIDENTIAL



RF Planning recommendations

• Consider using 80 MHz channels in a 5-channel

plan

– ARM will manage primary 20 and 40 MHz channel selections

– Will require use of 3 DFS channels

• All 11n Tx power recommendations continue

2

1

3

4

5

2

1

3

4

5

2

1

3

4

5

54CONFIDENTIAL



Antenna Gain: 5 dBi

2G: 3x3:3 11ac (2.4 GHz)

5G: 3x3:3 11ac (5.15 to 5.875 GHz)

11ac Beamforming

Conducted Tx Power

2G: 23 dBm per branch (27.7

aggregate)

MAX EIRP = 36 dBm

5G: 23 dBm per branch (27.7

aggregate)

MAX EIRP = 36 dBm

Power Interface: AC and 802.3at (PoE+)

Power Consumption: 23 W

WAN + LAN Port

Advanced Cellular Coexistence

IP66 and IP67

-40° to +65°CNo Heater. Start and operate.

AP-270 Series

54

55CONFIDENTIAL



Advanced Cellular Coexistence

• Proliferation of DAS and new LTE bands at 2.6

GHz are creating issue for Wi-Fi solution

• All new APs introduced by Aruba in the last 12

months and going forward have implemented

significant filtering into the 2.4 GHz radio portion

to combat this

• Design solution

– Use high-linear LNA followed with a high-rejection filter to achieve rejection

target and little sensitivity degradation;

– Design target: Minimal Sensitivity degradation with -10dBm interference from

3G/4G networks (theoretical analysis).

56CONFIDENTIAL



Interfaces

• Interfaces Designed for easier field installation

PoE-In; WAN Port LAN Port AC Port

Console/Reset

Ground

57CONFIDENTIAL



• Unit does not look like radio

• Omni antennas are fully integrated in the chassis

• Resembles video cameras and light fixtures

• Multiple Bracket Options

AP-275: Campus Access / Outdoor Retail

57

8.5”

58CONFIDENTIAL



Hanging bracket

58

59CONFIDENTIAL



Reduced install time

59

• Brackets are designed to be

• Strapped onto poles

• Lagged into wall

• Once bracket is in place unit slides in and is held with 2 screws.

Slide Chassis into Bracket

Lock in Place

60CONFIDENTIAL



Mechanical Solution – Ease for manufacturing

AC power

module

PCBA

61CONFIDENTIAL



175 versus 27x

62CONFIDENTIAL



Super High-density PCBA

• Super High-density Thermal design

190m

m

124mm

Surge protection

for outdoor

deployment

Surge protection

for outdoor

deployment

For thermal design

For EMC design

For EMC design

WiFi chipsets Six PAs

CPU & DDR2

PoE Circuits

Top view Bottom view

Ethernet PYHs

63CONFIDENTIAL



Antenna Subsystem Prototype

64CONFIDENTIAL



Why a purpose built 11ac AP

• Can spread out the antennas

– Required for optimal MIMO operation

• No redundant hardware

– No disabled radios or radios talking over each other

• Optimize Power Consumption

• Bring the latest processor to bear

– 11ac data plane requirements will overwhelm older

processors

64

65CONFIDENTIAL



Cisco vs Aruba test results

• Onsite customer bakeoff results

• Tests run by Aruba

• Cisco config set by Cisco

• AOS 6.3.1.2-AcPerf vs Cisco 7.6.100.0

• AOS config info

• D-tunnel

• AMSDU 3

• ARM/WIDS Dynamic

• Static Channel

• Hybrid Spectrum enabled

• All tests run in Charriot

• 1500 byte packets unless otherwise specified

66CONFIDENTIAL



Single-Client TCP Peak Performance

(1 x 3SS MacBook Pro)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

DOWNSTREAM UPSTREAM BI-DIRECTIONAL

828

609 596600

502522

Aruba AP-225 Cisco AP-3700

67CONFIDENTIAL



Multi-Client TCP Performance(20 x 2SS MacBook Air, 1500-Byte)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450


378 384

415

335314

299


68CONFIDENTIAL



Small Packet Multi-Client Performance

(20 x 2SS MacBook Air, Downstream UDP)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

256-BYTE 512-BYTE

159

312

37

109


69CONFIDENTIAL



Multi-Client Performance with Interference

(20 x 2SS MacBook Air, 15% duty cycle)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400


316326

384

276259 258


70CONFIDENTIAL



Always use the latest firmware

495 493

107

400 400

100

450440

98

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

6.3.1.2 No Spectrum 6.3.1.2 Spectrum 6.3.0.1

TCP Up TCP Down TCP Bi

71CONFIDENTIAL



HW: AP225 vs Cisco 3600 + 11ac Module

• AP-225 has 60% more processing capacity -> Higher throughput

– Cisco AP 3600 has dual-core CPU that can be run @ 500MHz with 2 cores or @ 800 Mhz using just one core -> only one core used today @800MHz

– Aruba AP-225 has dual core CPU @ 800 MHz

• AP-225 has 100% more RAM -> Room for future features

– Aruba AP-225 has 512MB or RAM, Cisco AP 3600 only 256MB

• AP-225 has better antenna design than Cisco 11ac module -> Better range with AP-225

• Cisco 11ac module can support only max 50 clients

• Cisco 3600 has only 1GE port

72CONFIDENTIAL



ClientMatch™ Enables 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Match to

another AP

DEVICE TYPE INTERFERENCELOCATION CONGESTION

REAL-TIME RF CORRELATION

Enables use of

802.11ac Wi-Fi rates

98% of mobile devices

with higher signal quality

94% better performance

for “sticky” clients

No client-side software

required

Patent:

8,401,554

73CONFIDENTIAL



ClientMatch for Link & Traffic Optimization (L2-3)

74CONFIDENTIAL



RF Performance Aruba OS Dashboard

75CONFIDENTIAL



AOS 6.3 RF support

* ClientMatch will override Band Steering,

Spectrum load balancing, and Station handoff .

a/b/g only 11n 11ac (AP-225)

ClientMatch No impact Supported Supported

Band steering Supported Supported* No impact

Spectrum load

balancing

Supported Supported* No impact

Station handoff

assist

Supported Supported* No impact

All settings will be visible at all times. They will only affect some APs though.

76CONFIDENTIAL



88% Higher Network Performance with ClientMatch

218.3

147.4

218.2

116

0

50

100

150

200

250

Aruba Cisco

Syst

em

Agg

Thro

ugh

pu

t

System Throughput in a Static vs. Mobile Environment

Static Environment

Mobile Environment

Aruba Vendor X

• Aruba has no change in total system performance• Vendor X has a 21% drop due to sticky clients• Better per-AP throughput for Aruba across the board

88%

77CONFIDENTIAL



Sticky client impact on the network

• Simple example

– 1 user connecting at 6 Mbps and 9 users at 130 Mbps

– If they each download a 10 MB (80 Mb) file

• 6 Mbps is ~5 Mbps useful

• 6 Mbps connection takes 16 seconds

• 130 Mbps is 85 Mbps useful

• 130 Mbps takes 0.94 seconds

– So 16 + 9*0.94 = 24.5 seconds for 800 Mb ~32.5 Mbps

versus 85 Mbps for all users connecting at 130 Mbps.

• This is exacerbated in built out networks as one

slow user will affect all APs and clients that can

hear it

78CONFIDENTIAL



CLI Commands

(Aruba3200) #show rf arm-profile default | include Client

Client Aware Enabled

Client Match Enabled

Client Match report interval (sec) 30

Allows Client Match to automatically clear unsteerable clients after ageout Enabled

Client Match Unsteerable Client Ageout Interval 2 0

Client Match Sticky Client Check Interval (sec) 3

Client Match Sticky client check SNR (dB) 25

Client Match SNR threshold(dB) 10

Client Match Sticky Min Signal 70

Client Match Restriction timeout (sec) 10

Client Match Load Balancing threshold (%) 20

Client Match VBR Stale Entry Age (sec) 120

Client Match Max steer failures 3

Client Match Load Balancing client threshold 10

Client Match Load Balancing SNR threshold (dB) 30

79CONFIDENTIAL



Tunnel vs D-tunnel

• Jumbo frame

• AMSDU

• High client count performance

• Max throughput , low client best in D-tunnel

• Max throughput, high client count, best in tunnel

80CONFIDENTIAL



Preparing your wired network for .11ac

• Ensure minimum 1 Gbps uplink ports for the APs

• Ensure 10 Gbps uplink from edge switches to

core

– One 11ac AP can max out a 1 Gbps uplink on a switch

• Ensure uplink ports support 802.3at (PoE+)

– 802.3af can be used, but performance will be reduced