Best Wi-Fi Strategy for Home Automation

[dgage]

The device decides when to switch, the Fast Roaming just makes sure that handoff is fast.  This is why some people do a wifi signal analysis and reduce the power on the APs so they don't overlap (much) and so the device will switch more readily.

 

[upstatemike]

Got it. I was hoping for something that will actually drop devices that cling to a weaker signal to hasten their transition to the strongest one available. I can't really avoid overlapping coverage because the APs are positioned to ensure coverage in areas that are shaded by stone walls and chimneys. There are places where there is serious overlap due to good line-of-site with 2 APs but if either is reduced in power it will create a hole in the "hard to reach" areas that are not overlapping.
 
I think I will hold off changing the network for now and focus on issues in the clients. I have reserved IP addresses for every device to eliminate the chance of network storms from duplicate IPs but I notice there are still UPNP storms sometimes between my Sonos components. Maybe my best network improvement will come from reducing or eliminating the Sonos devices connected to it.

 

[batwater]

I have the Pro. It's priced well on Amazon.  How many square feet, how many stories is the house? I'm running 1 with our 2500 square foot home 3 stories, located on middle floor center of the home in a coat closet.  Average about 22 devices on WiFi at all times.

 

[dgage]

I have the Pro. It's priced well on Amazon.  How many square feet, how many stories is the house? I'm running 1 with our 2500 square foot home 3 stories, located on middle floor center of the home in a coat closet.  Average about 22 devices on WiFi at all times.

I have a similar size house and 3 floors but I now have 3. Do I need 3? Yes and no. If I was only worried about solid WiFi coverage, 1 of the UniFi AC Pros would be fine. But I also want strong 5 GHz coverage (faster but shorter range) and I’m also trying to cover a little of the front, side, and back yards. So I have an Inwall AC Pro on the middle floor back and a pair of AC Pros in the front left and right of the upper floor. To say I have full coverage and extremely fast speeds is an understatement. Just thought I’d share as it is a solid design worth emulating with the caveat that every situation is slightly different.

 

[JonW]

Ditto.  Similar setup running 3 AP's.  House is 2 story, ~2600 SF, steel tile roof (house is a faraday cage!).  It could easily be done with fewer units, but Ubiquiti has a 3 pack that is priced well.
 
It's pretty cool when you do a firmware "rolling update".  The UniFi software updates one AP at a time and nobody notices when it happens.  I run 2 SSID's - one for secure traffic and one for guests (but still has a password).  Guest access cannot see any devices on our network except for an Apple TV and a B/W printer that I've made an exception in the UniFi software for.  

 

[carealtor]

 The Ubiquitis also talk to each other, and will force the devices to roam back to better APs.  The management interface is excellent at showing what devices are on what AP, and what their signal strength is.

 
 

The device decides when to switch, the Fast Roaming just makes sure that handoff is fast.  This is why some people do a wifi signal analysis and reduce the power on the APs so they don't overlap (much) and so the device will switch more readily.

 
This seems to be a contradiction, no?

 

[dgage]

This seems to be a contradiction, no?

 
Could be.  I was specifically looking up Fast Roaming and could find no mention that the feature specifically included client management strategies.  However, I think I remember reading that Ubiquiti had some logic to try to force a handoff but didn't find it when I did a quick switch earlier.  I did find a few mentions of the device being heavily involved in when to switch. So my guess is there is a little of both.

 

[dgage]

I think I will hold off changing the network for now and focus on issues in the clients. I have reserved IP addresses for every device to eliminate the chance of network storms from duplicate IPs but I notice there are still UPNP storms sometimes between my Sonos components. Maybe my best network improvement will come from reducing or eliminating the Sonos devices connected to it.

 
Do you have a Sonos Bridge?  As far as I know Sonos has (or can have) it's own wireless connection between the units without having to be on your WiFi as long as you have the Bridge.  If you need a Bridge, let me know as I have an extra I've been meaning to sell on eBay but would give you a great deal on it since it isn't doing me any good. 

 

[upstatemike]

Thanks but I don't need a Bridge as several of my players are hard-wired (less than I used to have due to STP issues). You only need a Bridge if none of your players are near an Ethernet jack or if you want to run off Wi-Fi. Running in Bridge mode saves Wi-Fi bandwidth contention on my APs but otherwise does not help my network issues since the players and controllers all consume IP addresses and when they go crazy they flood the entire wired and wireless network with traffic just like any other network device that is misbehaving.

 

[dgage]

Then you might want to segment those onto their own subnet or control their broadcasting. The UniFi switch is a managed switch with VLAN and “storm control” and the UniFi 8-60w ($115) could power some of the AC Pros for your WiFi while the switch would also give better control of the network to stop Sonos from causing problems. I’d recommend posting on the Ubiquiti forum as there are many knowledgeable people that are super helpful. Explain what you’re dealing with in the Sonos system and they’ll come up with the best way to configure to address. Just an idea.

 

[fcwilt]

when they go crazy they flood the entire wired and wireless network with traffic just like any other network device that is misbehaving.

 
Sounds like you have something wrong with your STP settings.
 
I had a similar problem until I got the STP priority values right.
 
Did you turn off the radios in the Sonos boxes that are hardwired? I eventually ran cable to all of my Sonos boxes so I could reclaim channel 11 for normal WiFi use.
 
Frederick

 

[upstatemike]

Have not disabled any radios because I mostly use CR100 and CR200 controllers which need the radios on. Also since Sonos is now fading out of the picture I don't want to put any more time into hacking it. I might try a managed switch though since it could provide other benefits even after Sonos is gone.

 

[neillt]

Thanks but I don't need a Bridge as several of my players are hard-wired (less than I used to have due to STP issues). You only need a Bridge if none of your players are near an Ethernet jack or if you want to run off Wi-Fi. Running in Bridge mode saves Wi-Fi bandwidth contention on my APs but otherwise does not help my network issues since the players and controllers all consume IP addresses and when they go crazy they flood the entire wired and wireless network with traffic just like any other network device that is misbehaving.

 
This is a well known problem.  I was in Lutron training a few weeks ago and we spent a good hour just railing against Sonos creating massive network loops and crashing RadioRA and HomeWorks processors.

 

[fcwilt]

This is a well known problem.  I was in Lutron training a few weeks ago and we spent a good hour just railing against Sonos creating massive network loops and crashing RadioRA and HomeWorks processors.

 
You have to have STP enabled and properly configured. If you don't get the priority values right you will have a mess.

 

[upstatemike]

I use unmanaged switches that are known to pass STP packets OK so there is nothing to configure.