Wireless disconnects

[dpu]

I have an office that is constantly getting disconnected. We have 2 Cisco 1200 AP's with omni-directional antennas. Is there a way to find out if there are other signals that may be causing them to get bumped off?

 

[G0AOZ]

Not familiar with Cisco products, but most WiFi network software loaded on your computer gives you options to check for available networks. Even though you may not be able to connect to other WiFi networks, the software will tell what channel they are on, relevant SSID, signal strength in dBs, and if a particular signal is encrypted. I don't think the AP itself will provide any info though.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[iownroot]

A proper site survey will tell you all you need to know. There are several things that could be causing this. Interference and many other forms of RF Lan degradation. There are several tools to use to gather most of the channel, frequency, and range information of any potentially interfering wireless lans. Being able to decipher the information is another story all together. A few simple things to make note of....

Are all clients experiencing this drop off or just some. If all clients except for one or two (which might be located closest to the access point) then you are probably experiencing a specific type of interference known as "near/far". If all clients are experiencing the drops, then it's more than likely either multipath or an external source (other lans, or other RF interference sources).

Did anyone do a site survey prior to implementing this wireless solution?



CISSP,ISC2 Affiliate & Instructor, MCT, MCSE2K/2K3, MCSA, CEH, Security+, Network+, CTT+, A+

 

[dpu]

What is "near/far" interference? We had a team come out & do a site survey and we found another wireless signal but it was on a different channel. Only one location is experiencing this problem. The other location is in the same building except one floor below and they have had a solid connection with no drops. The two offices are connected with Cisco Catalyst 500 POE switches. The main T-1 is located on the second floor phone room. I ran a cross-over cable (Cat 5e) from that floor's POE switch to the POE switch above it.

 

[G0AOZ]

On the machine that has the problem, maybe that computer is seeing a stronger signal from the "unwanted" network than your own WiFi network. The software on the computer concerned ought to given you (a) the signal strength of each wireless network it sees, and (b) what channel the other network is on.

What channel are you running on, and what is the channel of the "unwanted" network? Maybe you'll need to shift channels to get more separation, or fit a directional antenna if possible.

ROGER - G0AOZ.