HE Pooling and Automatic Tri-Radio

ArubaOS supports High-Efficiency (HE) dedicated radios, pooling of HE clients to HE-preferred radio, and automatic tri-radio mode.

AirMatch dedicates HE radios for ClientMatch to steer HE or 802.11ax capable clients to the dedicated radios. All 500 Series, 510 Series, 530 Series, 550 Series, 570 Series, and 570EX Series access points support HE pooling.

AirMatch supports automatic tri-radio mode, that is, two 5 GHz Gigahertz. radios and one 2.4 GHz Gigahertz. radio or the dual band Band refers to a specified range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. mode of one 5 GHz Gigahertz. radio and one 2.4 GHz Gigahertz. radio on AP-555 access point.

Dedicated radios segregate HE clients and legacy clients to leverage 802.11ax efficiency with 802.11ax clients.

HE pooling requires all 802.11ax clients to operate on the same channel or sub-band of channels for realizing the 802.11ax performance gains. However, typical deployments have a mix of both 802.11ax capable APs (both dual and tri-radio) and legacy APs. In such a mixed deployment environment, HE pooling allows 802.11ax clients to associate with 802.11ax capable APs. Additionally, the 802.11ax clients associate to the particular radio on the AP which is operating on the selected channel or sub-band of channels.

The automatic tri-radio mode option for split 5 GHz Gigahertz. tri-radio opmode decision is dynamically computed based on the network capabilities and capacity this avoiding manual intervention.

Enhancements to HE Pooling

Starting from ArubaOS 8.8.0.0, AirMatch allows efficient use of available channels by dedicating specific number of channels to HE and non-HE radios. Prior to ArubaOS 8.8.0.0, AirMatch assigned the entire band Band refers to a specified range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. of channels to HE radios. This enhancement allows efficient allocation of channels to HE and non-HE radios. A new flag, A has been introduced in following commands to indicate the radios assigned by AirMatch:

  • show airmatch debug reporting-radio
  • show airmatch debug optimization
  • show airmatch debug solver feasibility optimization

Configuring HE Pooling

The following procedure describes how to enable HE pooling:

  1. In the Managed Network node hierarchy, navigate to Configuration > System > Profiles tab.
  2. In the All Profiles list, expand the AP menu, then select AP system.
  3. Select the AP system profile you want to edit, or click + to create a new profile.
  4. Configure the profile parameters described in AP System Profile Configuration.
  5. Click Advanced.
  6. Enable HE Pooling.
  7. Click Submit.
  8. Click Pending Changes.
  9. In the Pending Changes window, select the check box and click Deploy Changes.

The following commands enable HE pooling:

(host) [mynode] (config) #airmatch profile

(host) [mynode] (AirMatch profile) #he-pooling-client-density <he-pooling-client-density>

The following commands disable HE pooling:

(host) [mynode] (config) #airmatch profile

(host) [mynode] (AirMatch profile) #he-pooling-client-density 0

The following command enables HE pooling on an AP or AP group. This is useful to include an AP or an AP group from participating in HE pooling:

(host) [md] (config) #ap system sample

(host) [md] (AP System profile "sample") #he-pooling-enable

The following command disables HE pooling on an AP or AP group. This is useful to exclude an AP or an AP group from participating in HE pooling:

(host) [md] (config) #ap system sample

(host) [md] (AP System profile "sample") #no he-pooling-enable

The following commands manage the signal thresholds for HE pooling steers. When a client moves from one radio to another, the RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator. RSSI is a mechanism by which RF energy is measured by the circuitry on a wireless NIC (0-255). The RSSI is not standard across vendors. Each vendor determines its own RSSI scale/values. at destination radio should not be significantly worse than its current association.

(host) [md] (config) #rf arm-profile sample-a

(host) [md] (Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) profile "sample-a") #cm-he-pooling-signal-delta <cm-he-pooling-signal-delta>

The following commands manage the SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio. SNR is used for comparing the level of a desired signal with the level of background noise. for HE poling steers. When a client moves from one radio to another, the SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio. SNR is used for comparing the level of a desired signal with the level of background noise. at the destination radio should be as good as its current association:

(host) [md] (config) #rf arm-profile sample-a

(host) [md] (Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) profile "sample-a") #cm-he-pooling-snr-thresh <cm-he-pooling-snr-thresh>

The following command shows the HE pooling statistics:

(host)(mynode) #show gsm lookup channel radio key radio_bssid 80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0 | include he_pool

cfg_cm_he_pool_signal_delta :: 8

cfg_cm_he_pool_snr_thresh :: 30

he_pooling_moves :: 2

he_pooling_success :: 1

The following commands show the client-preference:

(host)(mynode) #show gsm lookup channel radio key radio_bssid 80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0 | include client_pref

radio_client_preference :: 2

(host) (mynode) #show gsm lookup channel radio key radio_bssid 80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0 | include client_pref

radio_client_preference :: 1

The following command shows the HE pooling-related steer statistics:

(host)(mynode) #show gsm lookup channel sta key sta_mac_address 6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2 | include he_pool

he_pooling_moves :: 17

he_pooling_success :: 14

The following command shows the HE capability of a station in the client match state for the station:

(host) [mynode] #show ap arm client-match debug state client-mac 6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2

Mac :6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2

BSSID :80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0

ESSID :sathya-md-psk

HE Capable :Yes

AID/MU Client:3/1

dot11v/UCC active/Dualband/11v override:1/0/1/0

MBO: IE/Non pref chan cnt/CDC pres/CDC state:0/0/0/0

Client non pref channels :None specified

The following command shows the new steer type in the client match steer history:

(host) [mynode] #show ap arm client-match history

ARM Client match History

-------------------------

Time of Change Station Reason Status/Roam Time/Mode Signal(S/T/A/As) Band(S/T/A) Radio Bssid(S/T/A) AP Name(S/T/A)

-------------- ------- ------ --------------------- ---------------- ----------- ------------------ --------------

2020-01-10 02:50:01 6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2 HE-pooling Success/1/BTM-ACC -47/-47/-47/-39 5G/5G/5G 80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0/80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0/80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0 ap555/ap555/ap555

2020-01-10 02:45:00 6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2 HE-pooling No-Move/1/BTM-REJ1 -54/-54/-54/-40 5G/5G/5G 80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0/80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0/80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0 ap555/ap555/ap555

The following command shows the radio-client-preference as part of the VBR Virtual Beacon Report. VBR displays a report with the MAC address details and RSSI information of an AP. that is generated by Client Match:

(host) [mynode] #show ap virtual-beacon-report client-mac 6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2

Client MAC :6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2

HE Capable :Yes

Current association :ap555 (80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0)

-----------------

STA Beacon Report

-----------------

AP IP address Radio ESSID Signal (dBm) Last update Add time Channel/EIRP/Clients Flag

– ---------- ----- ----- ------------ ----------- -------- -------------------- ----

ap555 10.3.19.122 80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0 sathya-md-psk -50 Jan 10 03:38:13 Jan 10 02:40:49 161/18.0/1 *HD

ap555 10.3.19.122 80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0 sathya-md-psk -50 Jan 10 03:38:13 Jan 10 02:40:49 44/18.0/2 HN

ap344 10.3.19.114 c8:b5:ad:bb:7e:30 sathya-md-psk -72 Jan 10 03:38:04 Jan 10 02:42:37 157/15.0/0

ap344 10.3.19.114 c8:b5:ad:bb:7e:20 sathya-md-psk -72 Jan 10 03:38:04 Jan 10 02:42:37 44/15.0/0

ap555 10.3.19.122 80:8d:b7:80:f4:c0 sathya-md-psk -31 Jan 10 03:38:13 Jan 10 02:45:04 6/9.0/0 H

ap515 10.3.19.95 80:8d:b7:82:5a:10 sathya-md-psk -51 Jan 10 03:38:04 Jan 10 02:45:19 165/15.0/0 H

ap515 10.3.19.95 80:8d:b7:82:5a:00 sathya-md-psk -49 Jan 10 03:38:04 Jan 10 02:45:19 1/7.0/0 H

VBR Flags *- associated S-Stale U-unsupported channel H- HE radio N- non-HE preferred radio D- HE preferred radio

The following command shows the configured HE-pooling thresholds and client preference in the radio state:

(host) [mm] (config) #show ap arm client-match debug state radio-bssid 80:8d:b7:82:5a:10

BSSID :80:8d:b7:82:5a:10

Name :ap515

cm/dot11v/blist_to/lb_client_thresh:1/1/3/30

steer_backoff/lb_thresh/lb_intvl/lb_client_thresh:300/20/5/30

lb_signal_delta/lb_snr_thresh/snr_thresh/max_steer_fails:5/30/10/2

channel/actual_eirp/num_vbr_nbr/num_clients/num_clients_recalc:165/15.0/1/1/1

Is Dummy/num_mu_clients/num_mu_clients_recalc/num_he_clients/Is MZ/Is HE:0/1/1/1/0/1

MU (SNR thresh/Client thresh):30/15

HE Pooling SNR Thresh/Signal Delta/Client Preference:30/8/all

The following command shows the VBR Virtual Beacon Report. VBR displays a report with the MAC address details and RSSI information of an AP. for a client present on an AP:

(host) #show ap arm virtual-beacon-report client-mac 98:09:cf:92:41:cd

Client MAC:98:09:cf:92:41:cd

Dual band:Yes

Active Voice:No

11v BTM capable:Yes

Steer capability:Steerable

Dual network capable:No

HE Capable:No

Current Association:c8:b5:ad:bb:7e:34

Virtual Beacon Report

---------------------

AP Channel Signal (dBm) EIRP Assoc HE Client-Preference

–– ––––––– –––––– ––––– –––– ––––– –––––––––––––––––––

80:8d:b7:80:f4:b0 40 -39 15.0 Y Non-HE

80:8d:b7:80:f4:d0 161 -39 15.0 Y HE

80:8d:b7:82:5a:10 165 -42 15.0 Y All

80:8d:b7:82:5a:00 1 -29 7.0 Y All

c8:b5:ad:bb:7e:20 36 -57 15.0 Y All

c8:b5:ad:bb:7e:30 157 -57 15.0 Y All

The following command shows the Client match summary with the overall statistics for the new steer algorithm:

(host) [mynode] #show ap arm client-match summary

SM: Sticky Moves, BM: Bandsteer Moves, LM: Load Balance Moves, MU: MUsteer Moves, VoM: Voice Roam Moves, HM: HE Moves, HP: HE Pooling Moves

T: Total, S: Success

ACC: Accept, REJ#: Reject with reason #, TO: Timeout FA: False Accept

11v Move Format: (T/ACC/REJ1/REJ2/REJ3/REJ4/REJ5/REJ6/REJ7/REJ8/TO/FA)

Client Match Summary

---------------------

MAC SM (T/S) LM (T/S) BM (T/S) MU (T/S) VoM (T/S) HM (T/S) HP (T/S) Moves (T/S) Last Move (Time/Rsn/Dur)) Device Type 11v Moves

— -------- -------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- ----------- ------------------------- ----------- ---------

66:81:ca:a2:e9:bb 0/0 0/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 7/2 9/2 Jan 15 10:39:59 2020/HE-pooling/1 Linux 9/2/0/0/0/0/0/0/6/0/1/0

6c:c7:ec:f2:b5:e2 0/0 0/0 1/1 0/0 0/0 0/0 17/14 18/15 Jan 15 10:29:59 2020/HE-pooling/X Android 7/7/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

Total clients:2

Sticky (T/S):0/0 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

Load-balance (T/S):0/0 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

Band-steer (T/S):3/1 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 3/1/0/0/0/0/0/0/1/0/1/0

Voice-roam (T/S):0/0 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

MU-Steer (T/S):0/0 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

HE-steer (T/S):0/0 Deauth (T/S):0/0 11v-BTM: 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0

HE-pooling (T/S):22/16 Deauth (T/S):12/10 11v-BTM: 13/8/0/0/0/0/0/0/5/0/0/0

The following procedure describes how to view client preference:

  1. In the Managed Network node hierarchy, navigate to Dashboard > Overview > Radios.
  2. Click the Filter and select Client Preference. The Radios table shows client preference.

The following CLI Command-Line Interface. A console interface with a command line shell that allows users to execute text input as commands and convert these commands to appropriate functions. shows the per-radio statistic on clients and client-preference:

(host) [mm] #show ap arm client-match radio-summary

Radio Summary

--------------

Radio BSSID AP Name Phy Type Client-Pref Num Clients Num HE Clients

----------- ------- -------- ----------- ----------- --------------

70:3a:0e:96:60:10 AP315-Airmonitor 5GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 1 0

70:3a:0e:96:60:00 AP315-Airmonitor 2.4GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

d0:15:a6:75:69:d0 AP505H 5GHz (HE) HE-Pref 0 0

d0:15:a6:75:69:c0 AP505H 2.4GHz (HE) Allow-All 0 0

f0:5c:19:1d:ff:c0 AP203R 5GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

f0:5c:19:1d:ff:d0 AP203R 2.4GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

90:4c:81:73:82:10 AP515-new-1 5GHz (HE) Allow-All 4 3

90:4c:81:73:82:00 AP515-new-1 2.4GHz (HE) Allow-All 0 0

80:8d:b7:80:f8:c0 AP555-new 5GHz (HE) HE-Pref 8 7

80:8d:b7:80:f8:b0 AP555-new 2.4GHz (HE) Allow-All 0 0

80:8d:b7:80:f8:a0 AP555-new 5GHz (HE) Non-HE-Pref 1 0

80:8d:b7:80:b7:90 AP555-1 5GHz (HE) Non-HE-Pref 0 0

80:8d:b7:80:b7:70 AP555-1 2.4GHz (HE) Allow-All 0 0

20:a6:cd:34:bd:70 AP325-Airmonitor 5GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

20:a6:cd:34:bd:60 AP325-Airmonitor 2.4GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

90:4c:81:73:a7:20 AP515-new-2 2.4GHz (HE) Allow-All 0 0

90:4c:81:73:a7:30 AP515-new-2 5GHz (HE) Allow-All 1 0

c8:b5:ad:ba:f8:e0 AP345-new 2.4GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

c8:b5:ad:ba:f8:f0 AP345-new 5GHz (Non-HE) Allow-All 0 0

Num Active Radios:19

Num HE-Pref Radios:2

Num Non-HE-Pref Radios:2

Num Clients:15

Num HE Clients:10