Hi All

Ive been pulling my hair out on a simply install, that was just not playing ball.

So far : 23 SXT connected to 3 Access Points. SXT are running in station-wds mode and everthing was set to N only. Not using NV2

Every so often, pings would go crazy, radios freeze up. Ping would be 28000MS and the sytem would die. I spend ages going through the configs, checking for bridge loops etc.

Changed the radios to 5Ghz - A Only and everything works as it shoud. pings are now .7ms

What gives, is there a problem using N and WDS on 802.11?

There is a thread on here about WDS problems. MT has worked on it, should be fixed in the latest version, but I haven't tried it yet.

Thanks Oldman.

That thread is regarding WDS routing loops and was fixed in 5.18RC1. Im not using WDS repeating mode, which introduced those loops, simply station-wds to create 1 transparent L2 network.

Using 5.19 as well. This seems to be more a N/WDS issue

Why are you using WDS with so many connections? With WDS your bandwidth gets divided by how many WDS clients are connected. There might be a better way to achieve your goal.

WDS only divides speed by half when used as a repeater.

This type of WDS is simply transparent bridging. I think you need to use NAT or route your network.

WDS is a nice tool, but it isn't a catch all.

why not use station bridge. if ur AP is mikrotik too.

Theres no issue with the network design, all clients are pulling the required 10MB , with pings across the network no more than 0.7ms. Hotspot requires a L2 transparent bridge, which is how its set up. It needs to be a central hotspot as were providing auth for the smart tvs and apple tvs, as well as providing a log in once roaming across the site. Otherwise i'd of put the hotspot on the units in each lodge.

Using 5ghz-A network works. Switch to 5ghz-N only and randomly you see the broadcast storm resulting in pings going up to 18000ms. It then sorts itself out. No such problems with A.

I can't see how switching from A to N causes such a problem, but it does.

There is nothing in the information to suggest WDS is the issue, however it appears an unnecessary level of complication. I would be removing WDS and replace it with station bridge setup on the client SXT's.

I disagree. If he needs layer 2 transparency station WDS works better than station pseudobridge.

Try using only one channel and and only 20mhz.

I disagree. If he needs layer 2 transparency station WDS works better than station pseudobridge.

Correct - never had any success pseudobridge myself - station bridge mode however, is awesome - full L2 transparency - an excellent choice if you are using MT CPE and base station

I disagree. If he needs layer 2 transparency station WDS works better than station pseudobridge.

Thank you. Station-Bridge is recommended for those instances where station-wds does not fit. In my case , it fits.

I am using 20mhz only. Its working perfectly in 5GHZ-A now, so will leave it alone as bandwidth increased of N are not required. If also seen the occasional WDS storm in 5.19 using 2.4 Grooves and 2.41 firmware, although nowhere near as bad as pre 5.18. In my mind there is something not 100% still.

Thanks for the info vk7zms. I'll have to try it out and see.

Pseudobridge is an awesome option to have, but not perfect. I vaguely remember reading about station bridge being a part of the 802.11n standard. Is that right or is it a Mikrotik option?

I am using 20mhz only. Its working perfectly in 5GHZ-A now, so will leave it alone as bandwidth increased of N are not required. If also seen the occasional WDS storm in 5.19 using 2.4 Grooves and 2.41 firmware, although nowhere near as bad as pre 5.18. In my mind there is something not 100% still.

Pasted from Uldis slide pg 34: http://mum.mikrotik.com/presentations/P ... 012-PL.pdf

802.11n and WDS
• 802.11n frame aggregation can’t be used
together with WDS
• Max transmit speed drops from 220Mbps to
160Mbps using WDS (UDP traffic)
• Station-bridge has the same speed limitations as
Station-wds
• Avoid using WDS or use Nstreme/Nv2 wireless
protocol to overcome this limitation

Thanks Peson

Does that mean that we have to disable frame aggregation, or that it simply isn't used. I'll have a play around when I next have access to some test kit. I would of used NV2 over 802.11 , however, links don't seem to stay up that long compared to 802.11 even with clear LOS and good signal strength.

It's a good documentation with useful information.
Read it carefully, it will help you with your questions

Thanks Peson

Does that mean that we have to disable frame aggregation, or that it simply isn't used. I'll have a play around when I next have access to some test kit. I would of used NV2 over 802.11 , however, links don't seem to stay up that long compared to 802.11 even with clear LOS and good signal strength.

You need to disable the frame aggregation if you like to use WDS. But my recommendations are to change over to station-bridge mode and disable the WDS.

I have been using station bridge and Nv2 and wireless N. and PtMP and get superb through put at all sites. no latency problems no disconnects.radios stay up like forever unitl we do not reboot them.

I have been using station bridge and Nv2 and wireless N. and PtMP and get superb through put at all sites. no latency problems no disconnects.radios stay up like forever unitl we do not reboot them.

I was using 802.11, station-wds and N and it goes crazy , but settles down on 5Ghz-A. Whilst this has turned into a discussion on why station-wds over station, in my mind it should still work.

Thanks Peson

Does that mean that we have to disable frame aggregation, or that it simply isn't used. I'll have a play around when I next have access to some test kit. I would of used NV2 over 802.11 , however, links don't seem to stay up that long compared to 802.11 even with clear LOS and good signal strength.

You need to disable the frame aggregation if you like to use WDS. But my recommendations are to change over to station-bridge mode and disable the WDS.

Many thanks, I looked into this after the post from the MUM. Is it just a case of removing the tick from the AMSDU options?

Thanks Peson

Does that mean that we have to disable frame aggregation, or that it simply isn't used. I'll have a play around when I next have access to some test kit. I would of used NV2 over 802.11 , however, links don't seem to stay up that long compared to 802.11 even with clear LOS and good signal strength.

You need to disable the frame aggregation if you like to use WDS. But my recommendations are to change over to station-bridge mode and disable the WDS.

Many thanks, I looked into this after the post from the MUM. Is it just a case of removing the tick from the AMSDU options?

Hi
untick HT AMPDU Priorities 0-7