Latency Spikes

[rudidxc]

Hi,

I’ve got a hAP AC Lite acting as an AP for my home. I recently moved my computer and connected it to a wAP in station mode as a means to connect wirelessly. I have strange spikes in latency and I haven’t been able to figure it out. There is clear line of sight between the 2 AP’s, distance is around 6 meters. The spikes will be anything from 30-1000ms. It doesn’t last long but it’s enough to ruin online gaming.

Config:

HAP AC:
/interface wireless
set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] antenna-gain=0 band=2ghz-b/g/n country=“south africa” disabled=no frequency-mode=manual-txpower mode=ap-bridge name=wlan1-2ghz ssid=Umshaliwa wireless-protocol=802.11

WAP:
/interface wireless
set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] antenna-gain=0 band=2ghz-b/g/n country=“south africa” disabled=no frequency=auto frequency-mode=manual-txpower installation=indoor security-profile=Umshaliwa ssid=Umshaliwa wireless-protocol=802.11 wps-mode=disabled

I’ve tried playing around with the band as well as frequency and wireless-protocol. Not sure what else to change. Both are running 6.47.

Please see attached. 172.31.99.1 is the hAP. Throughput is also quite low, I’ve got a 100mbps link but only getting around 20 down and 40 up. But that’s not the biggest concern, the concern is around latency spikes. I have around 5-6 devices connected at any one time.

Any ideas?

[santyx32]

It’s normal with 2.4GHz

[maigonis]

Sounds like RF interfierence for me. Scan for clean channel as sef it fixed

[rudidxc]

It’s normal with 2.4GHz

It’s ruining online gaming completely. Every one of those spikes cause huge lag for 1-2 seconds. Are we saying that as long as you run 2.4GHz you won’t be able to play online games?

Sounds like RF interfierence for me. Scan for clean channel as sef it fixed

I’ve tried that. Currently have both antennas set to 2427 to try and mitigate the problem. Is that the correct way of doing it? Or should I set the hAP to a frequency and the WAP to another?

[Cha0s]

If you need fixed/stable latency then you must use an ethernet cable to connect.
Using WiFi, especially in 2.4GHz, you will always have jitter.

[maigonis]

It’s normal with 2.4GHz

It’s ruining online gaming completely. Every one of those spikes cause huge lag for 1-2 seconds. Are we saying that as long as you run 2.4GHz you won’t be able to play online games?

Sounds like RF interfierence for me. Scan for clean channel as sef it fixed

I’ve tried that. Currently have both antennas set to 2427 to try and mitigate the problem. Is that the correct way of doing it? Or should I set the hAP to a frequency and the WAP to another? Untitled.png

You can have rf issues in your environment, for 2.4ghz it is quite common. Your selected channel seems to be the cleanest.

You have connected hap to wap wirelessly and conneted pc to wap whit wire?

Try to connect other device to hap directly, like phone or laptop and test latency. Do other device have ping spike issues?

[mkx]

Sounds like RF interfierence for me. Scan for clean channel as sef it fixed

I’ve tried that. Currently have both antennas set to 2427 to try and mitigate the problem.

The table you posted is nice, but when looking at it one has to be aware of the overlap problem. I’m sure you’re aware that channels in 2.4GHz WiFi overlap. You’re using channel #4 which (more or less) overlaps with all channels between 1 and 8 …
There’s nice wikipedia article on wlan channels with a nice graphics of frequency band occupation per channel.

[maigonis]

Sounds like RF interfierence for me. Scan for clean channel as sef it fixed

I’ve tried that. Currently have both antennas set to 2427 to try and mitigate the problem.

The table you posted is nice, but when looking at it one has to be aware of the overlap problem. I’m sure you’re aware that channels in 2.4GHz WiFi overlap. You’re using channel #4 which (more or less) overlaps with all channels between 1 and 8 …
There’s nice wikipedia article on wlan channels with a nice graphics of frequency band occupation per channel.

How did I forgot that important thing?

Yes, on 2.4 usable channels are only 1,6,11, 20mhz wide, other channels will overlap.

[mkx]

Yes, on 2.4 usable channels are only 1,6,11, 20mhz wide, other channels will overlap.

Actually when using 802.11g or newer (g, n or ac) where OFDM is used, one gets 4 almost[*] non-overlapping channels: 1, 5, 9 and 13 … but only outside North America. But then the “commandment of God” about channel selection (1,6,11) prevents (and will keep on preventing) better spectrum usage with contemporary wireless technologies.

[*] nominally these channels do overlap, but they only overlap in the guard-band parts, hence effect of overlapping should be almost neglectable with all decent WiFi devices.