David Arnstein <arnstein@panix.com> wrote:

> I have used two different wireless routers that offer to choose the
> 80211.g wireless channel automatically: a Sonicwall TZ-150 and a Buffalo
> Tech WHR-HP-G54.
>
> I am troubleshooting problems with other devices, so I would like to
> know how this feature works. It might be giving me trouble.
>
> In particular, suppose that the router decides to move to a different
> channel. Is there an industry standard protocol for "telling" all the
> client devices to move to the new channel? Or does the router just begin
> using the new channel, and wait for the clients to error out and
> reassociate/reauthorize on the new channel? How disruptive is the channel
> changing process? I am streaming video over my wireless network, so I
> care about disruptions.
>
> My particular network is going to move to an "all Buffalo Tech"
> configuration, so if this vendor has a proprietary protocol, I'd be
> interested in learning about it. I would still like to understand the
> general case though (self-education and all that).
>
> Thanks in advance for any pointers.

The 802.11 terms are Dynamic Channel Selection (DCS) and Dynamic
Frequency Selection (DFS).