cisco 350 devices not assoicating

#1 (**permalink**) 03-07-2007, 01:31 PM

hi alt.intenet.wireless

Just wondering if anyone can help me trouble shoot an Access Point
issue. At work I have a warehouse with around 20 AP's - some of my
handheld devices will not accociate to one of the AP's - what are the
trouble shooting steps for this? - sorry for the lame question but I
am new to wireless at work and stepping into someone else's shoes...

cheers
mike

#2 (**permalink**) 03-07-2007, 01:59 PM

Mike,

Check and make sure there isn't a maximum-user threshold set on the
Cisco AP, make sure there isn't any co-channel interference, and
possibly try to disable other AP's around so that the HH's will force
associate to it.

Chris Hutchison, CEO
NetSteady
1-866-678-WIFI

#3 (**permalink**) 03-07-2007, 06:03 PM

On 7 Mar 2007 06:31:23 -0800, mikieouk@gmail.com wrote in
<1173277882.980021.216500@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups .com>:

>Just wondering if anyone can help me trouble shoot an Access Point
>issue. At work I have a warehouse with around 20 AP's - some of my
>handheld devices will not accociate to one of the AP's - what are the
>trouble shooting steps for this? - sorry for the lame question but I
>am new to wireless at work and stepping into someone else's shoes...

See Wireless Wiki below, especially the Fast Fixes section.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

#4 (**permalink**) 03-08-2007, 07:34 AM

Thanks chaps - I've noticed that there is no tx or rx stat's when
checking the AP Radio - the AP has two antenna's which are somewhere
in the roof space - it's hard to see from ground level ... if they
weren't screwed in properly would I get no tx / rx ??

cheers
mike

#5 (**permalink**) 03-08-2007, 01:10 PM

On 8 Mar 2007 00:34:29 -0800, "Mikieo" <mikieouk@gmail.com> wrote in
<1173342869.376558.24900@64g2000cwx.googlegroups.c om>:

>Thanks chaps - I've noticed that there is no tx or rx stat's when
>checking the AP Radio - the AP has two antenna's which are somewhere
>in the roof space - it's hard to see from ground level ... if they
>weren't screwed in properly would I get no tx / rx ??

Possible -- I don't have much experience with that particular radio --
but in general, no antenna, no signal.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

#6 (**permalink**) 03-09-2007, 04:41 PM

mikieouk@gmail.com hath wroth:

>hi alt.intenet.wireless
>
>Just wondering if anyone can help me trouble shoot an Access Point
>issue. At work I have a warehouse with around 20 AP's - some of my
>handheld devices will not accociate to one of the AP's - what are the
>trouble shooting steps for this? - sorry for the lame question but I
>am new to wireless at work and stepping into someone else's shoes...

There are a large number of wireless and 350 specific troubleshooting
documents on the Cisco web pile.
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps458/prod_tech_notes_list.html>

If you're in a hurry and think it might be a configuration issue, just
dump the configuration from a working and a non-working AP and
compare. Otherwise, it could be broken. With 20 access points, a
spare radio would be a good idea.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

#7 (**permalink**) 03-10-2007, 12:30 AM

On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:41:58 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
<sr63v2tfh2rc7ln1u6fj2346epnll189jb@4ax.com>:

>mikieouk@gmail.com hath wroth:
>
>>hi alt.intenet.wireless
>>
>>Just wondering if anyone can help me trouble shoot an Access Point
>>issue. At work I have a warehouse with around 20 AP's - some of my
>>handheld devices will not accociate to one of the AP's - what are the
>>trouble shooting steps for this? - sorry for the lame question but I
>>am new to wireless at work and stepping into someone else's shoes...
>
>There are a large number of wireless and 350 specific troubleshooting
>documents on the Cisco web pile.
><http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps458/prod_tech_notes_list.html>
>
>If you're in a hurry and think it might be a configuration issue, just
>dump the configuration from a working and a non-working AP and
>compare. Otherwise, it could be broken. With 20 access points, a
>spare radio would be a good idea.

I'd say radio overlap/redundancy would be an even better idea.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

#8 (**permalink**) 03-10-2007, 03:37 PM

John Navas <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> hath wroth:

>On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:41:58 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
><jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
><sr63v2tfh2rc7ln1u6fj2346epnll189jb@4ax.com>:
>>With 20 access points, a
>>spare radio would be a good idea.

>I'd say radio overlap/redundancy would be an even better idea.

I beg to differ. A few months ago, I posted a rant about a hotel
customer of mine. His solution, prior to my arrival, to coverage
problems was to just add access point after access point until
coverage improved. Instead, he added access point after access point
as his locally generated self-interference increased. At one point,
my guess is about that he had perhaps 30 or more access points
scattered all over the building, pool area, conference rooms, and
lobby. There were several key locations (i.e. lobby) where I could
see about 7 or 8 access points, many of which were on the same
channel. I spent considerable effort removing redundant access points
and replacing omni antennas with directional panels. He's down to
about 10 access points and working quite well.

Overlap and redudancy is a good suggestion, but doing so in an
uncontrolled manner will cause problems. In this case, I have we have
no idea how these 20 access points are arranged or whether adding
redundancy and overlap will constitute an improvement or an added
source of interference. I prefer not to speculate.

In this case, we have one access point that has apparently failed. I
prefer troubleshooting by replacement. If the replacement works, the
problem has been both identified and solved. There are a few used
Cisco 350 AP's on eBay for $35 to $100/ea. Cheap.

Incidentally, the hotel just sent me email asking for a quote on what
it would take to get coverage in the public bathrooms (pool, lobby,
conference rooms, etc). I suspect they really mean cell phone
coverage, but I'm at a loss as to why they would need Wi-Fi coverage
in there.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

#9 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 05:20 AM

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 08:37:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
<ism5v2lcmrk52b8qv8ogq98e36s4qt02q5@4ax.com>:

>John Navas <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> hath wroth:
>
>>On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:41:58 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
>><jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
>><sr63v2tfh2rc7ln1u6fj2346epnll189jb@4ax.com>:
>>>With 20 access points, a
>>>spare radio would be a good idea.
>
>>I'd say radio overlap/redundancy would be an even better idea.
>
>I beg to differ. A few months ago, I posted a rant about a hotel
>customer of mine. His solution, prior to my arrival, to coverage
>problems was to just add access point after access point until
>coverage improved. Instead, he added access point after access point
>as his locally generated self-interference increased. At one point,
>my guess is about that he had perhaps 30 or more access points
>scattered all over the building, pool area, conference rooms, and
>lobby. There were several key locations (i.e. lobby) where I could
>see about 7 or 8 access points, many of which were on the same
>channel. ...

What I had in mind was carefully planned minimal redundancy.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

#10 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 09:12 AM

I thank you all for your comments. I will be the first to admit that
I'm very new to wireless networking in the work environment
(especially a busy factory), and if I'm really honest I have inherited
this job role and am trying my hardest to get to grips with it.

I have yet to do a site survey but I notice that in the warehouse I'm
talking about we have a mixture of say 20 Cisco 350's and 4 Cisco
1200's - Of course I have spare units and indeed this particularly
access point we are talking about was swapped for a unit I configured
on bench - I copied the old AP config before it died and uploaded it
to the new unit (which is now in place and not associating or showing
any radio traffic) - Fortunately the wireless devices in use can and
have roamed to other AP's

My thoughts are that the new AP I put in may be and always have been
faulty and just my bad look! Now I'm thinking of ditching the 350's
and putting in 1200's that I have in stock (mainly because I think the
1200's are 54Mbps while the 350's are 11Mbps?) - But that opened up a
few more areas of concern:-

1) I need to arrange power sockets for the 1200 AP's - may not sound a
big issue but it is when your AP's are way up in the roof spaces!

2) Is there an easy way to migrate a configuration from a 350 to a
1200?

3) Do I have to do anything with our fire wall regarding the MAC
address of the new AP?

Many thanks

Mike