On April 5, 2014 at 17:48, vwpower44 said...
There are so many channels because you may need them.
I see I should have titled this something like "If we really should
only be using channels 1, 6, and 11, why do the other channels even exist? It's absurd to think that only those channels should ever be used!!!!!"
we all know that WiFi should be on channels 1,6 and 11.
That is exactly the debatable issue here. I contend that this is absolutely not true. The signals I saw in a commercial area, the Cerritos Auto Mall in Cerritos, CA, showed a half dozen systems on EACH of those three channels; and if you watch wifi signals for a while, you see signals lower in levels and other signals come up. This means there could have been a dozen signals on each of the three channels. How does it make sense, how is it possible, that it's better to share a channel with eleven other systems than to put a system on, say, channel 3? Or 8?
I ran into a problem the other day installing an Aruba system at a clients house. Their neighbors system was on 2 and 7. No other wifi was within range of the house. This meant that the best scenario for me was to throw all three access points on 11, or put them on 2 and 7.
Let's look at that. 11 is four channels away from 7, and that's the most separation you can get. 4 is two away from 2, and 5 is two away from 7, so those would be your other best choices.
Here's why I don't think 2 and 7 were good choices. If you choose 2 and 7, you're counting on your signal to be stronger than the neighbor's signal. But if you choose 4, then you're counting on your signal to be stronger than the neighbor's signal PLUS 10 mHz away. That situation should be less prone to interference.
Since I had Sonos, I put Sonos on 11, and put the AP in the basement on 2, AP on first fl on 7, and AP on second fl on 2.
the Sonos assignment follows your logic well.
The reasoning for this is that Access Points can handle Co-channel interference much better than over lapping channel interference.
That's an important spec to know about. What's the Aruba model you installed? I'd like to look at the specs and understand this better.
I could have just gone to the neighbors and asked to adjust their system properly, but that wouldn't be right.
You could have offered to adjust it for free but they would have probably kicked you off their property! People are like that.
Since we really should only be on 1,6 and 11, it doesn't mean that we cant use the other channels.
That's exactly what that says! Look up "only." Or is "should" not strong enough?
Using 1,6, and 11 allows you to utilize three channels without over lapping. You can use the other channels, but you would only be able to utilize 2 channels.
You just made the case for that when stating that co-channel interference is better handled than adjacent channel interference.
If it was a high density area, this is not ideal since most people will be on 1, 6, and 11.
If it's a high density area, then every trick should be used, and the first good one is NOT having everybody on 1, 6 and 11! Maybe those should be reserved for people who require three frequencies... or something like that.
Having the extra channels does allow you to compensate for other peoples stupidity.
You're waffling here. You say everybody should be on 1, 6, and 11, but you're saying the other channels have use, basically when there are problems. And I still don't see proof that everyone should be on 1, 6, and 11... first of all, I use one channel. Should I be on 1? or 6? or 11? Who regulates THAT so the guy next door doesn't step on me or get stepped on by me?
How about we use all the channels all the time, keeping a space of at least two channels between our adjacent channels when we need two or more?
