I have 3 Linksys MX4200's set up as AP's connected to a Firewalla router.
Thanks to psherman, they have 3 networks (main, guest, IoT) that connect to router's lan, and two vlan's)
These are then broadcast via wifi to 3 different wifi networks (main, guest, IoT), set up on radio 1 (main - ax mode, guest - ax mode), set up on radio 2 (IoT - legacy mode).
My question is, how should each of the AP's be set up...
On the same channel's, or different?
With the same frequency width, or different?
Within each AP...
Should the Main and Guest frequencies be the same, or different?
Thanks so much for your help!
PS - one other question in "Wireless Overview," there are 3 radio's that show up.
radio0
radio1
radio2
I can't get radio2 to activate at all. (this is why radio 0 has both main & guest, while radio1 has IoT. Any ideas as to why radio2 doesnt' work?
one more piece of info currently my main and guest networks are on 36. When I scan the area, the other taken channels are, 48, 40, 44, & 52.
I also forgot to ask, what's the current thought on 802.11r Fast Transition?
As @patrakov correctly states, if you have multiple SSIDs on the same physical AP hardware, they must use the same channel since the radio hardware is shared.
But, I believe that the question being asked is about how to configure multiple APs. So with that in mind:
For optimal roaming performance:
Each neighboring AP (i.e. hardware device) should be setup with different, non-overlapping channels.
The SSIDs should be setup with the same name, encryption type, and passphrase on all of the APs.
If you are using both 2.4 and 5g radios for the same network, also ensure that they have the same SSID name so that devices can select the band that works best at any given moment/location.
For example, if you have a lan with the SSID "Zeus", it is not advised to make a Zeus_5G and Zeus_2G n the respective radios. Simply use Zeus on both radios.
Adjust the power levels (specifically, reduce the power) on each AP such that you minimize the area of overlap. This will help the client devices make better roaming decisions. It works because the signal will drop rapidly enough when the device moves physically from one AP towards the next such that it will not try to 'hang on' to a distant AP.
To whatever extent possible, try to optimize the physical placement of the APs to allow for even coverage throughout your intended area.
Do not use 802.11r or k or v unless you have a demonstrated need for it, and only consider using it after you have performed the optimizations above. These standards tend to cause problems on some devices, and can make performance worse overall. But, even when there is value to adding them, they do rely on a good foundation of physical optimization as above.
