I've recently installed Meraki access points at our facility, and I'm facing some issues with Windows clients when they roam between different access points. Specifically, I'm noticing packet loss and increased latency, which is problematic for our cloud-based systems. Interestingly, if I switch these devices to our guest network where Meraki handles DHCP and NAT, everything works fine. Similarly, setting the devices on our internal network with a static IP and DNS resolves the problem as well. I've checked our domain controllers with dcdiag, and they seem to be functioning correctly. Oddly enough, mobile devices and certain brands don't seem to have this issue. I've opened support tickets with Meraki, Intel, and Panasonic, but I'm looking for additional troubleshooting ideas. I've already updated the firmware and tweaked various NIC settings including Roaming Aggressiveness and power settings across both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Our SSIDs are secured with WPA2 PSK.
3 Answers
Are you roaming within the same SSID? Just a heads up, the client device plays a significant role in roaming performance. Devices that support more 802.11 standards will generally handle roaming better. You might want to take a look at the 802.11r, 802.11k, and 802.11v protocols, which help with fast authentication and can impact roam times. Considering your device drops packets while switching APs, how many seconds do you notice the packet loss? Knowing if the devices retain the same IP address after moving between APs can provide further insight. Ideally, on a PSK-based network with no advanced features like r/k/v enabled, seeing a few seconds of dropped packets before they resume with the same IP is expected.
It sounds like you might be dealing with disconnections when clients try to roam. I've seen it happen where users get signed out from systems like an ERP due to these interruptions. That can be really disruptive to workflow!
Are you using a full Meraki setup or just the APs? We encountered a similar issue when we didn't have Layer 3 roaming set up correctly on our mobile network. It appears that to enable Layer 3 roaming, you need to have an MX appliance included in your network configuration.
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