Legacy Open Mesh: What Is The Site-Survey Tool?
Question
What is the Site-Survey tool?
Environment
- CloudTrax
Answer
The Site-Survey tool is meant to serve as a quick-glance reference for the wireless environment surrounding your CloudTrax network. When running a Site-Survey scan, the AP will stop serving clients and will scan for non-Open Mesh radios in the vicinity.
How long does it take?
The process takes up to 30 seconds, during which time any associated Open Mesh SSIDs will not be available.
When does it happen?
The scan will run as part of the boot cycle for the APs. It can also be run manually by clicking the "Scan Now" button under Manage > Site Survey. If Auto is enabled, under Configure > Radio, the scan will run during the maintenance period, so Auto Channel Mode can determine the best channel setup.
How can this help me find interference?
If your wireless speed seems slow, the Site Survey tool can be a good reference to see if there are other APs in your area broadcasting on the same channel. A signal strength of 70% or higher could indicate a potential source of interference. You might try switching your access points to a different channel.
How can this help me locate a rogue AP?
A Rogue AP, whether malicious or not, can cause network trouble. If you notice a radio in site-survey that is broadcasting an SSID Name that is the same as your Open Mesh SSIDs, its best to track it down to avoid confusion for clients.
What does each field of the results mean:
Signal: Strength represented as a percentage
Channel: Which 2.4/5 GHz center channel is being broadcast.
SSID: What SSID name the radio is broadcasting.
BSSID: MAC Address of the Wireless interface broadcasting.
Mode: 802.11 Standard (b/g/n/ac).
Encryption: WiFi Security Standard being used.
Vendor: Uses the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) of the BSSID to lookup the Radio's manufacturer.
Strongest Signal Seen By: Which Open Mesh AP can hear this radio the loudest.
Last Scan: Timestamp of when the data was collected.
