VeloCloud SD-WAN Edge Wi-Fi Troubleshooting Guide

Products

• VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
The objective of this guide is to troubleshoot Wi-Fi issues--including slow Wi-Fi connections when using a VeloCloud Edge as the Wi-Fi access point.

Environment

VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud

Resolution

If the site is reporting a slow (high latency) Wi-Fi connection:

• Note the Wi-Fi Configuration
  • Go to Configure → Edge → Device and scroll down to “Wi-Fi Radio Settings”.
  • By default, the Edge Wi-Fi is configured to use the 2.4 GHz band with channel “Auto”.  “Auto” means that the Edge software is selecting between one of three channels: 1,6 or 11.

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• The 2.4 GHz spectrum has 11 available channels, but these channels overlap as shown below and it is not recommended to use any of the overlapping channels. If there are interference issues, ensure that the Edge is using one of the non-overlapping channels by manually configuring 1,6 or 11.

 

 

• Record the results of a ping test for a client connected to the Edge through Wi-Fi, and then the same client connected through an Ethernet cable to a LAN port on the Edge.
• Compare the ping test results--is the latency significantly higher for a ping using Wi-Fi?  If so, proceed to the next step. If the ping results are similar for both Wi-Fi and wired with both showing high latency, then there is likely a non-Wi-Fi issue that needs further troubleshooting outside of this article.
• Scan nearby Wireless devices looking for channel use and signal strength.
  • Go to Test & Troubleshoot→Remote Diagnostics and run the Scan for Nearby Wi-Fi Access Points test.
  • Examine the results focusing on nearby Wireless devices and compare the channel each device uses and its respective signal strength. Based on these results, select the least congested channel (from 1,6 or 11).

Example: based on the below screenshot, this Edge has nearby Wi-Fi access points primarily using channels 1 and 11 with high signal strength (~32 dBm).  In this instance, the recommended action is to manually configure the Edge to use channel 6 to reduce interference issues.
 

• If configuring the Edge to use the least congested channel does not resolve the issue, explore the possibility of changing the Wi-Fi Band to 5GHz (where permitted by country) and see if this improves the performance.  5GHz is a less used band with a greater number of non-overlapping channels to choose from--thus further reducing the risk of signal interference.​
• Prior to selecting a 5GHz channel, please consult the output of the Scan for Nearby Wi-Fi Access Points test and ensure you are configuring a channel on the 5GHz band that is not being used by others in your area.
• Prior to making this change, please confirm at the affected site that all wireless devices support the 5GHz band.  There are still a number of legacy devices that can only use the 2.4GHz band and a change to 5GHz would leave those devices unable to connect to the Edge Wi-Fi.