802.11k: The Final Nail in the Coffin for RRM and ARM
Auto-channel selection protocols have been an increasingly common source of controversy for enterprise Wi-Fi administrators. Aruba's ARM, Cisco's RRM, Ruckus's ChannelFly and Aerohive's ACSP all allow a centralize management entity -- either controller or software -- to automatically set the channels of access points (APs). These protocols can be big time savers during the surveying and implementation stages, but also can cause big headaches once the Wi-Fi is up and running. The argument over whether to use auto-channel selection protocols may be coming to an end, however. 802.11k is becoming more widely supported in Wi-Fi devices, and when smartphones, tablets and other devices support 802.11k, the decision is a no-brainer: auto-channel should be avoided because it makes roaming worse. To understand the impact that 802.11k (radio resource measurement) has on Wi-Fi devices, one first must understand a fundamental fact about Wi-Fi: devices control connectio...