Unifi had this on their old access points (Multi-AP coordination outside of the spec)
Now we have 802.11r fast roaming and with 802.11bn (WiFi-8) it will be basically instant, because that standard adds SMD (Seamless Roaming Domain). The APs will talk to each other and share the client connection state.
We’ve been experimenting with real-time streaming over Wi-Fi where packets have a 100 ms latency budget.
The problem we wanted to look at was roaming. Even when you have good Wi-Fi coverage, moving between access points can cause short interruptions that are long enough to matter for a real-time application.
Instead of relying on a single Wi-Fi connection and hoping the handover is fast enough, we tested our overlay multi-connectivity transport using three Wi-Fi access points at the same time.
The transport can use all three paths simultaneously, so a roaming event or temporary interruption on one connection doesn’t necessarily interrupt the stream.
We’re still digging into the results, but it’s an interesting way of thinking about Wi-Fi reliability: rather than trying to make one connection perfect, use several imperfect ones together.
Unifi had this on their old access points (Multi-AP coordination outside of the spec) Now we have 802.11r fast roaming and with 802.11bn (WiFi-8) it will be basically instant, because that standard adds SMD (Seamless Roaming Domain). The APs will talk to each other and share the client connection state.
WiFi is a real pain in many situations! This can actually help!
We’ve been experimenting with real-time streaming over Wi-Fi where packets have a 100 ms latency budget.
The problem we wanted to look at was roaming. Even when you have good Wi-Fi coverage, moving between access points can cause short interruptions that are long enough to matter for a real-time application.
Instead of relying on a single Wi-Fi connection and hoping the handover is fast enough, we tested our overlay multi-connectivity transport using three Wi-Fi access points at the same time.
The transport can use all three paths simultaneously, so a roaming event or temporary interruption on one connection doesn’t necessarily interrupt the stream.
We’re still digging into the results, but it’s an interesting way of thinking about Wi-Fi reliability: rather than trying to make one connection perfect, use several imperfect ones together.