With latest OS release, Huawei WLAN added enhanced could management function to further strengthen the WiFi portfolio. Amount many new cloud features following are of significant significance as it provides a tool to fight against the competitors’ edge in WLAN cloud management.
· Layer-3 Roaming
· Load Balancing in Layer 3 Roaming Scenarios
· Application Identification
Layer 3 Roaming
In addition to Layer 2 roaming between cloud APs, Layer 3 roaming is also provided in latest OS (V200R008C10) to support STA roaming when multiple gateways exist. APs establish links with neighbors, and synchronize AP and STA information.
When a STA attempts to roam between APs at Layer 3, a tunnel is established between the home AP (HAP) and foreign AP (FAP). STA traffic is sent back to the HAP through this tunnel.
Figure 1: L3 Roaming Tunnel
Load Balancing in Layer 3 Roaming Scenarios
In typical cases, STAs first associate with the AP at a hotspot area (such as the entrance of a shopping mall). This AP functions as the HAP during STA roaming. As a result, a large volume of STA traffic is sent back to this AP. Load balancing can be configured in the same VLAN to relieve the load on it. Traffic returned to the HAP is load-balanced among the AP with which STAs associate first and other APs in the same VLAN.
Figure 2: LB in L3 Roaming
Application Identification
Huawei ACs and Fit APs support application identification. In V200R008C10, cloud APs also support this function of application identification. The following application-based policies can be applied:
· Blocking: All packets that are identified as those of specified applications are discarded.
· Priority setting: Priority fields of packets are modified to change the packet processing sequence on a network, ensuring quality of service (QoS) of important applications.
· Bandwidth limiting: The maximum network bandwidth occupied by a specified application is set to limit the proportion of the application's bandwidth to that of all applications on a network.
Figure 3: Application Identification Flowchart
Conclusion:
With improved Cloud management features, Huawei APs are far better than competition including Meraki Cloud management.
In case of any queries, please share in the comments below.
Souce: https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/wlan/airengine-6700-pid-250400201
