NARA & Tanaza’s AI journey

NARA: Tanaza’s AI-powered assistant

Since the release of GPT-3.5 at the end of 2022, it became clear that AI was finally getting ready to significantly impact all industries. As tech enthusiasts who have dedicated the past decade to cloud computing and networking, we were eager to explore the potential of AI in our field.

Our journey began with extensive research, testing various AI options, and refining our concepts. By December 2023, we launched the Tanaza GPT agent integrated with ChatGPT. Today, I am thrilled to introduce NARA, our AI assistant.

NARA

NARA is designed to assist Tanaza users at every stage of their journey: from initial discovery and evaluation to adoption and large-scale operations. It can answer specific questions in real-time, help get started with Tanaza or provide guidance to troubleshoot networks. Furthermore, it can recommend the best Apps from our marketplace based on users’ needs. These are capabilities that are already available and we encourage you to play with it on support.tanaza.com.

NARA example 1
NARA example 2

Tanaza’s AI journey and lessons learned so far

Our ultimate vision is for NARA to fully automate Wi-Fi and enterprise networks, making them entirely AI-driven. We believe this is achievable, and this is fully reflected in our high-level roadmap.

Tanaza – Product roadmap 24-25

The path to this point has been challenging. Despite the amusement generated by ChatGPT (when it gets it right), developing a controlled AI that performs precisely as needed and avoids hallucinations is akin to “keeping a wizard inside a cage“. We evaluated various chatbot solutions and found that existing tools required significant tuning and curated knowledge to function correctly. We needed an AI that adhered to our principles and met our specific needs.

Additionally, we’ll need to integrate authentication systems, connect to our knowledge base and production systems with different access levels, and ensure consistency with our privacy policy. We aimed to learn from thousands of cases and conversations in our CRM while protecting private information. These requirements led us to build a system that is both open and controllable. In a rapidly evolving context, we chose to create a framework that leverages the latest LLM models while maintaining full control of all aspects.

Here are the key guiding principles we adopted:

  • MVP Approach: Start with a minimum viable product and expand its scope over time.
  • LLM Agnostic: Our framework can leverage the most efficient models, whether from LLAMA, OpenAI, Claude, or others.
  • Curated Knowledge: Knowledge must be carefully curated, whether created by humans or synthesized from multiple sources.
  • Unified Agent: Instead of multiple agents for different purposes, we opted for a single source of truth representing our company’s knowledge. This makes the problem harder to solve, but delivers an incredible experience to users.
  • Regression Protection: Automatic testing is crucial, with a different LLM testing the output of each test case.
  • Coachability: Any Tanaza senior employee should be able to train our AI, similar to how they mentor junior employees. Coaching NARA has been exhilarating (like giving input to Johnny 5).
  • Extensibility: Starting with 0-shot learning, the AI will evolve to deeper connections with production systems, real-time diagnostics, and ultimately an always-on AI agent capable of auto-driving networks.

This journey is incredibly exciting. The potential applications of AI in networking are limitless, and we are proud to bring these capabilities to our users, adding the AI pillar to our core principles of cloud and hardware/software disaggregation.

A big thank you to all of our users and partners for joining us on this journey in building next-gen AI-powered infrastructure.

Tanaza Now Supports All TIP OpenWiFi™ Access Points

Telecom Infra Project and Tanaza Collaborate to Extend Tanaza Platform Compatibility to TIP OpenWiFi™ Access Points.

Today, Tanaza proudly announces the general availability of the Tanaza platform supporting all OpenWiFi™ compliant access points (in addition to the others already supported thanks to the Linux-based TanazaOS). This collaboration with Telecom Infra Project (TIP) marks a significant milestone in the journey towards a disaggregated networking market, pushing the boundaries of innovation and reducing the effects of lock-in strategies applied by incumbents.

The Tanaza platform, a pioneer in hardware/software disaggregation since 2011, has supported various off-the-shelf devices from third-party manufacturers such as Ubiquiti and MikroTik. Now, Tanaza extends its compatibility to ALL OpenWiFi™ compliant devices, giving out-of-the-box interoperability with OpenWiFi™ hardware providers included in the TIP community.

Sebastiano Bertani, CEO of Tanaza, expressed the importance of this achievement, stating, “Our technology has reached widespread global adoption, featuring over 60,000 active access points. It has been utilized by some Tier-1 telco providers, leveraging the synergy of SDN networking and hardware flexibility to empower their B2B managed Wi-Fi offering. Bringing to production OpenWiFi™ compliant hardware has been a natural step for us. It not only enhances Wi-Fi hardware flexibility, but also envisions extending this capability to switches, for a complete “OpenLAN” solution. But most of all, it consolidates a solid foundation to shape the innovation of the next decade, on top of a common layer. For instance, our ChatGPT AI integration (TanazaGPT) enables the control of any networking device connected to our platform, and the same will be for any other App and service built on top, ranging from hyperconvergence to cybersecurity”.

Jack Raynor, TIP OpenLAN™ and OpenWiFi™Co-chair, said, “We are proud of this collaboration with Tanaza. This achievement aligns with our commitment to fostering an open and collaborative ecosystem in the telecommunications industry, transitioning the market from vertically integrated to horizontally structured”.

About TIP / OpenWiFi™
Telecom Infra Project (TIP) OpenLAN Project Group is a collaborative community that aims to accelerate the pace of innovation in the telecom industry. OpenWiFi™, an initiative within TIP’s OpenLAN Project Group, focuses on advancing open and disaggregated Wi-Fi solutions.

About Tanaza
Tanaza is a leading provider of cloud-based networking platforms to enable B2B managed Wi-Fi and NaaS. Since its inception, it has adopted a cloud-only approach and hardware/software disaggregation as its founding pillars. An early member of TIP OpenWiFi™, Tanaza provided an initial Proof of Concept (PoC) of OpenWiFi™ at MWC2020. Tanaza technology has been used in projects with Meta, Fortinet, Sercomm, Etisalat, and NEC, among others.

TanazaGPT: OpenAI ChatGPT integration

Tanaza proudly introduces TanazaGPT, the latest integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, marking a significant stride in bringing artificial intelligence to the forefront of Wi-Fi network management.

TanazaGPT provides users with a sophisticated toolset for efficient monitoring and control of Wi-Fi networks. This integration streamlines network management tasks and enhances troubleshooting capabilities, all driven by the intelligence of ChatGPT.

Experience the future of network management with TanazaGPT – the perfect synergy of Tanaza‘s expertise and the AI prowess of ChatGPT.

This is just a first example of the AI’s transformative role in Wi-Fi network management ahead of us.

 

How to troubleshoot MDU Wi-Fi networks with Tanaza

How to troubleshoot MDU Wi-Fi networks with Tanaza

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the technical guide about MDU Wi-Fi.

The demand for managed MDUs Wi-Fi is on the rise across the world. In 2023, a study by Parks Associates (well-known market research and consulting firm) showed that 31% of the US population lives in MDUs (Multiple Dwelling Unit Wi-Fi), and 50% report Wi-Fi issues. Multiple Dwelling Unit Wi-Fi represents a sizable business opportunity for MSPs that offer managed WLAN connectivity services for apartments, condos, multi-family homes, townhomes, and other high-density living spaces. Continue to read why and how Tanaza can help network administrators to troubleshoot common network coverage and speed issues.

What is a MDU Wi-Fi (Multiple Dwelling Unit Wi-Fi)?

MDU Wi-Fi refers to WLAN wireless networks that serve multiple residential units within buildings or complexes. MDU Wi-Fi networks are designed to provide secure and ubiquitous internet connectivity and managed services to tenants living in apartment buildings, condominiums, student housing, assisted living facilities, and other types of multi-unit dwellings.

In some cases, MDU Wi-Fi networks are managed by a single MSP or SP, who manages the deployment and operation of comprehensive Wi-Fi services for the properties.

MDU WI-FI Opportunities

MDU Wi-Fi market provides significant opportunities for MSPs and SPs that serve building owners and property managers. Benefits can include:

Revenue Generation: Building owners or property managers can generate additional revenue streams by offering Wi-Fi services to tenants as value-added facilities for residentials. They can charge a monthly fee for the service or include it in the rent.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global MDU market size was valued at USD 158.5 billion in 2020 and may grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% from 2021 to 2028.

Competitive Advantage: Offering high-quality Wi-Fi service can be a competitive advantage for property owners or managers in attracting and retaining tenants. Thanks to Wi-Fi analytics integrations such as My Wi-Fi Networks and Social Wi-Fi, network administrators can analyze the residents’ preferences and offer tailored guest Wi-Fi experiences.

Improved Resident Satisfaction: Providing reliable and fast Wi-Fi service can improve resident satisfaction and reduce complaints about connectivity issues. Wi-Fi troubleshooting tools can help network administrators to fix the most common connectivity problems related to the speed of connection and coverage. 

Enhanced Security and Privacy: A shared Wi-Fi network can be designed with advanced security features to protect users’ privacy and prevent unauthorized access. 

Remote Monitoring and Maintenance: MDU Wi-Fi networks can be remotely monitored and maintained by service providers, reducing the need for on-site visits and minimizing downtime.

Marketing and Analytics: Wi-Fi networks can be used to gather data on users’ preferences and behavior, which can be used for targeted marketing or to improve operational efficiency. ADS4Wi-Fi is a Tanaza integration to monetize MDU networks, through targeted ADS managed by an easy-to-use advertising management and campaign delivery platform.

Smart Building Integration: MDU Wi-Fi networks can be integrated with smart building systems to enable automated control of building functions and services, such as lighting, heating, and security. Visit the Tanaza Marketplace to stay tuned for the latest IoT integrations.

What are the main network issues that MDU WiFi have to face? And how MSPs and SPs can use Tanaza to troubleshoot them?

Park Associates listed the common MDU network technical problems by residence type.

MDU Wi-Fi Technical Issues

As shown from the precedent graphic, the main issues are related to two main topics: speed connection and coverage.

How to solve MDU Wi-Fi speed connection issues with Tanaza?

Excluding the use of outdated access points (IEEE 802.11g and previous standard – discover here the most advanced compatible and Tanaza Powered Devices), congestion, interference, or bandwidth limits can represent one of the most common causes for low levels of speed connection.

In case of congestion, the Tanaza Overview dashboard is an all-in-one network observability tool to monitor the entire network architecture stats. 

The network administrator can intuitively check the global or granular bandwidth at different moments, identify what AP devices are affected, and if a specific client is causing the slowdown. 

After a first overview analysis, network administrators can manage SSID advanced options and radio settings:

– testing real-time speed values with the integrated Ping Tool (read more about it)

– limiting the Max N. of clients 

– selecting the freest band frequencies (2.4GHz or 5GHz or dual-band – soon 6GHz) at AP or SSID level

– enabling client isolation

SSID Settings

The Tanaza Marketplace includes the Historical Statistics add-on. By enabling historical statistics, MDU network administrators can keep track of historical data related to the status of their devices and learn more about when congestion happened. Data is stored for 30 days and it’s possible to see what happened daily. In the last 24 hours, it’s also possible to see the details on an hourly basis.

In case of interference, the radio options at the AP level can help network administrators to switch to the best RX frequency to improve the quality of the signal. In the MDU Wi-Fi networks, it is common to have multiple adjacent APs that operate in adjacent channels. Due to wrong AP positioning in the environment, the channel overlapping can cause adjacent channel interference.
Let’s assume that three residents complain frequently of slow connection caused by APs placed adjacently in the three nearby apartments that use sequentially channels 3 (2422MHz), 4 (2427MHz), and 5 (2432MHz). To troubleshoot this issue, the network administrator can decrease the TX power levels of all the APs to prevent their transmissions from overlapping. In addition, he could increase the channel width to 40MHz on 2.4GHz frequency and gradually switch to 5GHz to have a certain safety margin.

Radio settings access points

In case of bandwidth limits, network administrators can operate at the SSID level, limiting or improving the speed of connection values for download and upload. This tool is perfect to ensure that the internet connection is available to all connected devices equally or to limit bandwidth consumption by some devices that may cause network congestion.

Bandwidth limits

How to solve MDU Wi-Fi coverage issues with Tanaza?

Excluding structural interference caused by incorrect network design, network overload, wrong roaming setup, multipath fading, congestion, and interference can represent some of the most common causes of coverage issues.

In case of network overload, too many devices attempting to connect to the same network at the same time, the available bandwidth shared among all connected devices can be spread too thinly, causing slowdowns or even disconnections. This is a common issue in apartments and small condos where typically a single AP has to manage simultaneously time laptops, smartphones, IoTs, and other devices.

When it happens, network administrators can regulate the max. n. of concurrent clients or increase the MHz of the channel width, paying particular attention to not causing further adjacent channel interferences.

How to fix network overload

Performing Wi-Fi roaming is fundamental. MDUs Wi-Fi networks have to guarantee that clients can automatically switch from a Wi-Fi network with a weak signal to one with a stronger signal without friction. Inconsistent manual network configuration and proximity interferences are the main causes that afflict the roaming feature. To improve a fluent transition to both SSIDs, network administrators can enable 802.11k, 802.11r, and Sticky client auto disconnection. Read more about how the Wi-Fi Fast Roaming feature works.

Network assisted power savings

Multipath fading is a phenomenon that occurs in wireless communication when radio signals travel from a transmitter to a receiver by multiple paths, which can result in signal distortion and cancellation. Multipath fading can be flat fading or selective fading. Selective fading is more common in MDU apartments and condos due to architectural obstacles and more objects that can reflect and spread irregular signals.
Beamforming technology can solve this issue, directing the Wi-Fi signal exactly toward the targeted direction of a specific client. Beamforming sends the same spatial stream on multiple antennas with determined timing offsets, thus increasing range.
Tanaza Compatible Devices and Tanaza Powered Devices APs with MU-MIMO integrated can mitigate the multipath selective fading phenomenon.

The Tanaza Powered Device Edgecore EAP102-T can be a good choice for MDU Wi-Fi networks in luxury or top-end apartments with IoT architectures. The model is a high-performing Wi-Fi 6 concurrent dual-band 802.11ax indoor access point that supports 4×4:4 uplink and downlink MU-MIMO between the device and multiple clients, with up to 2.9 Gbps aggregate data rate. It’s perfect to avoid coverage issues in complex network ecosystems where multiple clients require a constant flux of connections.

Edgecore EAP102-T Tanaza Powered Device™

Several types of interference can impact the coverage of a Wi-Fi architecture. MDU apartments and condos are generally spaces with many adjacent devices and networks. These types of interference are most common on the 2.4GHz. The Tanaza radio options at the AP level can help network administrators to switch to free RX frequency to improve the quality of the signal, setting channel width, channels, and TX power.

How to reduce network interferences

Are you an MSP or an SP focused on the MDU market?

Tanaza helps network administrators to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot MDUs networks of any size and add 3-rd party services on top to offer the best guest Wi-Fi experience to residents of apartments, condos, multi-family homes, townhomes, and other high-density living spaces.

The intuitive all-in-one Tanaza dashboard allows total control of the MDU Wi-Fi infrastructure and converts them into valuable assets.

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Tanaza OS

Network downtime – The real cost for MSPs, ISPs and SPs

Network downtime – The real cost for MSPs, ISPs and SPs

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about how network downtime impacts
on MSPs, ISPs and SPs budget.

Network downtime is one of the most expensive issues for MSPs, ISPs and SPs network architectures. It’s unavoidable, systematic and often unpredictable.
The most relevant study conducted by Gartner has demonstrated that network downtime can cost on average up to $9,000 per minute.
Organization size is also a key factor. For Fortune 1,000 companies, network downtime could cost as much as $1 million per hour, according to an IDC survey. And while the typical mid-sized company spends $1 million per year on incidents, large enterprises can spend up to $60 million or more, according to a research report from IHS.

Considering the pure math without taking in consideration generic case studies, also Cloudscale has mathematically demonstrated through a computational algorithm the relationship “network downtime = money loss”.

Network Downtime Formula

where

LR is the Lost Revenue
GR is the Gross yearly Revenue
BT is the total Business Time (in minutes)
I is the percentage of revenue impacted by the down time (an online retail business could see 100% impact whereas a sole proprietor insurance company could be 60%)
T is the downtime

Today the effects of a downtime have direct consequences on loss of company revenue.
Wherever is the cause of a network downtime, MSPs, ISPs and SPs have to consider implementing solutions to mitigate or prevent network downtime.

What are the causes of network downtime?

The IS-IS protocol (ISO/IEC 10589:2002 – included in the OSI model) classifies network downtime in six classes:

Level 0 – Network is down
Level 1 – Part of the network is down
Level 2 – Most of the network is down
Level 3 – All of the network is down except for a few isolated systems
Level 4 – Most of the network is down, but some systems are still functioning
Level 5 – All systems are functioning, but there are performance issues

These categories are used to help network administrators understand the extent of the network downtime and to identify the root cause of the problem. By understanding the level of downtime, administrators can prioritize their efforts to restore the network and minimize the impact on users.

What are the most common causes for network downtime at OSI Layers?

1) Faults, errors or discards in network devices (Layer 2)
2) Wrong device configuration changes (Layer 2)
3) Operational human errors and mismanagement of devices (Multiple Layers)
4) Link failure caused due to fiber cable cuts or network congestion (Layer 1-2)
5) Power outages (Layer 1)
6) Server hardware failure (Layer 4)
7) Denial of service (DoS) (Multiple Layers)
8) Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) (Multiple Layers)
8) Failed software and firmware upgrade or patches (Layer 7)
9) Incompatibility between firmware and hardware device (Layer 7)
10) Other external causes (Multiple Layers)

Fing App (now a Tanaza add-on) has precise and updated real-time and historical lists of network downtime, divided by countries, duration, recurrence, severity, impact. Network administrators can read details about each single network downtime or visualize them in bulk thanks to real-time interactive maps:

The importance of an outage detector system integrated in Tanaza WiFi cloud management

An outage detector system is a network management application that allows the monitoring of network infrastructure’s faults and errors, proposing solutions and tips to fix them and checking the ISP status.

Outage detector systems are fundamental for MSPs, ISPs, and SPs that want to reduce and prevent network issues and avoid the aforementioned costs caused by outages.

The activation of the Fing App in the Tanaza cloud platform allows to identify what network endpoint is hurt by the outage.

Network administrators can visually and fastly identify what types of clients (smartphone, laptop, printer, etc) are connected to the networks thanks to an intuitive list of minimal icons.
Depending on the chosen plan for the add-on, each client will show relevant network information including the status and the classification of connection, type and brand of WiFi client, bandwidth values (download and upload mbps) and OS information (name, version, build).

Fing and Tanaza have combined their core technologies to create the advanced outage WiFi notification system. Thanks to Tanaza + Fing add-on, network administrators can understand if the APs are offline for internet outages around the world, improving their efficiency to inform their customers about recovery times and responsibilities. The add-on is compatible with the main ISPs of each country and allows network managers to compare them by rating and reviews in order to identify in real-time the best solution for internet connection.

Fing App is able to register real-time ISP connection status data, including information about the severity of outage (on a scale of 5 values: minor, moderate, considerable, major, critical), outage duration and recurrence, and geographical impacted areas.


For this reason, Tanaza and Fing add-on is based on an AI-algorithm that operates in a fully automatic way, with no need for manual reporting.

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Test the accurate identification of client devices connected to your multi-vendor networks.

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Tanaza® introduces clients identification powered by Fing™

Technical Guide to 6GHz for MSPs, ISPs and SPs

Technical Guide to 6GHz for MSPs, ISPs and SPs

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the technical guide to 6GHz
for MSPs, ISPs and SPs.

After only two years after the approval by the FCC regulations and Wi-Fi Alliance (and the progressive approval by the national regulatory authorities in Japan, UE, Latin America) to open up the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi broadcasting, the main networking OEMs have already launched the first WiFi6E access points.

The number of 6GHz supported access points is expected to reach 2.3 billion of which 350 million are Wi-Fi 6E capable. More than 400 products are now Wi-Fi 6E certified, Wi-Fi Alliance says.
Wi-Fi 6 APs constituted more than 76% of the shipments in the period according to IDC.
In previous articles, we have discussed this frequency range, the future of WiFi6E – WiFi 7 and the differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
In this article, we have written a technical guide about the 6GHz frequency for MSPs, ISPs, SPs and about the differences between 6GHz, 5GHz and 2.4GHz.
Recently, Lee Badman – one of the most important authorities in the networking sector – has expressed his frustration about the lack of technical documentation for wireless products and technologies. As tech lovers, before being networking professionals, we can only agree.

This technical guide is quite long, but its length is fundamental to explain all the facets of the revolutionary 6Ghz.

The 6GHz band frequency

The 6GHz frequency, introduced with the new Wi-Fi 6E standard (802.11 ax), works in the worldwide range between 5.925 and 7.125 GHz (1200MHz grant of the spectrum) and has a theoretical top speed of 9.6 Gbps (the same as the 5GHz).
While the 6 GHz band is continuous and channelized across the entire 1200 MHz, network users are active in all sub-bands. The 6 GHz band frequency uses 59 channels of 20 MHz bandwidth. The channel numbers overlap with the current 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band.

Following the same distribution model of the other bands, each country has enabled the spectrum in different sub-bands.

The FCC has designated four sub-bands for the US territory: U-NII-5, 6, 7, and 8.
The EU Commission, instead, allows network operators to exploit the “U-NII-5 equivalent” part of the band, the lower one: 480 MHz after the 20 MHz guard band.

Countries enabling Wi-Fi in 6GHz
Countries Status Spectrum
Argentina Considering 5925-6425 MHz
Australia Adopted - Considering 5925-6425 MHz - 6425-7125 MHz
Bahrain Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Brazil Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
CEPT Considering 5925-6425 MHz (*only considering 5945-6425)
Canada Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Chile Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Colombia Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Costa Rica Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Dominican Republic Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Egypt Considering 5925-6425 MHz
European Union Adopted 5925-6425 MHz (*only adopting 5945-6425)
Guatemala Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Honduras Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Hong Kong Adopted - Considering 5925-6425 MHz - 5925-7125 MHz
Iceland Adopted 5925-6425 MHz (*only adopting 5945-6425)
Japan Considering 5925-6425 MHz - 5925-7125 MHz
Jordan Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Kenya Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Liechtenstein Adopted 5925-6425 MHz (*only adopting 5945-6425)
Malasya Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Mauritius Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Mexico Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Morocco Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
New Zeland Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Norway Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Oman Considering 5925-6425 MHz
Peru Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Qatar Considering 5925-6425 MHz - 5925-7125 MHz
Saudi Arabia Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Russian Federation Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
South Africa Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
South Korea Adopted 5925-7125 MHz
Switzerland Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
Tunisia Considering 5925-6425 MHz
Turkey Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
United Arab Emirates Adopted 5925-6425 MHz
United Kingdom Considering 5925-6425 MHz - 6425-7125 MHz
United States Adopted 6425-7125 MHz

These data are updated at 04/19/2023

The tripled spectrum allows a fast rollout of new APs and network devices and enables more non-overlapping Wi-Fi channels.

This band frequency includes the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) feature from cellular technologies, which takes advantage of servicing multiple users on sub-channels transmitted simultaneously. 6GHz supports the native orthogonal frequency division.
OFDMA allows the transmission of significant quantities of data over a single noisy channel. This technique works by splitting a single signal into multiple smaller transmitted signals. OFDMA is perfect for medium-far transmissions, while MU MIMO is more indicated for short-range.

6 GHz spectrum access approaches

Dynamic random spectrum access and contentionbased protocols require access to multiple channels to maintain acceptable performance.

6 GHz spectrum access approaches for Europe

6 GHz spectrum access approaches for Europe

6 GHz spectrum access approaches for other countries

6 GHz spectrum access approaches for worldwide countires (except Europe)

What are the benefits of the 6GHz band?

> 1 Gbps Speeds – More Spectrum
< Low levels of latency – Fully-Scheduled Traffic
> High Capacity on Cutting edge-devices
> More precise positioning
> More than 700 access points of the market supports 6GHz

Features introduced by the 6GHz band

6GHz introduces new ‘in-band’ features for:
airtime efficiency;
faster passive/active AP discovery.

Airtime efficiency

Beacon Changes

This feature removes information elements for older generations: add some parameters to Wi-Fi 6 operations and configuration information elements.

Multi-BSSID Beacon

This feature avoids sending repetitive information elements in separate beacons or probe responses. It allows for improved airtime efficiency.

New Rules for Probing

The 6GHz frequency band doesn’t allow probes in nor-PSC channels unless a beacon is received.
It allows probes in PSC channels.

Faster passive/active AP discovery

6GHz Passive AP discovery

Fast Initial Link Setup (FILS) AP discovery

This passive feature announces each device every 20 msec (TUs – 20-time units). FILS frame includes multiple fields and subfields populated with primary channel operating class identification, SSID, BSSID, and critical channel information. All this information is necessary for a client device to decide whether the AP is suitable for connection.

Unsolicited probe response frames AP discovery

This passive feature announces each device every 20 msec (TUs – 20-time units). It can contain the same information elements as a ‘normal’ probe response, but they are transmitted to the broadcast address. Thanks to this no-frame exchange transmission by the AP, the contention loss to get this information to a client device is low. All this information is necessary for a client device to decide whether the AP is suitable for connection.

6GHz Active AP discovery

Preferred Scanning Channels (PSC)

Preferred Scanning Channels (PSCs) are a group of 1 in 4 20 MHz channels designated for beacons and discovery that have priority within the 6 GHz Wi-Fi band.
Instead of scanning the entire 6 GHz spectrum for an optimal channel, devices that support 6GHz can scan PSCs for efficient connectivity. Clients can only send probes requests on every fourth 20 MHz channel.
The complete list of all the 6 GHz PSC channels is 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85, 101, 117, 133, 149, 165, 181, 197, 213, 229.

What is the difference between 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz?

The main difference between 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz wireless frequencies are the range (coverage) and bandwidth (speed) that the bands provide.
5GHz and 6GHz are faster than 2.4 GHz, but they have more difficulties penetrating solid surfaces, such as walls and floors. In 2022, the number of devices on the market that operate on 2.4GHz is much higher than the 5GHz and 6GHz ones. These bands tend to have less overcrowding interference from other devices and can guarantee a better data transmission level.
Band 20MHz Channels 40MHz Channels 80MHz Channels 160MHz Channels
2.4GHz 11 2 N/A N/A
5GHz 37 18 9 4
6GHz 59 29 14 7

Theoretical number of available channels on each band

Channel Width Valid Channel Numbers Number of PSC Channels PSC Channel Numbers
20 MHz 1, 5, 9, 12, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61, 65, 69, 73, 77, 81, 85, 89, 93, 97, 101, 105, 109, 113, 117, 121, 125, 129, 133, 137, 141, 145, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, 169, 173, 177, 181, 185, 189, 193, 197, 201, 205, 209, 213, 217. 221, 225, 229, 233 15 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85, 101, 117, 133, 149, 165, 181, 197, 213, 229
40MHz 1-5, 9-13 17-21, 25-29, 33-37, 41-45, 49-53, 57-61, 65-69, 73-77, 81-85, 99-93, 97-101, 105-109, 113-117, 121-125, 129-133, 137-141, 145-149, 153-157, 161-165, 169-173, 177-181, 185-189, 193-197,201 205, 209 213, 217-221, 225-229 15 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85, 101, 117, 133, 145, 165, 181, 197, 213, 229
80GHz 1, 13, 17, 29, 33, 45, 49, 61, 65, 77, 81, 93, 97, 109, 113, 125, 129, 141, 145, 157, 161, 173, 177, 189, 193, 205, 209, 221 14 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85, 101, 117, 133, 145, 165, 181, 197, 213
160GHz 1-29, 33-61, 65-93, 97-125, 129-157, 161-189, 193-221 7 5/21, 37/53, 69/85, 101/117, 133/149, 165/181, 197/213

Valid channels number and PSC Channels in 6GHz radio

Is it better to connect to 2.4 GHz, 5GHz or 6GHz?

The best frequency among these depends on inherent hardware features and the real-time radio-frequency environment.

Tanaza cloud management dashboard has specific features with which network engineers can easily manage hundreds or thousands of AP frequencies. They can switch from 2.4GHz to 5 GHz (and soon also to 6GHz thanks to the release of new Tanaza Powered Devices and Tanaza Compatible Devices)

For each AP, MSPs, ISPs, and SPs can select the radio mode, the channel and channel width, and the TX power.

To obtain the maximum signal spread and reduce the propagation loss, the technical conformation of each frequency suggests using the 2.4GHz band for 2.4 GHz radio-supported devices and IoT devices. Older 5Ghz may fall into a ‘legacy’ category and be moved to this band to avoid dragging down the performance of preferred clients in the 5 GHz band.

5 GHz becomes the band for mainstream high-performance devices that are not 6 GHz capable, allowing non-preferred devices to be relegated to 2.4 GHz as above.

The 6 GHz band can be used for the latest, highest-performance devices, almost by definition in the first few years of rollout. It benefits not only from the highest rates available but also from the lack of legacy equipment and lower noise levels in the band.

Read more tips to execute an accurate WiFi channel selection

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