Optimized roaming resolves the problem of sticky clients that remain associated to access points that are far away and outbound clients that attempt to connect to a Wi-Fi network without having a stable connection. This feature disassociates clients based on the RSSI of the client data packets and data rate. The client is disassociated if the RSSI alarm condition is met and the current data rate of the client is lower than the optimized roaming data rate threshold. You can disable the data rate option so that only RSSI is used for disassociating clients.

Optimized roaming also prevents client association when the client's RSSI is low. This feature checks the RSSI of the incoming client against the RSSI threshold. This check prevents the clients from connecting to a Wi-Fi network unless the client has a viable connection. In many scenarios, even though clients can hear beacons and connect to a Wi-Fi network, the signal might not be strong enough to support a stable connection.

You can also configure the client coverage reporting interval for a radio by using optimized roaming. The client coverage statistics include data packet RSSIs, Coverage Hole Detection and Mitigation (CHDM) pre-alarm failures, retransmission requests, and current data rates.

Optimized roaming is useful in the following scenarios:

• Addresses the sticky client challenge by proactively disconnecting clients.

• Actively monitors data RSSI packets.

• Disassociates client when the RSSI is lower than the set threshold.

This section contains the following subsections: