Wireless - How to measure interference from other access points using IDS scan on Wireless Bridge
Wireless Bridge can deny wireless services while interfered by other Access Points (APs) emitting signals in the same environment.
SonicWall provides tool to measure interference. IDS module allows for Intrusion Detection Settings adjustment and help reconfigure wireless settings to avoid conflicts caused by interference with other APs. This KB article describes interference measuring procedure.
Procedure:
Step 1: Enter Wireless | IDS
Step 2: To perform IDS scan click Scan Now button on the bottom of the page
Step 3: Analyze output for Discovered Access Points section, as shown below:
Signal strength indicates interference level in % ranging from Poor through Good, Very Good to Excellent.
In order to reduce interference, Channel should be adjusted on the Wireless Bridge.
Following graph represents interference ranges on 2,4 GHz:
If a channel is being interfered a new channel must be chosen manually ranging at least 5 channels away from the initial one as presented on the graph above. For example if high interference is present on channel 7 at most channel 3 can be chosen on the lower frequency range and at least 12 needs to be set on the higher frequency range to avoid further interference.
Step 4: In order to manually set the channel on wireless interface select radio band and channel manually as presented below: