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Contents
- Configuring Quality of Service
- Configuring Quality of Service
- Information About Quality of Service
- Configuring Quality of Service Profiles
- Configuring QoS Profiles (GUI)
- Configuring QoS Profiles (CLI)
- Configuring Quality of Service Roles
- Information About Quality of Service Roles
- Configuring QoS Roles
- Configuring QoS (GUI)
- Configuring QoS Roles (CLI)
Configuring Quality of Service
Configuring Quality of Service
Information About Quality of Service
Quality of service (QoS) refers to the capability of a network to provide better service to selected network traffic over various technologies. The primary goal of QoS is to provide priority including dedicated bandwidth, controlled jitter and latency (required by some real-time and interactive traffic), and improved loss characteristics.
The controller supports four QoS levels:
- Platinum/Voice—Ensures a high quality of service for voice over wireless.
- Gold/Video—Supports high-quality video applications.
- Silver/Best Effort—Supports normal bandwidth for clients. This is the default setting.
- Bronze/Background—Provides the lowest bandwidth for guest services.
NoteVoIP clients should be set to Platinum.
You can configure the bandwidth of each QoS level using QoS profiles and then apply the profiles to WLANs. The profile settings are pushed to the clients associated to that WLAN. In addition, you can create QoS roles to specify different bandwidth levels for regular and guest users. Follow the instructions in this section to configure QoS profiles and QoS roles. You can also define the maximum and default QoS levels for unicast and multicast traffic when you assign a QoS profile to a WLAN.
The wireless rate limits can be defined on both upstream and downstream traffic. Rate limits can be defined per SSID and/or specified as a maximum rate limit for all clients. These rate limits can be individually configured.
Configuring Quality of Service Profiles
Configuring QoS Profiles (GUI)
Configuring QoS Profiles (CLI)
Step 1 Disable the 802.11a and 802.11b/g networks so that you can configure the QoS profiles by entering these commands: Step 2 Change the profile description by entering this command: config qos description {bronze | silver | gold | platinum }description
Step 3 Define the maximum and default QoS levels for unicast and multicast traffic when you assign a QoS profile to a WLAN by entering this command: config qos priority {bronze | gold | platinum | silver} {maximum priority} {default unicast priority} {default multicast priority}
You choose from the following options for the maximum priority, default unicast priority, and default multicast priority parameters:
Step 4 Define the maximum value (0–7) for the priority tag associated with packets that fall within the profile, by entering these commands: config qos protocol-type {bronze | silver | gold | platinum} dot1p
config qos dot1p-tag {bronze | silver | gold | platinum} tag
The tagged packets include CAPWAP data packets (between access points and the controller) and packets sent toward the core network.
Note The 802.1p tagging has impact only on wired packets. Wireless packets are impacted only by the maximum priority level set for a QoS profile.
Note If a QoS profile has 802.1p tagging configured and if this QoS profile is assigned to a WLAN that uses an untagged interface on the controller, the client traffic will be blocked.
Step 5 Reenable the 802.11a and 802.11b/g networks so that you can configure the QoS profiles by entering these commands:
Configuring Quality of Service Roles
Information About Quality of Service Roles
After you configure a QoS profile and apply it to a WLAN, it limits the bandwidth level of clients associated to that WLAN. Multiple WLANs can be mapped to the same QoS profile, which can result in bandwidth contention between regular users (such as employees) and guest users. In order to prevent guest users from using the same level of bandwidth as regular users, you can create QoS roles with different (and presumably lower) bandwidth contracts and assign them to guest users.
You can configure up to ten QoS roles for guest users.
NoteIf you choose to create an entry on the RADIUS server for a guest user and enable RADIUS authentication for the WLAN on which web authentication is performed rather than adding a guest user to the local user database from the controller, you need to assign the QoS role on the RADIUS server itself. To do so, a “guest-role” Airespace attribute needs to be added on the RADIUS server with a datatype of “string” and a return value of “11.” This attribute is sent to the controller when authentication occurs. If a role with the name returned from the RADIUS server is found configured on the controller, the bandwidth associated to that role is enforced for the guest user after authentication completes successfully.
Configuring QoS Roles
Configuring QoS (GUI)
Step 1 Choose Wireless > QoS > Roles to open the QoS Roles for the Guest Users page. This page shows any existing QoS roles for guest users.
Note If you want to delete a QoS role, hover your cursor over the blue drop-down arrow for that role and choose Remove.
Step 2 Click New to create a new QoS role. The QoS Role Name > New page appears. Step 3 In the Role Name text box, enter a name for the new QoS role. The name should uniquely identify the role of the QoS user (such as Contractor, Vendor, and so on). Step 4 Click Apply to commit your changes. Step 5 Click the name of the QoS role to edit the bandwidth of a QoS role. The Edit QoS Role Data Rates page appears.
Note The values that you configure for the per-user bandwidth contracts affect only the amount of bandwidth going downstream (from the access point to the wireless client). They do not affect the bandwidth for upstream traffic (from the client to the access point).
Step 6 Define the average data rate for TCP traffic on a per-user basis by entering the rate in Kbps in the Average Data Rate text box. You can enter a value between 0 and 60,000 Kbps (inclusive). A value of 0 imposes no bandwidth restriction on the QoS role. Step 7 Define the peak data rate for TCP traffic on a per-user basis by entering the rate in Kbps in the Burst Data Rate text box. You can enter a value between 0 and 60,000 Kbps (inclusive). A value of 0 imposes no bandwidth restriction on the QoS role.
Note The Burst Data Rate should be greater than or equal to the Average Data Rate. Otherwise, the QoS policy may block traffic to and from the wireless client.
Step 8 Define the average real-time rate for UDP traffic on a per-user basis by entering the rate in Kbps in the Average Real-Time Rate text box. You can enter a value between 0 and 60,000 Kbps (inclusive). A value of 0 imposes no bandwidth restriction on the QoS role. Step 9 Define the peak real-time rate for UDP traffic on a per-user basis by entering the rate in Kbps in the Burst Real-Time Rate text box. You can enter a value between 0 and 60,000 Kbps (inclusive). A value of 0 imposes no bandwidth restriction on the QoS role.
Note The Burst Real-Time Rate should be greater than or equal to the Average Real-Time Rate. Otherwise, the QoS policy may block traffic to and from the wireless client.
Step 10 Click Apply. Step 11 Click Save Configuration. Step 12 Apply a QoS role to a guest user by following the instructions in the Configuring Local Network Users for the Controller (GUI) section.
Configuring QoS Roles (CLI)
Step 1 Create a QoS role for a guest user by entering this command: config netuser guest-role create role_name
Note If you want to delete a QoS role, enter the config netuser guest-role delete role_name command.
Step 2 Configure the bandwidth contracts for a QoS role by entering these commands:
- config netuser guest-role qos data-rate average-data-rate role_name rate—Configures the average data rate for TCP traffic on a per-user basis.
- config netuser guest-role qos data-rate burst-data-rate role_name rate—Configures the peak data rate for TCP traffic on a per-user basis.
Note The Burst Data Rate should be greater than or equal to the Average Data Rate. Otherwise, the QoS policy may block traffic to and from the wireless client.
- config netuser guest-role qos data-rate average-realtime-rate role_name rate—Configures the average real-time rate for UDP traffic on a per-user basis.
- config netuser guest-role qos data-rate burst-realtime-rate role_name rate—Configures the peak real-time rate for UDP traffic on a per-user basis.
Note The Burst Real-Time Rate should be greater than or equal to the Average Real-Time Rate. Otherwise, the QoS policy may block traffic to and from the wireless client.
Note For the role_name parameter in each of these commands, enter a name for the new QoS role. The name should uniquely identify the role of the QoS user (such as Contractor, Vendor, and so on). For the rate parameter, you can enter a value between 0 and 60,000 Kbps (inclusive). A value of 0 imposes no bandwidth restriction on the QoS role.
Step 3 Apply a QoS role to a guest user by entering this command: config netuser guest-role apply username role_name
For example, the role of Contractor could be applied to guest user jsmith.
Note If you do not assign a QoS role to a guest user, the Role text box in the User Details shows the role as “default.” The bandwidth contracts for this user are defined in the QoS profile for the WLAN.
Note If you want to unassign a QoS role from a guest user, enter the config netuser guest-role apply username default command. This user now uses the bandwidth contracts defined in the QoS profile for the WLAN.
Step 4 Save your changes by entering this command: Step 5 See a list of the current QoS roles and their bandwidth parameters by entering this command: Information similar to the following appears:
Role Name........................................ Contractor Average Data Rate........................... 10 Burst Data Rate............................. 10 Average Realtime Rate....................... 100 Burst Realtime Rate......................... 100 Role Name........................................ Vendor Average Data Rate........................... unconfigured Burst Data Rate............................. unconfigured Average Realtime Rate....................... unconfigured Burst Realtime Rate...................... unconfigured
