Security and Connectivity

Increasing levels of security increase the amount of time required for a client to associate with the network. The overhead introduced by security can cause performance problems.

An overhead is not noticeable the first time a badge associates with an access point. But, it may cause a noticeable interruption in speech if a badge roams and re-associates while a call is active.

While encryption techniques such as WPA2-AES-CCMP introduce a certain amount of overhead to each packet, the required processing is minimal and does not affect Vocera. The overhead introduced by authentication techniques, however, can be significant and may affect the performance of the badge as it roams.

The delay in re-associating when roaming depends upon the specific configuration of your network and the type of security you implement. You may need to experiment to find the best balance between an appropriate level of security and acceptable performance.

For the badge to roam faster, use 802.11r, or OKC. B3000n and B3000 badges supports both Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC) and Cisco Centralized Key Management (CCKM), which is available for authentication between multiple APs with cached credentials.