Roaming

Roaming refers seamless movement of a badge from one access point to another.

Always plan transition areas between access points as much as possible, so that the users do not roam in unexpected places. For example, you may want to avoid having an access point cell boundary covered within a conference room causing users to roam by moving around the room. In most cases, the Vocera badge roams seamlessly, and users do not notice the transition. If necessary, you can create a map of transition areas to help manage user expectations.

If WiFi Multimedia (WMM) and QOS enhanced Basic Service Set (QBSS) are enabled, the B3000n badge takes advantage of channel utilization and QBBS load information so that SNR (Signal Noise Ration) makes better informed roaming decisions.

If you have only B3000 badges, test your cell transition zones carefully, and ensure that one access point has a distinctly stronger signal than all others. If all access points have weak signals in a transition zone, a badge user may constantly roam back and forth among them just by turning around or making small movements.

For more information on assisted roaming and fast transition roaming, refer to Assisted Roaming: 802.11k and Fast Transition Roaming: 802.11r respectively.