Troubleshooting Client Connection Experience Using the AP CLI

The DNS and ARP Round Trip Time (RTT) tracking feature measures per‑client control packet latency after IP assignment, enabling the Access Point (AP) to collect minimum, maximum, average, and count statistics for Domain Name System (DNS) queries and Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests. When enabled, DNS and ARP RTT tracking determines how quickly clients receive DNS responses and ARP replies, allowing you to identify latency issues in client browsing experience and wired or wireless path performance.

Attention: DNS and ARP RTT tracking applies only to wireless clients and measures control packets after Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address assignment. ARP RTT tracking is not supported when Proxy ARP is enabled on the WLAN and is not supported for IPv6 traffic. The feature is supported on Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) Wi‑Fi 6 (11ax) and Wi‑Fi 7 (11be) APs, and on MediaTek (MTK) APs for RTT collection only.

To view the DNS RTT and ARP RTT information for Wi-Fi clients, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the client you want to troubleshoot and the AP where it is connected.
  2. Log in as admin through SSH to the AP IP address.
  3. Enable DNS RTT and display the collected statistics:
    1. Enter the command set dns-rtt enable to enable DNS RTT tracking.

       set dns-rtt <enable/disable>

rkscli: set dns-rtt enable
DNS RTT tracking enabled
rkscli: set dns-rtt disable
DNS RTT tracking disabled
rkscli: get dns-rtt
DNS RTT tracking: enabled

      This command enables DNS RTT tracking on the AP and starts collecting DNS RTT statistics for client DNS traffic.

      Note: After enabling DNS RTT tracking, ensure that wireless clients generate DNS queries. For example, clients can browse multiple web pages or access network resources that require DNS resolution.

    2. Enter the command get dns-rtt-stats to view per‑client DNS RTT statistics:

      rkscli: get dns-rtt-stats
================================================================================
                            DNS RTT Stats
================================================================================
Status         : Enabled
Active Entries : 0 / 1024
Dropped (Cap)  : 0
================================================================================
                   DNS RTT Statistics per Client
================================================================================
MAC               Interface  Queries  Success  Timeout  Min(msec) Max(msec) Avg(msec) Success%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7a:8c:57:40:b0:33  wlan33     3        3        0        130      141      137      100
ac:bc:32:ef:40:15  wlan32     8        8        0        177      1345     519      100
c2:b2:1f:a7:37:4a  wlan1      48       47       1        125      1789     306      97
b2:19:24:ef:d4:57  mld1       48       47       1        125      1789     306      97
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total rudb entries with DNS activities: 4
OK
rkscli:

      When reviewing client DNS RTT data, interpret elevated RTT values or repeated timeouts as indicators of DNS server latency, upstream congestion, or packet loss affecting name resolution.

    3. (Optional) Enter the get dns-rtt command to view the current DNS RTT tracking status:
      rkscli: get dns-rtt
DNS RTT tracking: enabled
  4. Enable ARP RTT and display the collected statistics:
    1. Enter the command set arp-rtt enable to enable ARP RTT tracking.
      rkscli: set arp-rtt enable
ARP RTT tracking enabled

rkscli: set arp-rtt disable
ARP RTT tracking disabled

rkscli: get arp-rtt
ARP RTT tracking: enabled

      This command enables ARP RTT tracking on the AP and starts collecting ARP RTT statistics for client ARP traffic.

    2. Enter the command get arp-rtt-stats to view per‑client ARP RTT statistics:
      rkscli: get arp-rtt-stats
ARP Round Trip Time Statistics
==============================
Total Requests:     29
Matched Replies:    19
Unmatched Replies:  128
Timeouts:           4
Retried Requests:   6
Dropped (Max Cap):  0
Active Entries:     0 / 1024
RTT Statistics:
Minimum RTT:        4 ms
Maximum RTT:        76 ms
Average RTT:        15 ms
Per-Client ARP RTT Statistics (from RUDB):
==================================================
Client MAC        Avg RTT    Min RTT    Max RTT    Reqs     Replies  Timeouts Retries  Last Activity
ac:bc:32:ef:40:15 453 ms     4 ms       39 ms      24       14       4        6          3275
c2:b2:1f:a7:37:4a 23 ms      5 ms       76 ms      5        5        0        0          3275
b2:19:24:ef:d4:57 23 ms      5 ms       76 ms      5        5        0        0          3275
OK
rkscli:
    3. (Optional) Enter the get dns-rtt command to view the current DNS RTT tracking status:
      rkscli: set arp-rtt enable
ARP RTT tracking enabled

Client Connection Experience provides detailed per‑client post‑DHCP performance metrics, enabling administrators to diagnose issues with DNS responsiveness, ARP reachability, and RF layer stability.

Parent topic: Troubleshooting Tools