AMB (Multi-Band Operation)

AMB (Multi-Band Operation) is designed to optimize the use of multiple frequency bands available to Access Points (APs) and wireless user devices.

It achieves this by implementing several key capabilities:

  • Beacon Report - This capability allows devices to report the quality of the wireless environment they experience, which helps the network make informed decisions about band steering and load balancing.
  • Channel Non-Preference - Devices can indicate channels they prefer not to use, allowing the network to avoid those channels and reduce interference.
  • Cellular Capability - This feature enables the network to consider the cellular capabilities of devices when making decisions about band steering and load balancing, ensuring seamless integration between Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
  • Association Disallow - The network can prevent devices from associating with certain APs or bands, guiding them to more optimal connections.
  • 802.11r Fast Roaming - A feature that allows seamless transition between access points (supported by Wi-Fi 5 and newer APs). It works by pre-authenticating devices with multiple access points, reducing the time needed to switch connections and ensuring uninterrupted connectivity.
  • 802.11w MFP - Management Frame Protection, which secures management frames from unauthorized alterations, supported by Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) and later standards. It works by encrypting management frames, ensuring that only authenticated devices can interpret and act on these frames.
  • 802.11k Neighbor Report - Enhances roaming by providing a list of neighbor APs to the client device. APs build a neighbor AP list via background scanning, and when the client plans to roam, it will request this list from the AP. This list is then used to perform efficient scanning to find a roaming candidate.

AMB features can be enabled on a per-WLAN basis in the following way: Beacon Report, Channel Non-Preference, Cellular Capabilities, and Association Disallow are enabled altogether by switching the AMB toggle in the Advanced Options of the WLAN configuration. Fast Roaming and MFP are available for most encryption types. Neighbor Report is enabled individually in the advanced options of the WLAN configuration

Parent topic: Wireless Services