Quality of Service

Quality of Service (QoS) determines how the network’s traffic is treated when the network connection is congested. It controls the priority of the network’s traffic relative to other networks, and can limit the download and upload bandwidth available to the network.

These settings define the default Quality of Service for all of the network’s traffic. For more advanced scenarios, policies provide options to prioritize or limit the bandwidth of specific traffic — for example, specific clients, applications, or traffic flows. See Policies.

Network-level Quality of Service settings are evaluated after any applicable policies. A policy that sets the priority or bandwidth limits for specific traffic therefore takes precedence over these network-level defaults.

Network Options

Select one or both of the following:

  • Multicast-to-Unicast Conversion—Converts multicast streams into unicast streams over the wireless network to improve the quality and reliability of streaming video, while preserving the bandwidth available to non-video clients. This option is disabled by default, because some wireless clients may not be compatible with it.
  • Network Priority—Assigns a Quality of Service priority to the network’s traffic, so that higher priority networks are favored over lower-priority networks when the connection is congested. When selected, choose a priority level under Network Priority.

Under Network Priority, select one of the following priority levels:

  • Low—The lowest priority, for bulk transfers and other non-critical traffic that can tolerate delay.
  • Medium(default)—The default priority, for traffic that is not time-sensitive, such as most standard applications (best effort).
  • High—A higher priority for latency-sensitive traffic, such as video streaming and video conferencing.
  • Very High—The highest priority, for traffic that is highly sensitive to delay and jitter, such as voice (VoIP).

Bandwidth Control

Bandwidth Control limits the bandwidth available to the network. Under Bandwidth Limits, select one or both of the following, and then set the rate with the corresponding slider (maximum 1 Gbps):

  • Download—Sets the maximum download rate for the network.
  • Upload—Sets the maximum upload rate for the network.

Wireless Options

The Wireless Options tab is available on wireless networks and contains the Wi-Fi Technologies settings.

Wi-Fi Technologies

Under Wi-Fi Generations, select one or more of the following standards:

  • Wi-Fi 5—The mandatory default standard for every wireless network. Wi-Fi 5 cannot be disabled, as it is required for the network to operate.
  • Wi-Fi 6—Enables the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) capabilities of the network. When selected, 802.11ax capable clients can make use of the enhanced throughput and transmission capabilities of the 802.11ax standard. This setting is enabled by default. To disable it, clear the Wi-Fi 6 checkbox.

    The Wi-Fi 6 option is available only when the device inventory includes at least one Wi-Fi 6 capable access point (for example, AP22, AP25, or AP32).

Wi-Fi 6 Options

The Wi-Fi 6 Options are available only when Wi-Fi 6 is enabled for the network.

  • Multiple Client Optimization (OFDMA)—Improves channel efficiency when multiple Wi-Fi 6 clients are connected, by enabling OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access). This setting is disabled by default.

Multicast Optimizations

This option enhances the quality and reliability of streaming videos by converting multicast streams into unicast streams over the wireless network, while also preserving the bandwidth available to the non-video clients.

This option is disabled by default, as some wireless clients may not be compatible with this optimization.

To configure multicast optimization, follow these steps:

  1. Under Wireless Options > Quality of Service, select the Multicast Optimizations checkbox.
  2. Click Update.

Multiple Clients Optimizations

This setting is available only when the Wi-Fi 6 toggle switch is enabled. This feature improves the channel efficiency when multiple Wi-Fi 6 clients are connected by enabling OFDMA. This setting is disabled by default on the network, select the Multiple Client Optimization (OFDMA) checkbox under Wi-Fi Options to enable this feature.