[Nebula 19.10] Wireless Client Manual Sync for APs

Zyxel_Lynn

Nebula 19.10, combined with AP firmware 7.20, delivers significant improvements to wireless client information visibility in NCC by providing administrators with enhanced control over client data refresh timing. This update addresses the inherent limitations of NCC's standard three-minute polling cycle, eliminating the need to wait for regular data collection intervals to obtain accurate client information.

The Challenge with Periodic Polling

The previous periodic polling system presented challenges that could lead to temporary inaccuracies on the Clients page. While NCC collects device and client information from all cloud-managed devices every three minutes, the polling process doesn't occur simultaneously across all devices. This timing discrepancy can create misleading client associations, particularly in mixed wireless and wired environments.

For instance, when a wireless client connects to an AP that's connected to a switch, NCC might poll the switch before the AP. In this scenario, the switch reports the client as a wired connection since it detects traffic from the AP uplink, causing NCC to temporarily display the client as connected to the switch. Only after the subsequent AP polling does NCC correctly update the client status as a wireless connection to the appropriate access point. This timing delay can result in inconsistent or outdated client associations being displayed for several minutes.

The New Manual Sync Feature

The new manual sync feature in Nebula 19.10 provides an immediate solution to these polling delays by allowing administrators to trigger site-wide wireless client refreshes on demand. The process is straightforward and accessible directly from the Clients page in NCC. Administrators can select either the Access Point or All Clients view and click the Refresh button to initiate an immediate poll of all APs in the site for their current wireless client tables, bypassing the standard three-minute polling interval. During the data collection process, NCC displays a loading indicator to show that information is being gathered, and once the refresh is complete, the system presents the most accurate and current client information available.

Supported Devices

This feature is supported on cloud-managed Access Points and Security Routers, specifically including the USG FLEX 60AX Lite model.

In sum, the manual sync capability proves particularly valuable in several scenarios, including live troubleshooting situations where administrators need to see accurate client associations without delay, high-traffic environments where outdated polling data can cause confusion about network topology, and wireless performance assessments where instant confirmation of client-to-AP connections is crucial. This enhancement represents a significant improvement in network visibility and troubleshooting efficiency for Nebula-managed wireless infrastructure.