Automate mesh Wi-Fi performance testing with repeatable test cases for throughput, roaming, band steering, and system capacity in lab environments.

Highlights

The Octobox Mesh Test Automation Package delivers repeatable, automated performance characterization of mesh access point (AP) systems using black-box testing in controlled lab environments.

Performance characterization

  • Measures throughput and latency for each access radio across all nodes in the mesh
  • Simulates a user walking away from a node with turntable-averaged measurements at each distance
  • Evaluates total throughput across the full mesh network

Optimal steering and band steering

  • Tests the mesh system's ability to steer devices to the correct node and band using pre-recorded house profiles
  • Places a kvr-enabled (802.11k/v/r) client into 10 locations within each home and compares free-association throughput to per-radio throughput
  • Characterizes band steering by moving a station from far to near and recording steering events with received signal strength indicator (RSSI) data

System capacity

  • Places up to 3 simultaneously active stations into the same pre-recorded house profiles
  • Evaluates optimal throughput across all stations and reveals load-balancing behavior

Roaming

  • Emulates a user walking along the mesh to measure connection gaps during node-to-node transitions
  • Records RSSI and data transmission gaps during roaming events
  • Supports up to 7 methods for inducing traffic and measuring roaming gaps
  • Configurable for kvr-enabled or disabled clients

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