WiFi Affinity & The FasCard System

Introduction

Wi-Fi in the context of the FasCard system is the primary means of communication between host device(s) (Satellites (SATs) and FasCard Access Points (FCAPs)) and respective client device(s) (FasCard/FLEX Reader, Touch Kiosk, Add Value Kiosk, or simply 'reader' for the purpose of this document). All FasCard client equipment is preconfigured to search for and communicate with any unique host SAT and their FCAP(s). SAT/FCAP and reader communications are linked and, as a result, indiscriminate between identical satellites and FCAPs in the same location.

Symptom

If more than one satellite exists in a location and is within proximity of more than one connected reader, as every satellites' base SSID and connection information is identical, these indiscriminate communications may cause a reader to connect to whichever satellite communicates with it first, even if said satellite was far enough away to provide a weak signal or is already communicating with an excessively high volume of other readers (fig. 1):

^{Fig. 1 - Satellite-to-reader imbalanced communications, visual example.}

This can cause a load imbalance where one satellite holds a much greater reader connection count (fig. 2), which can result in a gradual, noticeable rise in potential delays in communication due to Wi-Fi traffic congestion through both a heightened volume of connected readers on the same device channel(s) and broadcast distance limitations. This is typically evident when one or more satellites may have far less than 50% of the overall reader volume connected vs. its counterpart(s), and/or if an offset reader is connected to the furthest satellite away from its nearest neighbor and the signal strength is exceptionally low.

^{Fig. 2 - Load Imbalance on FasCard Admin Site, Example.}

Solution

WiFi Affinity was added to aide in clearing this confusion by allowing satellites and readers to be preferentially assigned, giving priority for a reader to communicate to whichever satellite or FCAP is chosen. This not only allows for a reader to be assigned to the most convenient satellite distance-wise for communications, it can aide in load balancing through a more even distribution of communication by having control of the volume of (and which) readers that can connect to an individually chosen satellite. A couple of use cases where this can be highly beneficial may include:

• An updated laundromat with 1 satellite and up to four (4) of FCAPs connected to the satellite in an open public area.

  • A legacy laundromat with 2-4 satellites and a volume of readers well over 60 in an open public area.

• Divided laundry areas where some of the adjacent equipment may still be within range of a satellite or FCAP in an opposing section or room.

• A multi-housing complex wherein the laundry rooms are either only a few feet apart or one floor directly above or below and satellites accommodate for each room.

WiFi Affinity, alongside proper positioning of satellites and FCAPs for even broadcast distribution (figs. 3-4) and individually setting each Satellite and FCAP to different WiFi Channels, would aide in more efficient, consistent communications.

^{Fig. 3 - Proper affinity without moving satellites, visual example.}

^{Fig. 4 - Proper affinity with repositioning of satellites, visual example.}

The two example images above reflect what may occur based on how Wi-Fi Affinity by itself, or how Wi-Fi Affinity with proper positioning of satellites, could dramatically change the scope of a store's reader communications. The more devices that are assigned closer to its respective satellite, the better the signal quality and responsiveness of a FasCard/FLEX reader.

How It Works

Every satellite and FCAP has an overall broad SSID (often identified as a series of random letters, numbers, and special characters: " @Zx*L9ph 7k3<v!_ " as it would appear when searching for a Wi-Fi connection) that readers connect to. Wi-Fi Affinity, on the other hand, allows for a reader to be configured on the FasCard Admin Site to selectively choose which satellite or FCAP it wants to connect to. This is accomplished by assigning a Wi-Fi Affinity to a satellite and/or FCAP. When a Wi-Fi Affinity is set for a particular satellite, that satellite is assigned a second unique SSID for the reader to search for and prioritize connecting to first, when a reader is correctly linked to its respective Affinity. Should connecting to its assigned satellite or FCAP be unsuccessful, the reader will then default to searching for and connecting to the overall broad SSID until the reader can reconnect with its affinity again.

What Is Needed

• At least one (1) C-1491-V2 hAP ax³ Satellite (SAT) and one (1) C-4491 CCI Access Point (CAP) in FCAP mode. Up to four (4) FCAPs can be configured to connect to a single SAT.

  • Affinity setup is not required when there is only one Satellite at a single location.

  • When affinities are set up with multiple SATs and FCAPs at a single location, each satellite and FCAP would need to be on a different WiFi channel. 

    • Even if more than one device may have an affinity with separate satellites/FCAPs, competition for the same airspace remains a constant when all devices are broadcasting and receiving information on the same WiFi channel.

    • Additionally, legacy locations may still be using multiple satellites. These rules still apply.

• For locations using the C-1491-V2 SAT, which is required to use the C-4491 CAP, Satware v1.32.27 or above is required.

  • FasCard/FLEX readers and kiosks require minimum Core 100 or newer firmware.

• For locations using legacy satellites, Satware v1.25.02 or above is required for Satellite Affinity.

  • Legacy FasCard readers and kiosks updated to an available Core 9+ reader firmware is also required.

Setup Instructions

The below methods will reflect both current and legacy multi-device methods to set up Affinities.

Setting WiFi Affinity - Multiple Satellites

1. Log in to the FasCard Admin site. If you have multiple accounts, select the account that has the site listed where you would want satellite affinity assigned.
   

2. Click the Setup tab, followed by the Locations sub-tab. Select a location or add a new location as described in Location Setup.

3. In the Satellites section, click on the first satellite you want to assign a WiFi Affinity to.

   1. If no satellites exist (e.g. new store setups), make sure to Add Satellites, first.
      

4. Click on the WiFi Affinity dropdown and set an Affinity number for the satellite in question.
   
   

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   1. When setting a WiFi Affinity, it is strongly recommended to also change the WiFi Channel to a different channel than the other satellite(s).

5. Repeat the process for any remaining satellites you want to assign a WiFi Affinity.

Setting WiFi Affinity - FCAPs

1. While in Location Setup and with a Satellite that has FCAPs added to it per https://cardconceptsinc.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/LCE/pages/579141633, select the FCAP you want to assign an affinity to.

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2. Once selected, click the WiFi Affinity dropdown and select which affinity you want to assign the FCAP, then click Save at the bottom of the Location Details page.

   1. When setting a WiFi Affinity, it is strongly recommended to also change the WiFi Channel to a different channel than the other FCAPs.

3. Repeat the process for any remaining FCAPs you want to assign a WiFi Affinity.

Setting WiFi Affinity - Machines

1. Click the Machines sub-tab.

   1. If multiple locations are configured for the FasCard account, select the appropriate location. If only one location is configured, it will be selected automatically.

2. Select the first machine you would want to assign a WiFi Affinity to.

   1. If no machines exist, add new machines as described in FasCard Admin Site - Machine Setup.

3. Click on the WiFi Affinity dropdown and select the WiFi Affinity you would want to set the machine's affinity to.

   1. With current FasCard/FLEX systems that use a SAT and FCAP combination, FCAPs can share affinity with a SAT.

4. Repeat the process for any remaining machines you want to assign a WiFi Affinity to (preferably to a SAT/FCAP within comparable range of said nearby readers).

Location Status Verification

Once you have WiFi Affinities assigned, you will be able to see which readers are indexed to which satellites using the System tab > System Maintenance sub-tab.

The SAT name and FCAP name columns in Machine Status highlight what devices are connected to and identify whether or not devices are on their correct assigned SATs / FCAPs.

Tips

• Since every reader can be given an affinity, there is no hard limit to how many readers can have affinities split to the various satellites/FCAPs in a single location. However, the affinity count limit is four (4).

• When a reader has an assigned Wi-Fi Affinity and is unable to connect to its assigned satellite/FCAP, the periodic retry attempts would be as follows:

  • After the first time it can't find the preferred satellite/FCAP first, it will retry after only 5 minutes (hoping that the satellite/FCAP was merely rebooted and is now available once again).

  • After the second failed connection to the preferred satellite/FCAP, it will retry after another 15 minutes.

  • For retries #3-5, it will retry once per hour.

  • For retries #6-10, it will retry once every 6 hours.

  • After that it will retry once per day.

• A successful connection to the preferred satellite/FCAP resets the periodic retry attempts counter, so that the next failure after that would be again retried after only 5 minutes.

Additional Notes

• While modern Wi-Fi stream advancements such as MU-MIMO (multiple user, multiple input, multiple output) help alleviate this by having multiple individual streams for bandwidth distribution as opposed to a single stream, such is still only limited to compatible host and client devices as well as the number of multiple streams available. The FasCard system does not support MU-MIMO capabilities.