Network Best Practices

USING WI-FI

The following recommendations apply to typical office environments. A wireless engineer should evaluate more complex environments, such as manufacturing floors, areas with high levels of radio frequency (RF) noise, or sparsely covered spaces.

Carefully review the following considerations during the design, deployment, and operation of wireless networks used by Meet.

2.4 GHZ VERSUS 5 GHZ RF BANDS

We recommended that your network force clients onto the 5 GHz RF band, if available.

We recommend you not deploy and operate Mode over the 2.4-GHz band of a wireless network as it’s typically heavily used. The 2.4-GHz band is also less reliable because it has 3 non-overlapping channels, typically high noise levels from nearby interfering networks, and extra interference from other devices.

DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS

For the wireless network, think about capacity rather than coverage.

Manage cell size—Control cell size by the transmit power of the access point (AP). Deploy smaller cells where more devices are expected, such as meeting rooms and auditoriums, to increase capacity. Use bigger cells to provide general coverage on the office floor.
Disable low rates to improve RF usage efficiency and force a client’s handover to the closest AP while roaming between APs.
If a wireless network’s SSID is available on both bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), the network should force clients onto the 5-GHz band.
To allow advanced features, such as seamless roaming between APs and proper RF management, a wireless network should be centrally managed and operated—not a collection of standalone APs.
Finally, perform a post-deployment wireless survey to confirm wireless coverage in the spaces where Meet is typically used.

USING WMM

To support reliable Meet communication over wireless networks, you should implement Wireless Multimedia Extensions (WMM).

Mode traffic needs to be classified by one of the following ways:

The wireless controller or AP based on the Mode-specific protocols and ports.
The Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) field value set by other network equipment. Use DSCP if you have sufficient trust in the network.

While full WMM support (including clients) is required to provide bidirectional QoS, you can configure it at the network level (on the controller or AP) to give significant benefits. Meet traffic should be assigned to the audio or video queue on the wireless AP or controller and be preferred over other classes of traffic.

AVOID USING PROXIES

We strongly recommend that you do not use proxy servers for Mode traffic.

Proxying traffic adds latency and can cause Meet to automatically reduce the video and audio quality. Meet performance is best when the latency between the client and Google back end is lower than 100 ms. Also, Mode provides the same benefits for video traffic that a proxy does, so a proxy isn’t needed.

IF PROXY SERVERS MUST BE USED IN YOUR NETWORK

If you have a clear use case that absolutely requires the use of a proxy, understand that proxy servers can severely impact performance and make sure:

To allow access to Mode traffic in the proxy configuration.
The network bypasses the proxy for Mode IP address and SNI.

The Socket Secure (SOCKS5) internet protocol is not currently supported.

AVOID USING QOS

You shouldn’t use quality of service (QoS) for Mode in your network because Mode automatically adapts to network conditions. Use QoS only if you have a compelling reason, such as a congested network, and are able to deploy and maintain an end-to-end QoS model in your network.

AVOID USING VPNS

We strongly recommend that you do not use a VPN for Mode traffic. VPNs add latency and can cause Mode to automatically reduce video and audio quality.

If you must use a VPN:

Enable split tunneling for your VPN.
Route the domains from Step 2 outside the VPN using the DNS or SNI (SNI is recommended).
Route the IP ranges from Step 3 outside the VPN via prefix matching.