Reworked Channels / Channel analysis page suggestions

[crowedavid]

currently running v2.32.0

contrary to what you might read below, i really like the direction you're going on the Channel analysis page. :-)

Channels / Channel analysis page should only offer APs to choose from

similar dropdown suggestion as recently implemented in the wifi roaming events tab to only include APs.

Button for adhoc scan

i currently have NETPULSE_SCAN_INTERVAL on my APs set to 0 so there shouldn't be any data to draw from for the analysis. i'm not sure if you're using data from multiple scans to derive analysis but if you can add a "Scan" button for an adhoc one-shot scan to gather data from the selected AP that would get me in the door.

if you are using multiple scans to derive analysis maybe changing the button to "Gather data" and have it bounded on a few scans over an articulated period will work for those of us wanting to minimize interval scanning.

Channels / Channel analysis page is optimistic in suggestions without data

related to the above, on my APs netpulse shouldn't have any data gathered with which to make suggestions but it ranks a "BEST SUGGESTED CHANNEL" of channel 1 even though it notes "YOUR CURRENT CHANNEL" of channel 11 scores 100 and has no neighbors. this could be due to lack of data but i would suggest that preferring to keep a current channel setting unless there is enough of a difference to make an appreciable improvement is a better call. changing the channel is a bit disruptive so suggestions for a change shouldn't be taken lightly.

in any case, if there is no data to do the analysis just add a warning indicator and a suggestion to do a one-shot or enable the scanning feature on the agent fleet.

there is a yellow text note of "This radio sees no networks on this band." but that is definitely due to not having any data.

navigation icon similarity

the reworked Channels / Channel Analysis page returned with the same left side navigation panel icon as the WiFi roaming page. i think you had a decent one that was different previously but in any case, using a different icon will help visually.

similarity with WiFi roaming / Channel analysis tab

WiFi roaming / Channel analysis tab name could be changed to "Current channels" to remove ambiguity

[gnacho]

Partial fix landed in 85aa5f5: the channels nav icon is now radio-tower (roaming keeps its wifi icon), the unit picker only offers APs — managed and external switches are excluded unless they report real WiFi bands — and the roaming survey tab is renamed "Current channels".

Still open from this issue: the adhoc scan button (the SCAN_INTERVAL=0 case) and keeping the current channel unless there is an appreciable improvement, since retuning is disruptive. I'll follow up on those separately.

[gnacho]

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, and glad the direction works for you.

The plan here is not to patch the two pages separately but to unify Channels and the WiFi roaming / Channel analysis tab into one coherent view, using the Channels page as the model (it is the newer code), and rename the tab to "Current channels" as you suggest. The concrete items you list (AP-only dropdown, a different nav icon, an adhoc scan button for fleets running NETPULSE_SCAN_INTERVAL=0, and conservative suggestions that prefer the current channel when there is not enough data) all fold into that unification.

Targeting the next release for this one.

[crowedavid]

sounnds good. the unification definitely makes sense. i was going to suggest more changes on the roaming side until i saw you were already doing it on the analysis side. 👍

[crowedavid]

quick feedback from 85aa5f5 related to this issue:

• the unit picker appears to be choosing all openwrt fleet units and includes the gateway in addition to 2 APs
• pedantic nit: in the WiFi roaming / Current channels tab, the top card with the band selector still says Channel analysis
  • further pedantry: the note text below also references the analysis commentary and can be removed

planned unification fixes may easily ignore my current pedantry. :-)

[gnacho]

First batch shipped (in main, next release):

• APs only in this tab: the gateway no longer appears in the survey picker whenever other units exist (a mono-router fleet keeps it, since it is the only unit worth surveying there).
• "Current channels" for real: the tab was renamed a while ago, but the card inside still said "Channel analysis" - fixed, and the leftover analysis note below is gone.
• The nav icon: the Channels page uses radio-tower since 85aa5f5, different from the roaming wifi icon (your report was from v2.32.0 - double-check on the next update).

Still open here, and planned: the adhoc one-shot scan (for your SCAN_INTERVAL=0 fleets) and the conservative suggestions (prefer the current channel unless there is an appreciable improvement, warn when there is no data). Those two are the substance of this discussion - they change how suggestions are computed and add a write-ish action, so they get their own slice rather than riding along with these cosmetics.

[gnacho]

The conservative-suggestions half is shipped in main too (next release): the engine now stays silent with no neighbor data, and with data it only suggests a change when the best block is at least 30% cleaner than the current one - otherwise it says keep your channel. No more 'best suggested channel 36' with every score at zero. The one exception: a current channel that crosses DFS still gets the clean block suggested, because radar will displace it regardless of neighbors. The suggestion card now also distinguishes 'keep your channel' from 'not enough data to have an opinion'.

Remaining here: the adhoc one-shot scan (SCAN_INTERVAL=0 fleets) and folding the survey view into the Channels page as a live lens.

[gnacho]

The unification is shipped in main (next release): the Channels page now has a two-lens switch - 24 h (the scan-based analysis, scores and suggestions) and Now (the live survey of the selected unit: per-channel occupancy, noise and neighbors). The Roaming page loses its Current channels tab: Itinerancia keeps Matriz, 11r, Eventos and Reanclaje, and the two channel views stop duplicating each other.

Also in: the conservative suggestions (from the previous comment) and the Scan now button for SCAN_INTERVAL=0 fleets. Thanks for the detailed review - the picker nit, the card title and the note text all went in with the earlier batch.

[gnacho]

Closing this as shipped - the whole rework landed across v2.35.0 and the follow-ups, validated on a live 4-AP fleet:

• Spectrum: LuCI-style flat-top geometry with a gentle curve, uniform channel-slot axis, adaptive dBm scale with real gridlines, per-SSID colors for every network (own included), labels for all networks (peak + floor band), hover shading with a Y-aware hit-test so nested small networks are reachable, occupancy strip with real bandwidth overlap and view-relative tones, no synthetic blocks.
• Engine: conservative suggestions (only move when the gain is clear, DFS exception), "Scan now" button with a 30-day fallback, and the Now lens folding the live survey into Canales - fed by the agent itself since 3.0.12, so it works on agent-only fleets without SSH.

If anything feels off on your instance, open a fresh issue with a screenshot and the build stamp (bottom-left of the sidebar). Thanks everyone for the back and forth - this page is unrecognizable from where it started.