What can I do to fix or reduce the multicast/broadcast traffic in my wireless network? Part 2 of 2

In part one of the series, we discussed what multicast/broadcast traffic is, and why you should worry about having too much of it on your network.  

This week we want to share the 9 possible mitigation solutions. They are:

1. Make smaller broadcast domains

2. Use multicast to unicast conversion (if available with your AP vendor)

3. Increase multicast transmit rate (this should be used cautiously)

4. Dynamic multicast rate adjustment (if available with your AP vendor)

5. Dynamically adjust channel width for multicast transmissions (must be used in conjunction with 3 and 4, and depends on AP vendor)

6. Have AP implement Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) proxy, and ARP suppression

7. Bonjour traffic suppression via Bonjour Gateway and/or AP vendor-specific solution

8. Connect fixed devices using multicast-based discovery mechanism via wired networks

9. Disable peer-to-peer communication

Each of these methods helps prevent the network from being disrupted by too much multicast/broadcast traffic, which can degrade network performance.  Work closely with your AP vendor and/or a WiFi analytics professional to engage the right suppression method for your network, and avoid compromising functionality and performance.  With Wyebot’s Wireless Intelligence Platform ™ (WIP), clients can track traffic over time and determine how much multicast/broadcast traffic exists. This information is useful when deciding if a suppression method is necessary, if the suppression method was successful, and what essential capacity planning must be done for the future.