Beginners STS Guide — Stations Trouble Shooting Monitor

1. What is STS?

The Stations Trouble Shooting Monitor (STS) is a centralized monitoring system designed to help technical support teams instantly identify wireless clients experiencing poor link quality across all connected MikroTik Access Points (APs).

Instead of requiring support staff to log into individual MikroTik routers manually, STS continuously retrieves wireless registration data from all Access Points and presents the worst/problematic clients in one clear, real-time dashboard.

2. What the Severity Colors Mean

STS evaluates each client's radio link quality and assigns a color-coded status badge:

🔴 Critical: Severe wireless degradation. The client has an extremely poor wireless connection (very low signal, severe noise, or heavy packet loss). Support should prioritize investigating Critical clients immediately.

🟠 Bad: Significant wireless degradation. The client's connection is unstable and likely experiencing slow speeds or dropouts. Requires technical attention.

🟡 Warning: Moderate wireless degradation. The client's link quality is starting to drop. These clients should be monitored during support calls.

🟢 Healthy: Excellent wireless link quality. The client's wireless radio connection meets or exceeds all performance thresholds.

3. What "Worst Clients First" Means

By default, the STS dashboard sorts clients using Worst Clients First. This means clients with the worst wireless quality (Critical and Bad) automatically appear at the very top of your screen, saving you from scrolling through hundreds of healthy devices.

4. Understanding Wireless Readings (Signal, SNR & CCQ)

STS measures three core wireless indicators from the MikroTik Wireless Registration Table:

4. Signal Strength (dBm)

"What strength is the station receiving?"

Signal strength is measured in negative dBm (e.g. -60 dBm, -82 dBm).
Rule: Higher / less negative numbers are BETTER.
For example: -60 dBm is much stronger than -85 dBm.

5. SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio)

"How clean is that signal compared with noise?"

SNR measures how much stronger the client's signal is compared to background radio noise (in dB).
Rule: Higher numbers are BETTER.
A higher SNR means clearer radio communication.

6. CCQ (Client Connection Quality)

"How efficiently is the link communicating?"

CCQ represents the percentage of successful radio transmissions without retransmissions (0% to 100%).
Rule: Higher percentage is BETTER.
95% CCQ is excellent; 30% CCQ indicates severe packet loss.

7. TX CCQ and RX CCQ: TX CCQ is Transmit Quality (AP to Client), while RX CCQ is Receive Quality (Client to AP). STS evaluates both to detect asymmetric radio interference.

8. Wireless Threshold Quick Reference Table

The following standard thresholds are configured in STS to evaluate client health:

Wireless Reading	🟢 Healthy (Good)	🟡 Warning	🟠 Bad	🔴 Critical
Signal Strength	> -73 dBm	≤ -73 dBm	≤ -79 dBm	≤ -84 dBm
SNR (Signal-to-Noise)	> 22 dB	≤ 22 dB	≤ 15 dB	≤ 10 dB
CCQ (Tx/Rx Quality)	> 75%	≤ 75%	≤ 55%	≤ 35%

9. How Signal + SNR + CCQ Work Together (Examples)

IMPORTANT: STS does not evaluate readings in isolation. It combines Signal, SNR, and CCQ together to calculate an overall health score from 0 to 100.

Example 1: Perfect Connection

Signal: -60 dBm | SNR: 35 dB | CCQ: 95%

Result: 🟢 Healthy (100/100) — Excellent signal strength and clean, interference-free transmission.

Example 2: Weak Signal Distance Issue

Signal: -82 dBm | SNR: 25 dB | CCQ: 90%

Result: 🟠 Bad / 🟡 Warning — High CCQ, but weak signal strength indicates the customer radio is too far away or misaligned.

Example 3: Interference / Noise Issue

Signal: -65 dBm | SNR: 40 dB | CCQ: 30%

Result: 🔴 Critical — Signal and SNR look strong, but a severe CCQ drop (30%) triggers an immediate Critical escalation due to heavy local interference or packet loss.

10–13. What Support Should Do for Each Severity

10

🔴 Critical Clients

1. Check if other clients on the same AP are also Critical.
2. If ONLY this client is Critical, check antenna alignment, cable/connectors, or local obstacles at customer site.
3. Dispatch technician if alignment/cable issue is confirmed.

11

🟠 Bad Clients

1. Review signal and CCQ trends.
2. Check if customer reports intermittent slowdowns.
3. Schedule a site check or realignment if performance impacts customer.

12

🟡 Warning Clients

1. Monitor during customer support calls.
2. Note current signal and SNR.
3. Usually does not require immediate site dispatch unless customer reports active drops.

13

🟢 Healthy Clients

Wireless quality is optimal. If customer reports speed issues, investigate internal router, local Wi-Fi, or bandwidth usage rather than the wireless link.

14–15. The Golden Troubleshooting Rule

Rule: Always check if a problem affects ONE client or MANY clients on the same AP.
- One Client Problem: Customer antenna, alignment, cable, or local obstructions.
- Many Clients Problem: AP radio, site power, backhaul, or sector-wide RF interference.