Radio as a Sensor

Automated Sensor Management with AutoSensor Placement

On AP models that include a dedicated sensor radio, you can use Smart RF AutoSensor Placement to automate sensor radio assignment across a site. When AutoSensor Placement is enabled in the Smart RF policy, ExtremeCloud IQ Controller dynamically selects which APs activate their dedicated sensor radio, targeting one sensor AP for every three data APs. The controller recalculates sensor selection hourly based on current AP density.

AutoSensor Placement is the recommended method for managing sensor deployment in large campus environments where manually configuring individual AP sensor radios is not practical. For configuration details, see Smart RF Auto Sensor Settings.

For deployments that require static sensor assignment—for example, where specific APs must remain dedicated sensors regardless of density—configure the sensor radio manually using the procedures described in this topic.

Manual Sensor Configuration

In sensor mode, the radio does not service clients. The radio changes channels and functions as a sensor for AirDefense Essentials service or ADSP and Positioning services. Positioning can co-exist with any radio mode. The access point (AP) scans all channels that are allowed by the selected country. When the configuration Profile includes an ADSP profile, the ADSP server controls the channels, and Positioning reports the MAC addresses and RSS values that the radio receives.

ADSP is supported on all Extreme Wireless APs.

The method you use to configure an AP radio as a sensor depends on the AP model.

For AP4020/X/FX, AP4060/X, AP5020, AP5022/FX/SD6, and AP5060D/U, consider the following:

• The sensor supports basic WIPS with AirDefense Base Application.
• The sensor does not support 320 MHz channel width.
• Radio 4 detection and sensing capabilities are limited to legacy rates.

For AP4020/X/FX, AP4060/X, AP5020, AP5022/FX/SD6, and AP5060D/U models, to enable the Radio 4 sensor:

1. From the Edit Profile page, select the AirDefense tab.
2. Choose from the following actions:
   • Select the Enable AirDefense Essentials check box to dedicate the Radio 4 sensor to AirDefense Essentials service.
   • From the AirDefense Profile drop-down list, select an existing profile.
   Optionally, you can:
   • Select the edit icon to edit the profile.
   • Select the delete icon to delete the profile.
3. Select the create icon to create a new AirDefense profile, then select it from the drop-down list.

For all other eligible AP models, from the Edit Profile page, select the Radios tab. Set the Mode to Sensor, as follows:

• The AP3000 and AP5000 series offer a dedicated tri-band sensor mode where both radios are set to Sensor at the same time.
• The AP4000 offers a 6 GHz radio band and sensor on the third radio.
• The AP4xx offers a separate sensor radio. On the AP410 and AP460, a white LED indicates sensor activity.
• On the AP3xx and AP5xx, the sensor can be set per radio — one radio can be configured as a sensor, and the other can be configured to pass wireless traffic. The AP310 and AP510 are dual-band APs. A white LED indicates sensor selection.
• On AP39xx, both radios must be configured as sensors at the same time.

After the radio mode is set to Sensor on the configuration Profile, define the scan list under Advanced Profile settings.