To edit an access point's radio settings:
The Radio Settings tab displays by default.
| Description | Provide or edit a description (1 - 64 characters in length) for the radio that helps differentiate it from others with similar configurations. |
| Admin Status | Select the Enabled radio button to define this radio as active to the profile it supports. Select the Disabled radio button to disable this radio configuration within the profile. It can be activated at any future time when needed. The default setting is enabled. |
| Radio QoS Policy | Use the drop-down menu to specify an existing QoS policy to apply to the access point radio in respect to its intended radio traffic. If there's no existing suiting the radio's intended operation, select the Create icon to define a new QoS policy that can be applied to this profile. |
| Association ACL | Use the drop-down menu to specify an existing Association ACL policy to apply to the access point radio. An Association ACL is a policy-based ACL that either prevents or allows wireless clients from connecting to an access point radio. An ACL is a sequential collection of permit and deny conditions that apply to packets. When a packet is received on an interface, its compared against applied ACLs to verify the packet has the required permissions to be forwarded. If a packet does not meet any of the criteria specified in the ACL, the packet is dropped. Select the Create icon to define a new Association ACL that can be applied to this profile. |
| RF Mode | The radio can be configured to provide WLAN service for 2.4 GHz
and 5 GHz enabled clients. You can also set the radio to provide
sensor support, scan-ahead support, or function as a client
bridge. Set the mode to either 2.4 GHz WLAN or 5 GHz WLAN depending on the radio's intended client support requirement. Set the mode to Sensor if using the radio for rogue device detection. To set a radio as a detector, disable Sensor support on the other access point radio. Note: For information on the possible modes of operations for
the AP410i/e, AP460i/e, AP510i/e and AP560i/h radios, click
here.
Note: For
information on the possible modes of operations for the AP505i
radios, click here.
Note: The
AP510e access point has eight, external antennas grouped into:
Group 1 (with antenna ports 1 to 4) and Group 2 (with antenna ports
5 to 8). Use the 'Antenna' option to configure the antenna-id for
the group-1 (1 to 4) or group-2 (5 to 8) antennas. For information
on configuring the antenna-id, see AP510e: External
Antenna Configurations.
Note: The
AP560h access point has eight, internal antennas, supporting
following two antenna modes: 30 degree and
70 degree.
Use the 'Antenna' option to configure the antenna-id. For
information on configuring the antenna-id, see AP510e: External
Antenna Configurations.
Note: Starting with the WiNG 7.2.0 release, SMART RF is supported on
AP510i/e and AP560i/h in the dual-5GHz software
mode.
|
| Lock RF Mode | Select the check box to lock Smart RF for this radio. The default setting is disabled. |
| DFS Revert Home | Select this option to revert to the home channel after a DFS evacuation period. |
| Channel | Use the drop-down menu to select the channel of operation for the radio. Only a trained installation professional should define the radio channel. Select Smart for the radio to scan non-overlapping channels listening for beacons from other access points. After channels are scanned, the radio selects the channel with the fewest access points. In the case of multiple access points on the same channel, it selects the channel with the lowest average power level. The default value is Smart. Channels with a “w” appended to them are unique to the 40 MHz band. Channels with a “ww” appended to them are 802.11ac specific, and are unique to the 80 MHz band. |
| Transmit Power | Set the transmit power of the selected access point radio. If using a dual or three radio model access point, each radio should be configured with a unique transmit power in respect to its intended client support function. A setting of 0 defines the radio as using Smart RF to determine its output power. 20 dBm is the default value. |
| Antenna Gain | Set the antenna between 0.00 - 15.00 dBm. The access point's Power Management Antenna Configuration File (PMACF) automatically configures the access point's radio transmit power based on the antenna type, its antenna gain (provided here) and the deployed country's regulatory domain restrictions. Once provided, the access point calculates the power range. Antenna gain relates the intensity of an antenna in a given direction to the intensity that would be produced ideally by an antenna that radiates equally in all directions (isotropically), and has no losses. Although the gain of an antenna is directly related to its directivity, its gain is a measure that takes into account the efficiency of the antenna as well as its directional capabilities. Only a professional installer should set the antenna gain. The default value is 0.00. |
| Antenna Mode | Set the number of transmit and receive antennas on the access point. 1x1 is used for transmissions over just the single "A" antenna, 1x3 is used for transmissions over the "A" antenna and all three antennas for receiving. 2x2 is used for transmissions and receipts over two antennas for dual antenna models. 3x3x3 is used for transmissions and receipts over three antennas models. The default setting is dynamic based on the access point model deployed and its transmit power settings. |
| Enable Antenna Diversity | Select this box to enable antenna diversity on supported antennas. Antenna diversity uses two or more antennas to increase signal quality and strength. This option is disabled by default. |
| Wireless Client Power | Select this option to specify the transmit power on supported wireless clients. If this is enabled set a client power level between 0 to 20 dBm. This option is disabled by default. |
| Dynamic Chain Selection | Select this option for the radio to dynamically change the number of transmit chains. This option is enabled by default. |
| Data Rates | Once the radio band is provided, the Data Rates drop-down menu
populates with rate options depending on the 2.4 or 5 GHz band
selected. If the radio band is set to Sensor or Detector, the Data
Rates drop-down menu is not enabled, as the rates are fixed and not
user configurable. If 2.4 GHz is selected as the radio band, select
separate 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n rates and define how they are
used in combination. If 5 GHz is selected as the radio band, select
separate 802.11a and 802.11n rates then define how they are used
together. When using 802.11n (in either the 2.4 or 5 GHz band), Set a
MCS (modulation and coding scheme) in respect to the radio's channel
width and guard interval. A MCS defines (based on RF channel
conditions) an optimal combination of 8 data rates, bonded channels,
multiple spatial streams, different guard intervals and modulation
types. Clients can associate as long as they support basic MCS (as
well as non-11n basic rates). If dedicating the radio to either 2.4 or 5 GHz support, a Custom Rates option is available to set a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) in respect to the radio's channel width and guard interval. A MCS defines (based on RF channel conditions) an optimal combination of rates, bonded channels, multiple spatial streams, different guard intervals and modulation types. Clients can associate as long as they support basic MCS (as well as non-11n basic rates). If Basic is selected within the 802.11n Rates field, the MCS0-7 option is auto selected as a Supported rate and that option is greyed out. If Basic is not selected, any combination of MCS0-7, MCS8-15 and MCS16-23 can be supported, including a case where MCS0-7 and MCS16-23 are selected and not MCS8-15. The MCS0-7 and MCS8-15 options are available to each supported access point. Refer to the bottom of this page for 802.11an and 802.11ac MCS dates rates in detail, both with and without short guard intervals (SGI). Note: For information on
supported data rates see, SUPPORTED DATA RATES
|
| Radio Placement | Use the drop-down menu to specify whether the radio is located Indoors or Outdoors. The placement should depend on the country of operation and its regulatory domain requirements for radio emissions. The default setting is Indoors. |
| Max Clients | Use the spinner control to set a maximum permissible number of
clients to connect with this radio. The available range is between 0 -
512 clients. The default value is 512. Note: Starting
with the WiNG 7.2.0 release, the AP505, AP510 and AP560 model
access points can support a maximum of 512 wireless clients per
radio.
|
| Rate Selection Method |
Specify a radio selection method for the radio. The selection methods are: Standard: standard monotonic radio selection method will be used. Opportunistic: sets opportunistic radio link adaptation as the radio selection method. This mode uses opportunistic data rate selection to provide the best throughput. |
Following table provides the possible combinations of WLAN/Sensor configuration that can be applied on the AP410i and AP460i access point radios. Note, the AP410i is an indoor AP, and AP460i is an outdoor AP.
| Option 1 | Radio 1: | Set to 2.4 GHz WLAN, Channels 1 - 11 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz bandwidths | |
| Radio 2: | Set to 5 GHz WLAN, Channels 36 - 165 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz | ||
| Option 2 | Radio 1: | Set to Sensor. | |
| Radio 2: | Set to Sensor. | ||
| Option 1 | Radio 1: | Set to 2.4 GHz WLAN, Channels 1 - 11 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz bandwidths | |
| Radio 2: | Set to 5 GHz WLAN, Channels 36 - 165 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz bandwidths | ||
| Option 2 | Radio 1: | Set to Sensor | |
| Radio 2: | Set to 5 GHz WLAN, Channels 36 - 165 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz bandwidths | ||
| Option 3 | Radio 1: | Set to 5 GHz, Channels 36 - 64 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz bandwidths | |
| Radio 2: | Set to 5 GHz, Channels 100 - 165 in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz bandwidths | ||
| Option 1 | Radio 1: | Set to 2.4 GHz WLAN, Channels 1 - 11
in the 20 MHz /40 MHz bandwidths Note: Radio 1 is band-locked in 2.4
GHz.
|
|
| Radio 2: | Set to 5 GHz WLAN, Channels 36 - 165
in the 20 MHz /40 MHz /80 MHz /160 MHz Note: Radio 1 is band-locked
in 5 GHz.
|
||
| Option 2 | Radio 1: | Set to Sensor. | |
| Radio 2: | Set to Sensor. | ||
| Enable 11AX Support | Select to enable 802.11ax support. The AP5xx model APs
are 802.11ax capable. Select this checkbox to enable the AP to
function in the 802.11ax mode. Note: 802.11ax support is enabled by
default.
|
| BSS Color | Configures support for 802.11ax BSS coloring and assign the BSS
color associated with the radio. BSS coloring is a means by which 802.11ax radios differentiate between overlapping Basic Service Sets (BSSs) in multi-path channels. A BSS represents a set of communicating devices consisting of one AP radio and one or more client stations. In an 802.11ax enabled wireless network, each BSS is identified by a numerical identifier (the BSS color) added to the header of the PHY frame. BSS coloring impacts channel access behavior and spatial reuse operation. Based on the BSS color detected, APs can assign new channel access behavior. Spatial reuse, is another advantage of enabling BSS color. It applies adaptive Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) thresholds for detected Overlapping BSS (OBSS) frame transmissions, enabling APs to ignore transmissions from an OBSS and transmit at the same time. BSS color support is disabled by default. |
| OFDMA | Enables support for Orthogonal frequency-division multiple
access (OFDMA) in both or one direction. OFDMA support is
disabled by default. 802.11ax APs use OFDMA technology to partition
a channel into smaller sub-channels called resource units
(RUs) allowing multiple users, with varying bandwidth needs,
to be served simultaneously. OFDMA is ideal for low bandwidth
applications and results in better frequency reuse, reduced
latency, and increased efficiency. When enabled, the AP mandates
the RU allocation for multiple clients for downlink
(dl) and uplink (ul) OFDMA. A series of trigger frames
are exchanged to allow multi-user transmission in the downlink and
uplink directions.
Note: Specify a guard-interval to avoid overlapping of
OFDMA symbols.
OFDMA is disabled by default. |
| TWT | Enables 11ax Target Wake Time (TWT) support on the
radio. The IEEE 802.11ax standard defines power saving enhancements and improved resource scheduling features, such as scheduled sleep and wake times. TWT allows devices, APs and stations, to negotiate when and how frequently they will wake up to send or receive data. TWT increases device sleep time, thereby substantially improving the client device's battery life. TWT is disabled by default. |
| Beacon Interval | Set the interval between radio beacons in milliseconds (either 50, 100 or 200). A beacon is a packet broadcast by adopted radios to keep the network synchronized. The beacon includes the WLAN service area, radio address, broadcast destination addresses, time stamp and indicators about traffic and delivery such as a DTIM. Increase the DTIM/beacon settings (lengthening the time) to let nodes sleep longer and preserve battery life. Decrease these settings (shortening the time) to support streaming-multicast audio and video applications that are jitter-sensitive. The default value is 100 milliseconds. |
| DTIM Interval BSSID | Set a DTIM Interval to specify a period for Delivery Traffic Indication Messages (DTIM). A DTIM is periodically included in a beacon frame transmitted from adopted radios. The DTIM period determines how often the beacon contains a DTIM, for example, 1 DTIM for every 10 beacons. The DTIM indicates broadcast and multicast frames (buffered at the access point) are soon to arrive. These are simple data frames that require no acknowledgment, so nodes sometimes miss them. Increase the DTIM/ beacon settings (lengthening the time) to let nodes sleep longer and preserve their battery life. Decrease these settings (shortening the time) to support streaming multicast audio and video applications that are jitter-sensitive. |
| RTS Threshold | Specify a Request To Send (RTS) threshold (between 1
- 2,347 bytes) for use by the WLAN's adopted access point radios. RTS
is a transmitting station's signal that requests a Clear To
Send (CTS) response from a receiving client. This RTS/CTS
procedure clears the air where clients are contending for transmission
time. Benefits include fewer data collisions and better communication
with nodes that are hard to find (or hidden) because of other active
nodes in the transmission path. Control RTS/CTS by setting an RTS threshold. This setting initiates an RTS/CTS exchange for data frames larger than the threshold, and sends (without RTS/CTS) any data frames smaller than the threshold. Consider the trade-offs when setting an appropriate RTS threshold for the WLAN's access point radios. A lower RTS threshold causes more frequent RTS/CTS exchanges. This consumes more bandwidth because of additional latency (RTS/CTS exchanges) before transmissions can commence. A disadvantage is the reduction in data-frame throughput. An advantage is quicker system recovery from electromagnetic interference and data collisions. Environments with more wireless traffic and contention for transmission make the best use of a lower RTS threshold. A higher RTS threshold minimizes RTS/CTS exchanges, consuming less bandwidth for data transmissions. A disadvantage is less help to nodes that encounter interference and collisions. An advantage is faster data-frame throughput. Environments with less wireless traffic and contention for transmission make the best use of a higher RTS threshold. |
| Short Preamble | If using an 802.11bg radio, select this checkbox for the radio to
transmit using a short preamble. Short preambles improve throughput.
However, some devices (SpectraLink/Polycomm phones) require long
preambles. The default value is disabled. |
| Guard Interval | Use the drop-down menu to specify a Long
or
Any guard interval. The guard interval is the space
between the packets being transmitted. The guard interval is there to
eliminate inter-symbol interference (ISI). ISI occurs
when echoes or reflections from one transmission interfere with
another. Adding time between transmissions allows echo's and
reflections to settle before the next packet is transmitted. A shorter
guard interval results in a shorter times which reduces overhead and
increases data rates by up to 10%. The default value is Long. |
| Probe Response Rate | Use the drop-down menu to specify the data transmission rate used for the transmission of probe responses. Options include, highest-basic, lowest-basic and follow-probe-request (default setting). |
| Probe Response Retry | Select the check box to retry probe responses if they are not acknowledged by the target wireless client. The default value is enabled. |
Select either Inline or Promiscuous mode to allow the packets the radio is switching to also be used by the WIPS analysis module. This feature can be enabled in two modes: an inline mode where the WIPS sensor receives the packets from the radios with radio operating in normal mode. A promiscuous mode where the radio is configured to a mode where it receives all packets on the channel whether the destination address is the radio or not, and the wips module can analyze them.
SUPPORTED DATA RATES
802.11n MCS rates are defined as follows for MCS 1-3 streams, both with and without SGI:
|
MCS-1Stream Index |
Number of Streams |
20 MHz No SGI |
20 MHz With SGI |
40 MHz No SGI |
40 MHz With SGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
1 |
6.5 |
7.2 |
13.5 |
15 |
|
1 |
1 |
13 |
14.4 |
27 |
30 |
|
2 |
1 |
19.5 |
21.7 |
40.5 |
45 |
|
3 |
1 |
26 |
28.9 |
54 |
60 |
|
4 |
1 |
39 |
43.4 |
81 |
90 |
|
5 |
1 |
52 |
57.8 |
108 |
120 |
|
6 |
1 |
58.5 |
65 |
121.5 |
135 |
|
7 |
1 |
65 |
72.2 |
135 |
150 |
|
MCS-2Stream Index |
Number of Streams |
20 MHz No SGI |
20 MHz With SGI |
40 MHz No SGI |
40 MHz With SGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
2 |
13 |
14.4 |
27 |
30 |
|
1 |
2 |
26 |
28.9 |
54 |
60 |
|
2 |
2 |
39 |
43.4 |
81 |
90 |
|
3 |
2 |
52 |
57.8 |
108 |
120 |
|
4 |
2 |
78 |
86.7 |
162 |
180 |
|
5 |
2 |
104 |
115.6 |
216 |
240 |
|
6 |
2 |
117 |
130 |
243 |
270 |
|
7 |
2 |
130 |
144.4 |
270 |
300 |
|
MCS-3Stream Index |
Number of Streams |
20 MHz No SGI |
20 MHz With SGI |
40 MHz No SGI |
40 MHz With SGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
3 |
19.5 |
21.7 |
40.5 |
45 |
|
1 |
3 |
39 |
43.3 |
81 |
90 |
|
2 |
3 |
58.5 |
65 |
121.5 |
135 |
|
3 |
3 |
78 |
86.7 |
162 |
180 |
|
4 |
3 |
117 |
130.7 |
243 |
270 |
|
5 |
3 |
156 |
173.3 |
324 |
360 |
|
6 |
3 |
175.5 |
195 |
364.5 |
405 |
|
7 |
3 |
195 |
216.7 |
405 |
450 |
802.11ac MCS rates (theoretical throughput for single spatial streams) are defined as follows, both with and without SGI:
|
MCS Index |
20 MHz No SGI |
20 MHz With SGI |
40 MHz No SGI |
40 MHz With SGI |
80 MHz No SGI |
80 MHz With SGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
6.5 |
7.2 |
13.5 |
15 |
29.3 |
32.5 |
|
1 |
13 |
14.4 |
27 |
30 |
58.5 |
65 |
|
2 |
19.5 |
21.7 |
40.5 |
45 |
87.8 |
97.5 |
|
3 |
26 |
28.9 |
54 |
60 |
117 |
130 |
|
4 |
39 |
43.3 |
81 |
90 |
175.5 |
195 |
|
5 |
52 |
57.8 |
108 |
120 |
234 |
260 |
|
6 |
58.5 |
65 |
121.5 |
135 |
263.3 |
292.5 |
|
7 |
65 |
72.2 |
135 |
150 |
292.5 |
325 |
|
8 |
78 |
86.7 |
162 |
180 |
351 |
390 |
|
9 |
N/A |
N/A |
180 |
200 |
390 |
433.3 |