LINKPlanner v4.5.4 Now Available

Products LINKPlanner
1

A new release of the LINKPlanner is available from https://support.cambiumnetworks.com/files/linkplanner

The key features of V4.5.4 are:

New or changed features

  • PTP 820
    • Added support for 4+0 on PTP 820C

Choose from 4+0 Co-Polar, 4+0 Cross-Polar and 4+0 XPIC. Only available with the Aggregate Paths option using the same configuration on all four links.

 

  • Added support for 2+2 SD on PTP 820C
  • Added support for independent path configurations on 2+x paths

There is a new option to select the Path Aggregation for 2+0 and 2+2 Co-Polar and Cross-Polar link types. The default option is Aggregate Paths, which gives the same options and analysis as the earlier versions. The radio configuration is common for both paths and at the parent level the performance is shown for the aggregate of the two paths. The new option is Independent Paths, select this if you want to configure the two paths to use different bandwidths or modulation mode ranges. This configuration is expected to be used when different types of traffic are on each path. With this setting the performance is only shown at the individual path level and not aggregated at the parent level. In a few bands it is also possible to select different T/R spacings on each path, where they are supported on the same radio equipment.

The Independent Path option is not available for XPIC or PTP 820C Spatial Diversity link types.

 

  • PTP 820G
    • Updated LPU in BOM from WB3657 to N000082D012

Please note that the new LPU are individual units and therefore two will be required for each radio for the top and bottom of the tower. WB3657 was a kit containing two LPUs.

  • Limit minimum profile to Profile 0 for 1+1 Hot Standby options

The release notes for Release 9.0 show that PTP 820G 1+1 Hot Standby link configurations, including Spatial Diversity cannot support Minimum Modulation modes above Profile 0 (QPSK) when in adaptive modulation mode.

 

  • Added 50 and 60 MHz bandwidths to 7 and 8 GHz NTIA bands
  • Modified name of PTP 820i Spatial Diversity options to show Split End configuration as recommended option

The Split End configuration is recommended as it has less loss and is a simpler equipment configuration, however it does allow transmission from the diverse antenna, which may restrict antenna heights and the antenna must meet regulatory compliance.

 

  • Added another optional power supply for PTP 820S
  • Added AFR Activation key, H-QOS key and MC-ABC key to optional extras
  • Removed capacity upgrade keys from optional extras
  • PMP 450/450i
    • Added 30 and 40 MHz bandwidths in DFS regions in 5 GHz band for PMP/PTP 450/450i
      • Note PMP 450 AP does not support 40 MHz
    • Added 15 MHz bandwidth for 900 MHz
  • ePMP
    • Added 2.5 GHz for Brazil and Other country regions
  • PTP 670
    • Introduced 4.8 GHz for Mexico
  • Unlicensed PTP
    • Modified Space Diversity to differentiate between reflections and tropospheric multipath mitigation

This change only affects unlicensed PTP links, there is no change on licensed band PTP links. It introduces a new option to show whether the diversity is required to mitigate reflections or tropospheric fading. If you wish to use it for both, then still select reflection mitigation. When protecting against reflections LINKPlanner will now only show the performance of single payload modes as the separation is there to guarantee that at least one of the paths will not fade, which means that only single payload performance can be predicted, dual payload performance is on a best effort basis.

When mitigating tropospheric multipath the probability of using single payload is higher depending on the environmental conditions of the link. This change increases the usage of single payload modes, which is likely to reduce the availability of the dual payload modes and hence the predicted throughput. The amount of the reduction is dependent on the length of the link and its geographic location.

 

Bug Fixes

  • PTP 820C 2+2 configurations – corrected quantity of license keys in BOM and added missing splitter for remote mount dual polarization antennas

The number of licenses keys should be 8 per link not 4

  • PTP 820C 2+2 XPIC – corrected XPIC factor in calculations

This can make a small reduction in the availability

 

  • PTP 820 and 810 2+x Aggregate Link - Corrected Mean IP Predicted and Aggregate IP Throughput in Performance Summary to match Performance Details

The Mean IP Predicted and Aggregate IP Throughput performance at the parent level were summing the values from the lower paths rather than using the combined availability of the two paths. The values shown in the Performance Summary were not in agreement with those shown in the Performance Details charts and tables. This has been corrected and will result in a reduction in throughput at higher modulation modes, which will be more noticeable for modes with less than 99.9% availability at the individual path level.

  • Ensured that channel plan color changes correctly update in navigation tree
  • Corrected network error on start-up when LINKPlanner cannot locate contacts information
  • Corrected reported EIRP in PMP so that it correctly reflects changes in transmit power (display only, doesn’t affect calculations)
  • Corrected issue with rain reliability for very small fade margins

Links which have negative fade margins in the highest mode and then have a mode with a small positive fade margin (< 0.5 dB) were showing a discontinuity in the link availability with increasing fade margin. This has been corrected, but will impact the predicted throughput on such links.

 

  • Fixed issue with link panels not updating correctly when switching between 2+0 products
  • Corrected issue with profiles not automatically requesting properly

When creating multiple PTP links in one request and for some PMP configurations profiles were not being automatically requested.  

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