ePMP Tools: eDetect Explained

Cambium_Marty · August 14, 2015, 6:10pm

Collect information about interferers and utilize this knowledge to improve system health

eDetect At-a-Glance

The ePMP eDetect tool (not available in ePTP Master mode) is used to measure the 802.11 interference at the ePMP radio (the AP scans) or system (the AP and SMs perform a scan) on the current operating channel. When the tool is run, the ePMP device processes all frames received from devices not connected to the ePMP system and collects the interfering frames’ information such as MAC Address, RSSI, and MCS. The tools may be accessed on the AP or SM web management interface by navigating to Tools > eDetect.

Use the AP eDetect page to:

Collect system-wide interferer information: The AP and connected SMs perform and scan and the interferer results are displayed on the AP’s web management interface. This allows operators to determine what interference may be present to any of the devices in the ePMP sector.
Collect interferer information local to the AP: The AP performs a scan and the interferer results are displayed on the AP’s web management interface. This allows operators to drill-down interference levels at the AP and to make informed decisions on AP radio configuration such as frequency of operation, channel bandwidth, etc.

Please note that:

The ePMP system remains operational when the eDetect tool is initiated. The detection is done during the transmission period within the TDD frame.
The AP may detect another AP on its back sector as an interferer when it is using the same frequency carrier in a GPS Synchronized system.
Since the detection happens when the system is operational, there may be a negligible degradation in overall sector throughput when run from the AP.

eDetect Interference Components

AP eDetect attributes

Attribute	Meaning
Detecting Device	AP: Choosing this option will collect information about interferers local to the AP. AP/SMs: Choosing this option collect information about interferers system wide, i.e. interferers local to the AP as well as interferers at the SMs connected to the AP.
Detection Duration	Configure the duration for which the AP (and SMs) scan for interferers. Caution During the scanning period, the AP continues servicing the SMs under it, and there is no service outage (unlike running a Spectrum Analyzer). There may be a negligible degradation in overall sector throughput.
Start/Stop	Use to start or stop the interference detection.
Export to CSV	Choose this option to export the detection results to .csv format.
Status	Current status of the Interference Detection tool.
AP SSID	The current configured name/SSID of the AP.
Detection Results	Use the Detection Results table to monitor interferers at the AP and at the registered SMs and their key RF parameters.
Device Instant Health	This is an indicator of the device’s health in terms of channel conditions in the presence of interferer(s). Green: Indicates that the channel is relatively clean and has good C/I levels (>25dB). The interference level is low. Yellow: Indicates that the channel has moderate or intermittent interference (C/I between 10dB and 25dB). Red: Indicates that the channel has high interference and poor C/I levels (<10dB).
Device MAC	The MAC address of the AP and/or SMs wireless interface.
Device RSSI (dBm)	The Received Signal Strength Indicator, which is a measurement of the power level being received by the device’s antenna.
Device MCS	Modulation and Coding Scheme – indicates the modulation mode used for the radio’s receiver side, based on radio conditions (MCS 1-7, 9-15).
Interferers’ MAC	The MAC address of the interferer’s wireless interface.
Interferers’ RSSI (dBm)	The Received Signal Strength Indicator, which is a measurement of the interferer’s power level being received by the device’s (AP or SM) antenna.
Interferers’ MCS	Modulation and Coding Scheme – indicates the modulation mode used by the interferer, based on radio conditions (MCS 1-15).

For more information, see the video below: