Overview
cnArcher is a smartphone app to help with the installation of Subscriber Modules. The current release supports PMP450 family of SMs. ePMP SM support will be available in Q4, 2018.
When you use cnArcher for SM installation:
- There is no need to stage the SM with configuration prior to the install. You can start with a brand new SM out of the box.
- You can use youe smartphone instead of a laptop, and a user interface specifically built for the small screen.
- The app guides you step by step through the install process, including AP scan, radio and network configuration, alignment, link test and onboarding into cnMaestro.
Getting Started
- Install cnArcher on your smartphone.
- The app includes a "demo mode" that will simulate the experience of installing an SM. You can start the "demo mode" by selecting "Demo Mode" from the menu.
- When you run cnArcher for the first time, it will walk you through the initial setup, including downloading 15.1.1 or newer software onto the phone (this is the minimum version required), and customizing the scan list for the SMs.
- cnArcher communicates with the SM on its default IP of 169.254.1.1 over the Ethernet port. For this, you need a Wi-Fi AP in bridge mode. cnArcher will connect to the SSID on the Wi-Fi AP, which in turn will connect to the SM using an Ethernet cable. We recommend LinkTechs PowerLINK device, which has a rechargeable battery and PoE-out to power up the SM, in addition to Wi-Fi. Be sure to get the "Cambium Compatible Patch Cable" also. If you have 450i SMs, also get the "24V to 48V Converter".
Installing an SM
- Turn on the PowerLINK device by sliding the "Off|Charge|Router" button to "Router" position.
- Turn on PoE-out on the PowerLINK device. This is a small switch located next to the Ethernet port.
- Connect the Ethernet port of the PowerLINK device to the Ethernet port of the PMP SM using the "Cambium Compatible Patch Cable". The SM LEDs should turn on at this point as the SM boots up.
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Start cnArcher on the smartphone. If you have not completed the initial setup yet, the app will walk you through the initial setup. During this, please be sure to download PMP 15.1.1 firmware on the "Software Images" screen.
- On Android, you will also be asked to select the SSID of the PowerLINK device on the "Configure Wi-Fi" screen and "Connect".
- On iOS, you will have to manually connect to the SSID and configure a static IP for th esmartphone in the 169.254.1.x subnet. iOS does not allow cnArcher to do this automatically.
- When the initial setup is complete, you will see the start screen of the app. If the Wi-Fi connection to the PowerLINK device is established, and the SM is running factory default configuration (accessible at 169.254.1.1), the app will discover the SM automatically and show the SM details on the screen. On some versions of Android, you will have to disable the "Mobile Data" connection before it will use the Wi-Fi connection. This is because it detects that the Wi-Fi connection has no internet access.
- Once the app detects the SM, please follow the flow of the app to install the SM.
AP Scan
When doing an "AP Scan" from cnArcher, point the SM in the direction of the AP before clicking "Start AP Evaluation" button. If you have multiple APs nearby, you can reposition the SM to point to the other APs and click "Restart AP Evaluation" from the scan results screen. When you do multiple scans, all results will be shown on results page, and you can pick the best option. When displaying scan results from multiple scans, the results will also show a "tag" identifying APs found from each scan.
Alignment
On the "Alignment" screen, move the SM around (pan left, pan right, tilt up, tilt down) and to let the app measure receive signal strength (RSSI) at various positions. The best RSSI will be displayed under "Best". Then slowly try to align the SM such that the "Current" RSSI matched the "Best". The "Signal Strength Ratio" shows the difference in RSSI between the two receive paths. Position the antenna such that this number is as low as possble.
Link Test
By default, cnArcher does an "Extrapolated Link Test" and shows you the results. An extrapolated link test does not impact service, but is not accurate on a brand new install, because not enough traffic has gone through the link for the SM and AP to get to the optimal modulation. We recommend changing the "Link Test Type" to "Link Test with Bridging" and running it atleast once to get the correct link test results. Be aware that "Link Test with Bridging" will impact all traffic on the entire sector for 2-4 seconds. Subsequent tests can use "Extrapolated Link Test" mode.
Open Beta for Android
If you would like to particiapte in beta testing new enhancements to the app, you can sign up for beta by going to the cnArcher page in the Google Play store, scrolling down to the bottom of the page and joining the beta program. If you are already a beta tester, you will see an option to leave the beta program.
After you join or leave the beta, be sure to uninstall cnArcher and reinstall it to get the correct version.
Permissions Needed by cnArcher
The app asks for the following permissions.
- Access to photos, media and files on your device - this is needed to write a log file, which Cambium will ask for, when you report an issue with the app.
- Access to the device's location - cnArcher retrieves the GPS coordinates from the phone and populates it on the SM.
Security Considerations
- cnArcher does not change the default GUI or SNMP credentials. Please be sure you do this to secure the SM.
- cnArcher enables the "Native IP" feature on the SM to allow it to talk to the SM on 169.254.1.1 even of the IP address of the SM changes during the install. If you don't want to leave this enabled, please be sure to disable this after completing the install.
- If you are using cnMaestro, both the above can be achieved as part of the cnArcher flow itself, by pushing an appropriate configuration template when on-boarding into cnMaestro.