ePMP: Radio Access Point Configuration

Access Point Configuration

Attribute

Meaning

SSID

The AP SSID is used to identify the AP and is used to configure the SM with the appropriate AP with which to register. Ensure that this parameter is configured uniquely for each AP in the network.

Max Registrations Allowed

Based on sector/network planning and SM service level implementations, this parameter allows the user to set the maximum number of SMs that are allowed to register/network entry. The maximum number of SMs allowed for each channel bandwidth is as follows:

20/40 MHz : 120 subscribers

10 MHz : 60 subscribers

5 MHz: 30 subscribers

Default value is 60.

For DFS regions, the max number of SMs will be limited based on the channel bandwidth of the current operating channel, i.e. Frequency Carrier, Alternate Frequency Carrier 1 or Alternate Frequency Carrier 2.

Max Range

Enter a number of miles or kilometers for the furthest distance from which an SM is allowed to register to this AP. Do not set the distance to any greater number of miles. A greater distance:

·       does not increase the power of transmission from the AP.

·       can reduce aggregate throughput.

Regardless of this distance, the SM must meet the minimum requirements for an acceptable link. The AP will reject any SM network entry attempts from outside the configured maximum range. Default value is 3 miles.

WLAN

When the Access Point Mode is set to Standard WiFi, configure this parameter:

Enabled: The ePMP AP operates as WLAN device and allows any 802.11 client to connect to it within a 100 meter radius.

Disabled: The ePMP AP operates in Standard WiFi mode to allow outdoor 802.11n clients to connect to it at longer distances and is typically used to migrate non-Cambium SMs to ePMP SMs.

Automatic Channel Selection

Enabled – This enables the Automatic Channel Selection (ACS) feature. ACS allows the radio to scan the entire band (governed by the Country setting) and chooses a channel with the lowest channel occupancy i.e. lowest interference level. To run the ACS feature (once enabled), the radio will have to be rebooted or manually triggered using Tools->Automatic Channel Selection. When ACS is running, the radio measures the occupancy level of the channel (measured in terms of an internal interference metric) and uses an algorithm to make a decision to choose the best channel within the band. The channel chosen is not based just on the occupancy level channel but also the occupancy level of adjacent channels.

Disabled – ACS is disabled and the operator should configure a Frequency Carrier manually.

Note

The channel bandwidth configured prior to enabling and running ACS will be used to automatically select a channel. For ex: If the operator manually configured a channel bandwidth of 20MHz, ACS will scan and choose a channel of 20MHz wide channel. To switch ACS to 40MHz or other channel bandwidth, the operator should disable ACS, manually configure 40MHz or desired channel bandwidth on the radio, then enable and run ACS.

Channel Bandwidth

Configure the channel size used by the radio for RF transmission. This value must match between the AP and SMs.

Frequency Carrier

Configure the frequency carrier for RF transmission. This list is dynamically adjusted to the regional restrictions based on the setting of the Country Code parameter.

Frequency Reuse

The Frequency Reuse Mode parameter allows operators to define which APs are co-located (or within radio range) with other APs. This definition results in an automatic radio network modification such that self-interference is reduced amongst the co-located sectors.

A network in which two frequencies “F1” and “F2” are reused throughout the installation.

The rules in selecting the APs to enabling the Frequency Reuse Mode in this installation are:

  • Only ONE of the APs on the same tower configured with the same frequency must be configured with the Frequency Reuse Mode parameter set to Frequency-Reuse-Back; the other AP must be configured with Frequency Reuse Mode set to Frequency-Reuse-Front.

Also, APs on different towers facing each other with overlapped coverage must be configured with Frequency Reuse Mode set to Frequency-Reuse-Back.

 

1B1BThe GPS sync source is a mixture of all types (CMM3, CMM4 & “onboard GPS”)

In this configuration the GPS sync source in the whole network is one of the following:

  1. (CMM3 and “onboard GPS”) or
  2. (CMM3 and CMM4) or
  3. (CMM3 and CMM4 and “onboard GPS”)

Example 1 - Frequency reuse configuration, mixture of GPS synchronization sources

Example 2 - Frequency Reuse Configuration with Mixture of GPS sources

The rules in selecting the APs to configure Frequency Reuse Mode to Frequency Reuse Mode to Frequency-Reuse-Front or Frequency-Reuse-Back in a mixture of sync sources installations are:

  • Only ONE of the APs on the same tower configured with the same frequency must have Frequency Reuse Mode set to Frequency-Reuse-Back if the sync source of both APs is the same or the sync is a combination of “onboard GPS” and CMM4; the other AP will have the Frequency-Reuse-Front
  • For the APs on different towers facing each other with overlapped coverage:
    1. If both APs have the same sync source then only ONE of them must have the Frequency-Reuse-Back ON; the other AP shall have the Frequency-Reuse–Front
    2. If one AP has “onboard GPS” as sync source and the other one has CMM4 then only ONE of them must have Frequency-Reuse - Back ON; the other AP shall have Frequency-Reuse-Front
    3. If one AP has “onboard GPS” or CMM4 as sync source and the other one has CMM3 then:
      1. If the AP with CMM3 sync source has Frequency-Reuse-Back ON, then the other AP (with “onboard GPS” or CMM4 sync source) must have the Frequency-Reuse-Back ON.

If the AP with CMM3 sync source has Frequency Reuse Mode set to Off, then the other AP (with “onboard GPS” or CMM4 sync source) must have Frequency Reuse Mode set to Off.

Attribute

Meaning

Alternate Frequency Carrier 1 Channel Bandwidth

Configure the first channel bandwidth configuration that will be used for RF transmission if DFS detection causes the radio to switch from using the channel bandwidth configured in Channel Bandwidth.

Alternate Frequency Carrier 1

Configure the first frequency that will be used for RF transmission if DFS detection causes the radio to switch from using the frequency configured in Frequency Carrier.  It is important to set this frequency also in the SM Scan List.

Alternate Frequency Carrier 2 Channel Bandwidth

Configure the second channel bandwidth configuration that will be used for RF transmission if DFS detection causes the radio to switch from using the channel bandwidth configured in Channel Bandwidth.

Alternate Frequency Carrier 2

Configure the second frequency that is used for RF transmission if DFS detection causes the radio to switch from using the frequencies configured in Frequency Carrier and DFS Alternate Frequency Carrier 1.  It is important to set this frequency also in the SM Scan List.

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