Ok, I am finally working on updating our network. The last guy who maintained this stuff never did any of the updates so we are far behind.
I have been using CNUT1.1 to bring all of the 4.2.9 stuff up to 6.1. I also have CNUT 1.1 packages for 6.1 all the way to 7.3.6.
The first question:
Our network is comprised of P8 and P9 hardware, This includes all SM, AP and BH units. The entire network runs software scheduling, including our primary 900MHz site (dont ask, not sure why), with the exception of our latest 900 site which I built up using HW mode only for the APs and SMs. With that said, I have been reading about how people are running HW mode on their old P8 SM’s just fine using 7.3.6 and enabling it using CNUT. I assume this holds true to the older P8 AP’s as well? Can I update all SM’s and AP’s up to 7.3.6 and flip on HW mode without issue knowing full well that some are not P9?
Second:
With the release of the new SM’s coming that require HW mode only, can the non-Advantage Platform AP’s assuming they can run HW mode work with these new SM’s without problems?
Third:
I have been reading and it appears that you do not want to run any P8 BH’s on anything higher than 7.1.4 as it causes colocation problems. I have one site that has AP’s and a BH that are of the same frequency. When I flip these AP’s to HW mode I assume it will hose the BH up or possibly cause issues. Is it ok to proceed with updating the BH’s at that site to 7.3.6 and flip on HW mode? In actuality, there is only one physical BH at the site that is of the same freq. as the AP’s.
However, there are other sites that have two or three BH’s of the same frequency all running software mode. Since this is the case, I cannot update them to 7.3.6 and flip on HW mode, correct?
Thanks for any replies. This is all new to me so correct me if i am wrong anywhere.
Well I can answer the Ap question. You haft to send them in and get them upgraded. I believe it cost around $700 at lastmile
P8 AP’s - Software Scheduling only regardless of the software version. As Clueless indicated you can go through the upgrade process to convert your P8 AP’s to P9 Advantage AP’s which is 700 per AP. The good news is that your 900’s are already Advantage.
P8 SM’s - can be run in Hardware Scheduling, but only with a P9 Advantage AP. There is no double rate capability with P8 SM’s. Once you upgrade your AP’s to Advantage, use the Scheduler Plugin for CNUT to convert the SM’s to Hardware Scheduling. FYI P8 SM’s will no longer be manufactured afer July. I suspect a price drop on the P9 Advantage SM’s once the P8 parts run out.
You can have colocation isses with BH’s running 7.3.6 but not always. For now run 7.1.4 and wait for 8.0. If they are P8, then you have to run them in Software Scheduling. With P9’s in Hardware mode the radio will auto-negotiate to 1/2 speed in the event of interference and then go back to full speed when the interference subsides. If you are not having problems, and you have enough fade margin you probably don’t need to spend the $ on BH upgrades right now. You will want to upgrade the AP’s sooner than later.
Hope this helps.
So let me ask this: WHat happens if you put 7.3.6 and turn on hardware scheduler on a P8 non-advantage AP?
HW on a P8 AP is not an option, however 7.3.6 on a P8 AP will make it run as well as it can.
And with HW on the p8 ap, it will work fine, AND talk to the new 8.0 or whatever SM’s that they are releasing is that correct?
P8 AP’s do not support HW scheduling - you need an Advantage (P9) AP. If you want to use a newer Advantage SM (P9) with an older P8 AP, you will have to run the SM’s in SW mode.
The P8 SM’s will function in HW sheduling when used with an Advantage (P9) AP.
So in the end we are still stuck with SW scheduling, when the new SM’s come out this fall or whenever, right?
You can upgrade your P8 AP’s to Advantage AP’s right now. Cost is 700.00 each.
P8 SM’s will work with Advantage APs in hardware mode with 7M aggregate speed.
P9 Advantage SM’s will give you 14M aggregate speed (2x Rate)