Introduction
There is a general request from customers and partners to demonstrate AP throughput (upload & download in Mbps) to validate the specifications.
This document will help how to showcase the AP throughput and address queries for testing actual output in the field. There are explanations and command outputs which will help end user to understand the AP behavior in terms of delivering expected bandwidth & client behavior in terms of fetching the actual bandwidth.
Prerequisite
- Recommended ethernet cables Cat 5e or Cat 6 type which are factory crimped.
- Ethernet Switch Port Speed 1 Gbps and above.
- XV3-8, and XE5-8 APs ethernet 1 port speed is 5 Gbps.
- XE3-4 and XE3-4TN ethernet port speed 2.5 Gbps.
- AP ethernet port speed set to 1 Gbps and above
- Make use of the highest speed based on the AP device model.
- On AP, MTU on ethernet port set to 1500 bytes.
- AP firmware – make use of latest available firmware release.
- Cambium support Portal https://support.cambiumnetworks.com/
- It will be available through cnMaestro Cloud.
- Recommended to use cnMatrix MXEX2016MxPA00 switch with latest release firmware image or other industry standard switches like Cisco, Extreme L2 switch with the latest firmware.
- Wireless client pre-requisites:
- 802.11ax version, including models like iPad, Google Pixel Pro etc.
- If testing 2x2, the clients can be 2x2 streams.
- If testing 4x4, it is recommended to use any laptop with external card that has 4x4 (most of the laptops will be only having 3x3 max built-in Wi-Fi card).
- General recommendation is to use the latest OS on mobile Phones / iPad / Apple MacBooks and latest WLAN driver on Windows laptops.
Traffic generator applica1ons
- iperf3 available for all OS (iOS, Windows, Android - iPerf - Download iPerf3 and original iPerf pre-compiled binaries)
- iPerfman Pro client for iOS -available in APP store - introducing iPerfman | Will's Blog
Note: Recommended to use Apple devices (mac book -server, iPad/iPhone-client) for best results.
Test set up
-
AP placement
Mount AP exactly as per the data sheet
- XV3-8, XE3-4, XV2-2 and XV2-21X APs recommended with the ceiling mount position.
- XV2-2T0, XV2-2T1, XV2-23TN and XE3-4TN APs recommended with the pole mount position.
- XV2-22H AP recommended with the wall mount position.
Client placement:
- 10 to 12 feet away from AP and clearly facing AP.
- No RF obstacles between AP and client.
- Keep away all metal and reflective surfaces.
-
Environment
-
Select clean RF environment, check by running Wi-Fi Analyzer on the AP
-
Free space between AP and the wireless clients
-
Avoid congested and closed glass rooms like below.
- Radio waves in congested or closed rooms can experience several effects, including reflection, absorption, and interference. This will affect AP performance.
-
-
Install AP in the recommended mounting position as per the datasheet.
-
Use factory crimped standard make Cat 5e/Cat 6 ethernet cables for connectivity. (Avoid hand crimp/local brand cables).
-
Power on the AP with Cambium recommended PoE (Power Over Ethernet) adapter or cnMatrix switch (with latest release firmware), if using any 3rd party switch then recheck sufficient power deliver on AP connected port and L2 (Layer 2 / L3 (Layer 3) switch is running with the latest release firmware.
-
To do tests in isolation (standalone not part of production network, this will help to carry test in much controlled network traffic) client and server must be on same LAN with static Ip configuration. AP WLAN VLAN and server connected switch port must be in same VLAN to communicate with each other.
-
This test can also be carried out in the production network, ensure server and client should be able to ping each other. You can keep both on the same VLAN or appropriate routing to be made for Layer 3 connectivity between client and server.
-
Recommended AP group configuration
- Disable Auto-RF Dynamic power and channel. (Refer image 1)
- Disable Continuous Background Scan (CBS). (Refer image 2)
- Disable Rogue AP detection.
- Select clean RF channel (take help of Wi-Fi analyzer in selecting clean RF channel)
- Channel width 80 MHz / 160 MHz is dependent on client capability. (Refer image 3)
- Enable short guard interval. (Refer image 3)
-
WLAN profile configuration
-
Disable 802.11k, 802.11v in the WLAN profile which prevent CBS from running in the background.
In case of standalone set up below CLI commands to change the AP configuration
XV3-8-3F3624(config)# wireless radio 2
XV3-8-3F3624(config-radio-2) # no continuous-background-scan
XV3-8-3F3624(config-radio-2) # no auto-rf dynamic-channel
XV3-8-3F3624(config-radio-2) # no auto-rf dynamic-power
XV3-8-3F3624(config-radio-2) # no auto-rfCLI Commands to disable 802.11k & 802.11v:
XV3-8-3F3624(config)# wireless wlan 1
XV3-8-3F3624(config-wlan-1) # no rrm
XV3-8-3F3624(config-wlan-1) # no 11v
-
Throughput measurement steps
-
Connect Client (iPad) to AP with the RSSI value above -50 & SNR above 45, with approx. 10 feet distance.
Check client data rate > 1000* with command
show wireless clients statisticsXV2-21X-E5386F(config)# show wireless clients statistics. MAC SN R AVG_SNR AVG_RSSI RATE RX-PKTS TX-PKTS RX-BYTES TX-BYTES AVG-TX (kbps) MAX-AVG-TX MIN-AVG-TX AVG-RX MAX-AVG-RX MIN-AVG-RX 0E-AB-04-9D-3B-F3 58 52 -43 1201.00 253982 7152324 44148480 10779677167 130904 574794 2 1000 6458 4 -
If AP is in production and managed by cnMaestro then.
-
Select AP Devices → AP Name → Tools → Remote Cli → then execute same command.
-
Note: 2x2 802.11ax client with 80 MHz bandwidth can use max data rate 1200 Mbps with 1024 QAM
-
Connect laptop / Desktop (iPerf server) to L2/L3 switch ethernet port, ensure port with highest speed with MTU 1500.
-
Check IP connectivity between client & laptop/desktop, client should be able to ping to laptop/desktop.
-
Download iperf3 server on laptop/desktop & run the iperf server with the steps below. (iPerf - Download iPerf3 and original iPerf pre-compiled binaries Available for all OS).
-
To run in server mode, go to installed folder in command prompt and run
iperf3.exe -s -i 1Please refer to this video for installation of iperf and running it in server mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE3MsbTP_G4
-
On client (iPad) open iPerfman pro and put server end Ip (desktop/laptop IP)
-
Click on “Transmit mode”
-
then select udp /tcp download/upload.
-
Configuration parameters:
-
Protocol TCP:
- Stream 5
- Duration 60
- Reporting interval 1
- Connection timeout 3
- Omit first N seconds 0
-
Protocol UDP:
- Rate 10Gbps
- Duration 60
- Reporting interval 1
- Connection timeout 3
- Omit first N seconds 0
Then click on “right cross” to save setting.
Click on ‘+’ sign to run the test.
-
-
-
Please ensure the selected channel is clean and no or minimal RF interference on it.
-
Run Wi-Fi analyzer to validate clean channel, if not select best clean channel manually.
-
Use the cli command to watch client data rate constantly while downloading /upload in progress.
service watch 1 "show wireless clients statistics" 100This will print the client data rate at which the client is downloading in real time.
============================================================================== MAC SNR AVG_SNR AVG_RSSI RATE RX-PKTS TX-PKTS RX-BYTES TX-BYTES AVG-TX (kbps) MAX-AVG-TX MIN-AVG-TX AVG-RX MAX-AVG-RX MIN-AVG-RX 0E-AB-04-9D-3B-F3 59 58 -37 1080.90 2446397 15319981 2888668259 22672134943 154296 770082 0 38816 386184 0 ============================================================================== MAC SNR AVG_SNR AVG_RSSI RATE RX-PKTS TX-PKTS RX-BYTES TX-BYTES AVG-TX (kbps) MAX-AVG-TX MIN-AVG-TX AVG-RX MAX-AVG-RX MIN-AVG-RX 0E-AB-04-9D-3B-F3 59 58 -37 1201.00 2518727 15331086 2992168627 22672738453 154296 770082 0 38816 386184 0 ==============================================================================
