User's Manual

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Traffic Prioritization
The MetroE ODU system provides three traffic prioritization levels (Low, Medium, or High) to
prioritize traffic on the mesh. This helps ensure that certain types of traffic requiring high
throughput or continuous service, such as voice, take precedence over other forms of traffic. Every
port on every node on the mesh can be set to any of these three priority levels.
Network Gateway Interconnects
The MetroE ODU mesh network allows multiple mesh portals for efficient access to external
network services, such as the Internet. This capability enables high throughput and redundancy for
external services and optimizes the transport of traffic though the mesh. MetroE ODU mesh nodes
can also be assigned to specific portal groups (called ‘‘Gateway Groups’’) to further increase the
efficiency of each portal. You configure portals by defining Network Gateway Interconnects (NGIs).
Each Gateway Group can support up to 16 NGIs and you can define up to 8 Gateway Groups. Each
node on the mesh can have only one Gateway Group interconnect. Gateway groups are not
required when connecting to different network domains or if only one NGI is being used.
The NGI feature provides both load balancing and redundancy when accessing various network
services. This helps provide better wireless mesh data throughput because it allows packets to
enter and exit the wireless mesh at the entry/exit point closest to the packet’s destination, thereby
conserving wireless bandwidth and reducing the number of hops required to reach the desired
destination.
Radio Settings
MetroE ODU wireless mesh nodes are FCC approved for operation only in the 5.8 GHz band. The
selected radio mode is applied to the entire wireless mesh. You can use the ARCView
management software to display and modify the radio transmit power level for each node.
Speed and Duplex Settings
You can configure the Ethernet port for 10 or 100 Mbps speed or for automatic speed negotiation.
Network traffic between a MetroE ODU node and devices connected to its Ethernet port travels up
to full wire rate (10 or 100 Mbps). The port can also be configured for full- or half-duplex operation.
In addition, you can enable and disable individual ports.
The Ethernet ports support auto MDIX, which allows you to use either straight-through or
crossover cables to connect the MetroE ODU node to other devices.
Transmit Power Control
You can display and modify the radio TX power level on a per node basis utilizing the ARCView™
management software. The maximum power (that is, 100%) is a factory-configured value that is
unique to each country of operation, each channel of operation, and each antenna configuration,
and has been determined to be within an authorized limit. This value cannot be changed. However,
using the ARCView software, a mesh administrator can set any node to operate at a reduced
percentage of this maximum power (for example, 75%, 50%, or 25%; the default setting is 75%).
The administrator can restore the MetroE ODU node to its approved maximum power by setting
the power level back to 100%.