GETTING STARTED GUIDE Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Points INCLUDING LICENSE AND WARRANTY 1 About this Guide 2 Introduction to the Access Point 3 Unpacking the Access Point 4 Becoming Familiar With the Access Point 5 Network Deployment Examples 6 Preparing the Access Point 7 Deploying the Access Point 8 In Case of Difficulty 9 Cisco 90-Day Limited Hardware Warranty Terms
1 About this Guide This guide is designed to familiarize yourself with your Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Point and prepare it for use in your wireless network. Due to the complexity and number of product options available, this guide does not provide detailed mounting and configuration instructions.
Declaration of Conformity with Regard to the EU Directive 1999/5/EC (R&TTE Directive) This declaration is only valid for configurations (combinations of software, firmware and hardware) provided and/or supported by Cisco Systems. The use software or firmware not supported/provided by Cisco Systems may result that the equipment is no longer compliant with the regulatory requirements.
Warning This equipment must be externally grounded using a customer-supplied ground wire before power is applied. Contact the appropriate electrical inspection authority or an electrician if you are uncertain that suitable grounding is available. Statement 366 Warning Read the installation instructions before connecting the system to the power source. Statement 1004 Warning Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install, replace, or service this equipment.
The access point is a standalone unit that can be cable strand or tower mounted. The access point can also operate as a relay node for other access points not directly connected to a wired network. Intelligent wireless routing is provided by the patent-pending Adaptive Wireless Path Protocol (AWPP).
• Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Point Mounting Instructions • Translated Safety Warnings for Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Points • This guide Optional Equipment Depending on what you ordered, the following optional equipment may be part of your shipment: • Cable modem (AIR-1520-CM-D2=) • Battery, 6 amp hour (AIR-1520-BATT-6AH=) • 100BASE-BX10-U rugged SFP (GLC-FE-100BX-URGD=) • Take-up reel for fiber cable (AIR-1520-FIB-REEL=) • Pole mount kit (AIR-ACCMK1520=) • Strand moun
Figure 1 shows the access point bottom connectors. Figure 1 Access Point Bottom Connectors 1 AC power connector 5 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) Out Ethernet connector 2 Reserved for future use 6 LEDs 3 Antenna port 6 7 Antenna port 4 4 Fiber optic connector 8 PoE-In Ethernet connector Note Antenna port 5 is not shown in this illustration. The port is reserved for future use and will be located midway between antenna ports 4 and 6.
Figure 2 shows the access point left side and top connectors.
Figure 3 shows the access point right side connections. Figure 3 1 Access Point Right Side Connections Ground screw holes 2 DC power connector Radio Operation The 2.4-GHz radio supports three antennas for multi-input, single output (MISO) operation. The radio uses three receivers to support maximum ratio combining (MRC) to enhance receiver performance. MRC is a technique that combines the signals from multiple receivers in a manner to optimize the signals.
External Antennas Warning In order to comply with radio frequency (RF) exposure limits, the antennas for this product should be positioned no less than 6.56 ft (2 m) from your body or nearby persons. Statement 339 Warning Do not locate the antenna near overhead power lines or other electric light or power circuits, or where it can come into contact with such circuits.
Note To reduce potential radio interference to other users, the antenna type and its gain should be chosen so that the equivalent subtropical radiated power (EIRP) is not more than required for successful communication. Table 1 lists the supported external 2.4- and 5-GHz antennas. Table 1 External 2.4- and 5-GHz Antennas Part Number Model Gain (dBi) AIR-ANT2450V-N 2.4-GHz compact omnidirectional AIR-ANT2480V-N 2.
Table 2 Antenna Ports and Configurations (continued) Antenna Port Product Configuration Cable Strand Mount (Two Antenna Receive MRC Access and One Backhaul) Pole Mount (Three Antenna Receive MRC Access and One Backhaul) 4 No connection 2.4-GHz receive only 5 No connection No connection 6 No connection 2.4-GHz transmit and receive Power Warning Installation of the equipment must comply with local and national electrical codes.
Warning Connect the unit only to DC power source that complies with the Safety Extra-Low Voltage (SELV) requirements in IEC 60950 based safety standards Statement 1033 • Internal 6 ampere-hour battery The access point can be connected to more than one power source.
Caution When the access point is installed outdoors or in a wet or damp location, the AC branch circuit that is powering the access point should be provided with ground fault protection (GFCI), as required by Article 210 of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Three AC power cord options are available: • 40-ft (12.2-m) power cord for light pole installations in the US and Canada.
Cable Option The factory-orderable cable option provides a cable modem and Power-over-Cable capabilities for the access point for high-speed data transfer and Internet access. When the cable option is installed, the access point uses its F-type cable connection to receive both data and power. Data is passed between wireless clients on the mesh network to the cable company’s network via the access point’s internal cable modem. In this configuration, the access point receives operating power from the cable.
RAPs, each one parenting the same or different wireless networks. There can be more than one RAP for the same mesh network for redundancy. RAPs and MAPs can support wireless clients on the 2.4-GHz band. When the access point does not have a wired Ethernet connection to the controller (through a switch), the radio role is called a MAP. The MAPs have a wireless connection (through the backhaul interface) to other MAPs and finally to a RAP which has an Ethernet connection through a switch to the controller.
Point-to-Point Bridging Example 148440 Figure 5 Point-to-Multipoint Bridging The access points can be used as a RAP to connect multiple remote MAPs with their associated wired networks. By default this capability is turned-off for all access points. To support Ethernet bridging, you must enable bridging on the controller for each access point. Wireless client access can be provided over the bridging link; however, if bridging between tall buildings, the 2.
Mesh Network The access point is typically deployed in a mesh network configuration. In a typical mesh deployment, one or more RAPs have a wired network connection through a switch to a controller. Other remote MAPs without wired network connections use the backhaul feature to optimally link to a RAP that is connected to the wired network. In the mesh network, the links between the access points are referred to as the backhaul links.
Layer 3 Network Operation The access points support Layer 3 network operation. Access points and controllers in Layer 3 configurations use IP addresses and UDP packets, which can be routed through large networks. Layer 3 operation is scalable and recommended by Cisco. Figure 8 illustrates a typical Layer-3 wireless network configuration containing access points and a controller.
Site Surveys Cisco recommends that you perform a site survey before installing the equipment. A site survey reveals problems that can be resolved before the network is operational. Because 802.11a is unlicensed, there may be sources of interference from other 802.11a wireless devices (especially in multi-tenant buildings) that could degrade your 802.11 signals. A site survey can determine if such interference exists.
To avoid receiver damage and PER degradation, you can use one of the following techniques: • Separate the omnidirectional antennas by at least 2 ft (0.6 m) to avoid receiver damage or by at least 25 ft (7.6 m) to avoid PER degradation. Note These distances assume free space path loss and are conservative estimates. Required separation distances for damage and performance degradation levels in actual deployments will be less due to non line-of-sight propagation conditions.
Before You Begin Warning Read the installation instructions before connecting the system to the power source. Statement 1004 Before you begin the installation process: • Become familiar with the procedures for mounting the access point. • Become familiar with the access point connections (Figure 1 on page 7, Figure 2 on page 8, and Figure 3 on page 9). • Verify that the switch you are using to connect the controller is configured properly.
Verifying the Wireless LAN Controller Mode Follow these steps to verify that the wireless LAN controller mode is set to Layer 3: Step 1 Open your web-browser and enter the IP address of your wireless LAN controller. Be sure to precede the IP address with https://. A login screen appears. Step 2 Enter your username and password. The default case-sensitive username and password are admin and admin. The Summary page appears. Step 3 From the top menu bar, click CONTROLLER.
Step 3 Under AAA in the left frame, click MAC Filtering. The Security MAC Filtering page appears. Step 4 Click New. The MAC Filters New page appears. Step 5 Enter the MAC address of the access point in the MAC Address field. You can also use the config macfilter add command to add a MAC filter entry to the controller. Step 6 Select a WLAN ID or Any WLAN from the WLAN ID pop-up menu. Step 7 Enter a description (32 characters maximum) of the access point in the Description field.
Deployment Notes Using a DHCP Server in a Layer 3 Mesh Network To use a DHCP server in a Layer 3 mesh network, make sure the wireless LAN controller is in Layer 3 mode. You must also configure DHCP option 43 on the DHCP server. After the controller is restarted, the access point receives IP addresses from the DHCP server. Configuring DHCP Option 43 You can use DHCP Option 43 to provide a list of controller IP addresses to the access points, enabling each access point to find and join a controller.
Table 3 Lightweight Access Point VCI Strings Access Point Vendor Class Identifier (VCI) Cisco Aironet 1000 Series Airespace.AP1200 Cisco Aironet 1100 Series Cisco AP c1100 Cisco Aironet 1130 Series Cisco AP c1130 Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Cisco AP c1200 Cisco Aironet 1240 Series Cisco AP c1240 Cisco Aironet 1300 Series Cisco AP c1300 Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Cisco AP c1500 1 Cisco AP.OAP15002, Cisco AP.LAP15102, or Cisco AP.LAP15052 Airespace.
To configure DHCP Option 43 for Cisco 1000 and 1500 (1505 and 1510) series lightweight access points in the embedded Cisco IOS DHCP server, follow these steps: Step 1 Enter configuration mode at the Cisco IOS command line interface.
To configure DHCP Option 43 for Cisco Aironet 1100, 1130, 1200, 1240, 1250, 1300, and 1520 series lightweight access points in the embedded Cisco IOS DHCP server, follow these steps: Step 1 Enter configuration mode at the Cisco IOS CLI. Step 2 Create the DHCP pool, including the necessary parameters such as default router and name server.
8 In Case of Difficulty Help is available from Cisco should you experience difficulties; however, before contacting Cisco, look for a solution to your problem in the following places: • The Troubleshooting section of this guide • The troubleshooting section of the Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Point Hardware Installation Guide • The Troubleshooting a Mesh Network troubleshooting guide found on cisco.com at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps8368/prod_troubleshooting_guides_list.
Guidelines for Using the Access Point You should keep these guidelines in mind when you use the access point: • The access points can only communicate with controllers and cannot operate independently. • The access point communicates only with controllers and does not support Wireless Domain Services (WDS). The access points cannot communicate with WDS devices. However, the controller provides functionality equivalent to WDS when an access point associates to it.
Figure 9 LEDs 1 Status LED— Displays the current status of the access point and power. 3 Radio 1 Status LED—Displays the status of the 802.11b/g radio. 2 Uplink Status LED—Displays the status of all 4 uplink connections (Ethernet, fiber, and cable). Radio 2 Status LED—Displays the status of the 802.11a radio. Table 4 Access Point LED Descriptions Color1 Status LED Uplink LED RF-1 and RF-2 LEDs Dark No power applied No physical connector present or uplink port is down.
Table 4 Access Point LED Descriptions (continued) Color1 Status LED Uplink LED RF-1 and RF-2 LEDs Red Firmware failure – Firmware failure Cycling red/amber/green LWAPP discovery – – 1. All LEDs dark indicates no power is applied. All LEDs amber indicates the access point power supply is on. See the Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Point Hardware Installation Guide for a detailed description of the LEDs and additional troubleshooting tips.
Controller CLI Use the show macfilter summary controller CLI command to view the MAC addresses added to the controller filter list. Controller GUI Log into your controller web interface (HTTPS) using a web browser and click SECURITY > AAA > MAC Filtering to view the MAC addresses added to the controller filter list. Then click Wireless > Mesh to ensure the MAC filter list is enabled.
c. Click Go. The Cisco warranty page appears. d. Read the document online, or click the PDF icon to download and print the document in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). You can also contact the Cisco service and support website for assistance: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/support/ The following are special terms applicable to your hardware warranty.
Americas Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA www.cisco.com Tel: 408 526-4000 800 553-NETS (6387) Fax: 408 527-0883 Asia Pacific Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. 168 Robinson Road #28-01 Capital Tower Singapore 068912 www.cisco.com Tel: +65 6317 7777 Fax: +65 6317 7799 Europe Headquarters Cisco Systems International BV Haarlerbergpark Haarlerbergweg 13-19 1101 CH Amsterdam The Netherlands www-europe.cisco.
