u n w i r i n g o u r airClient Nexus sB3410 User Guide Version 1.4 Copyright © smartBridges Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ..........................................................................................................4 Overview of User Guide......................................................................................................4 Related Publications...........................................................................................................4 Technical Support Center ............................
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 7.2. PROFILE MANAGER .......................................................................................................52 7.2.1. Save Profile ........................................................................................................53 7.2.2. Load Operating Profile......................................................................................54 7.2.3. Profile Calendar ...........................................................
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m About This Document This User Guide is for the networking professional who configures and manages the smartBridges’ Intelligent Nexus Platform of wireless client devices (airClient™ Nexus). It provides detailed information on using the web-based configuration GUI to configure the airClient Nexus unit. This manual will help you gain a better understanding of how the various components of Nexus work.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Technical Support Center Comprehensive technical support by dedicated smartBridges engineers is available to all customers through the smartBridges support center website. The website provides updated tools and documents to help troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to smartBridges products and technologies. To access the technical support resources, please visit the support center website at http://www.smartbridges.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 1. Introduction This User Guide provides information on how to set-up and deploy the airClient unit. A web-based management tool is provided to assist the user to configure the airClient unit for different purposes. The airClient web-based management tool provides the user with the following features: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 1.2. Checklists Pre-Installation Checklist for airClient Organization Name/Site Name Address City State Zip Code Telephone Number Site Survey and Link Planning No 1 2 Parameters Regulatory Standard to be followed Frequency Band Units FCC/ETSI 2.4GHz 5.25-5.35 5.47-5.725 5.725-5.
i n t e l l i g e n t No 22 w i r e l e s s Parameters Length of external cable connecting a Radio and antenna Fade Margin taken into account for a link budgeting Model of smartBridges airClient equipment selected for a link.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Post-Installation Checklist for airClient Organization Name/Site Name Address City State Zip Code Telephone Number General Configuration Information No Parameters 1 Radio operations Mode Units Bridge/Router/NAT 2 SSID of a Radio Up to 32 characters 3 IP address of Ethernet Port 32-bit numeric address 4 IP address of Wireless Port 32-bit numeric address 5 Noise Floor dBm 6 RSSI dBm 7 Channel selected for Link 8 Radio TX Output Power
i n t e l l i g e n t Checklist No Parameters 1 Check out the crimping of the Ethernet cable at both the ends w i r e l e s s Units Yes/No 2 Check out the proper grounding of the antenna and equipment Yes/No 3 Ensure no extreme bends or kink's in the cable Yes/No 4 Ensure Ethernet cable is not running near a sharp edge Yes/No 5 Ensure airClient along with antenna is fixed properly on a tower with the help of nuts and bolt supplied in packaging Yes/No 6 Ensure antenna is pointed to get the b
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2. airClient Configuration The airClient can work in one of three modes: Bridge, Router or NAT. The procedures for configuring the various parameters in each mode are outlined in this chapter. 2.1. User Login and License Agreement The airClient unit comes with a pre-configured default Ethernet (wired-side) IP address: 192.168.0.207 and subnet mask: 255.255.255.0.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-2 License Agreement Page Figure 2-3 Nexus Summary Information Page airClient™ Nexus User Guide Page 12 of 66
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m The page information descriptions are provided in the table below: Table 2-1 Description of Parameters Page Item Ethernet Configuration Wireless Configuration Port Information Descriptions IP Address IP Mask Gateway DHCP Editable Ethernet IP Address. Editable Ethernet IP subnet Mask Editable Gateway IP address.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.3. Using the Configuration Pages The airClient Nexus configuration system comprises several pages for configuring each parameter. A common navigation menu bar is provided at the top of each page for easy navigation as shown in the figure below. Figure 2- 5 Navigation Menu Bar showing editable boxes for parameters System configuration information is displayed as read-only in each page.
i n t e l l i g e n t Menu Item Networking Menu Sub-items Bridge Configuration DHCP Traffic Statistics Bandwidth Controller Routing Table Radio Main w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Description Displays the bridge address, generic bridge port table, spanning tree port table for ports ETH A, ETH B, Radio A., etc Bridge configuration option is available when airClient is configured in airClient Bridge.
i n t e l l i g e n t Menu Item Menu Sub-items w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Description Access Filters Reset: Resets the device remotely Delayed Reset: Schedules delayed reset at a future time NTP Server : Allows user to change NTP Server settings Firmware Version: Shows firmware’s current version Radio Firmware Version: Shows firmware’s current radio Version Reset to Defaults: Resets the device to factory default values.
i n t e l l i g e n t Menu Item Help w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Menu Sub-items Description Link Test Allows user to do a throughput test and ping test. These tools could be very helpful during the installation phase. Link Budget Planning Calculator Allows user to calculate the Link Budget. Antenna alignment Shows the link status, link quality, RSSI. Site Survey Shows all the wireless operating in the area. User Manager Allows the administrator to change the Administrator password.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.4. Device Mode Configuration The device operational mode is displayed at the top right hand corner of each page. The Device Mode Configuration allows the user to configure the airClient in NAT, Router or Bridge mode. NAT: This is the default operating mode. This mode allows a Local Area Network (LAN) to use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a single wireless IP for external traffic.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.5. airClient Bridge to airClient Router/NAT Follow the steps below to change airClient Bridge mode to airClient Router/NAT mode 1. Go to ‘Tools | System Configuration’ drop down menu. The ‘System Configuration’ will be displayed. 2. Click on the ‘Current Operational Mode’ link to go to the ‘System Configuration’ page. Choose ‘Router’ (or NAT) under the ‘Remote Device’ option. 3. Click on ‘Apply Changes’.
i n t e l l i g e n t 2.6. w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m airClient Router/NAT to airClient Bridge Follow the steps below to change airClient Router/NAT mode to airClient Bridge Mode 1. Go to ‘Tools | System Configuration’ drop down menu. displayed. The ‘System Configuration’ will be 2. Click on the ‘Current Operational Mode’ link to go to the ‘System Configuration’ page. Choose ‘Bridge under the ‘Remote Device’ option. 3. Click on ‘Apply Changes’. A confirmation pop-up window will be displayed. 4.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.7. airClient Bridge Configuration The airClient in Bridge mode can only associate with an airPoint™ (sB3210) in bridge mode. This Bridge mode uses WDS implementation. The following sections outline the procedures for changing the settings for bridge mode. 2.7.1. Ethernet Configuration The Ethernet IP is configured when the operational mode was changed to the bridge mode.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 3. Choose a radio regulatory domain and channel from the drop down lists. 4. Select the transmit power of the radio from the Dial-in-Power drop down menu and select the appropriate gain of the antenna 5. Enter the RF cable loss based on the cable specifications. 6. Click ‘Apply Changes’. The units will attempt to associate. 7. Click on the ‘View Association Table’ to check for the associated clients.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-11 Link Status 2.7.3. Bridge Configuration In Bridge mode the airClient unit acts as a transparent bridge between the Radio and the Ethernet interfaces. The figure below shows the bridge configuration and the table of bridge forwarding information. The STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) is disabled by default.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-12 Bridge Configuration Information 2.7.4. Configuring Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) STP is a Layer 2 link management protocol that provides path redundancy while preventing loops in the network. For a Layer 2 Ethernet network to function properly, only one active path can exist between any two redundant links. To create a fault-tolerant network, there needs to be a loop-free path between all nodes in the network.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.7.5. STP Settings Configuration STP is disabled by default. The table below lists the default STP settings when the STP is enabled. Table 2-3 Default STP Values Setting Bridge priority Default Value 32768 Range 0-65535 Purpose A parameter used to identify the root bridge in a spanning tree (instance of STP). The bridge with the lowest value has the highest priority and is the root.
i n t e l l i g e n t Setting Default Value Range w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Purpose for forwarding traffic out of the spanning tree. A higher numerical value means a lower priority; thus, the highest priority is 8. Radio port (Radio A) path cost 100 0-65535 The cost of using the port to reach the root bridge. When selecting among multiple links to the root bridge, STP chooses the link with the lowest path cost and blocks the other paths. Each port type has its own default STP path cost.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 10. Enter the values of Ethernet Port Priority and/or Port Path Cost for ETHA. 11. Enter the values of Ethernet Port Priority and/or Port Path Cost for ETHB. 12. Enter the values of Ethernet Port Priority and/or Port Path Cost for Radio A 13. Click on ’Apply Changes’ Button to save to the current configuration file. Figure 2-13 Bridge Configuration 2.8.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 1. From the ’Summary Information’ page, click on the ’Ethernet Configuration’ link to change Ethernet parameters. 2. Enter the ‘IP address’ and ‘IP mask’. 3. Click on ‘Apply Changes’ to effect the changes. Figure 2-14 airClient Router Ethernet Configuration 2.8.2. Wireless Configuration The wireless parameters need to be configured to allow the airClient Router unit to associate with an airPoint™ or any third party access point.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-15 airClient Router Wireless IP Configuration In order for the airClient Router device to associate with the access point, the user needs to configure the access point’s SSID and WEP (if used). Follow these steps below to configure the airClient Router/NAT Mode wireless association parameters: 1. Click on ‘Main airClient Router Mode’ from the ‘Radio’ drop-down menu. 2. Enter the SSID and domain. 3.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-16 airClient Router Wireless Association Settings Click on ‘Status’ to view the association link-status graph. Figure 2-17 Link Status Note: If the association status window does not appear, click on the Java link to download the JRE.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.8.3. DHCP Configurations The airClient Router/NAT unit can be used as a DHCP server or DHCP relay agent. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) allows a host to be automatically assigned a new IP address out of a pool of IP addresses for his network. A DHCP server/relay can only be configured when the device is in the airClient Router/NAT Mode. Follow the steps below to configure the airClient Router unit as a DHCP server: 1.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 1. Click on ‘Networking’ | ‘DHCP Server’ from the menu bar to access the DHCP configuration page. 2. Click on ‘Disable DHCP and DHCP Relay’ to disable the DHCP server configuration. 3. Click on the ’Apply Changes’ to change the settings. Figure 2-19 Disable DHCP and DHCP Relay 2.8.4. DHCP Relay Configurations If the user has a DHCP Server, the airClient Router can be configured as a DHCP Relay agent of the DHCP Server for IP address assignment.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 2-20 DHCP Relay Agent Configurations 2.8.5. Routing Table The airClient Router web-interface provides viewing of the routes and allows for adding and deleting of the static routes for the airClient Router mode only. To view the route entry in the airClient Router device, click on ‘Networking’ | ‘Routing Table’ from the menu bar to access the view routing table page.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2. Enter the Network IP, Mask, Gateway, Interface and Metric entry for the new route. 3. Click on ‘Apply Changes’ to add the new static route. Follow the steps below to delete a static route entry in the airClient Router device. 1. Click on ‘Networking’ | ‘Routing Table’ from the menu bar to access the view routing table page. 2. Click on ‘Del’ on the right hand side of the route entry to be deleted. 3. Click on ‘Apply Changes’ to delete the route.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 2.9. Wireless Settings Management The Radio Configuration Main page can be accessed from the Radio menu. The contents will be slightly different for each mode, Bridge, Router or NAT. 2.9.1. Wireless Settings The following table summarizes the information for the wireless settings. Table 2-3 Wireless Settings Page Items Descriptions This is the current SSID. SSID Mac Address User can change the SSID.
i n t e l l i g e n t Page Items w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Descriptions This is the current radio channel in the selected domain. Channel Rates Auto Rate Fallback Dial a Power Antenna Gain This is settable when in airClient Bridge mode, user need to enter the same channel as the Root device from the pull-down list. The radio channel settings correspond to the frequencies available in the user regulatory domain.
i n t e l l i g e n t Page Items w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Descriptions 128 bits: User has to input 26 HEX digits. Valid Key Key Table Note: When key size is changed, all 4 keys are lost and user needs to re-enter. Choose which key in key table is used for authentication: 1 – 4 This value must be matching between the airClient and access point. Display / Set WEP keys A maximum of four keys can be set. Follow the steps below to configure the Data Encryption parameters. 1.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Follow the steps below to disable the Data Encryption: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the ‘Data Encryption’ link from the ‘Radio Main’ page. If it is in Shared key mode, please set to Open System before you can click Disable Click the ‘Disable’ button on the WEP. Click the ’Apply Changes’ button to change the settings.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 3. Performance Parameters and Bandwidth Controller This chapter gives instructions for editing the wireless radio protocol parameters to optimize radio performance and changing the Bandwidth Controller. These procedures are the same for all the three modes. 3.1.
i n t e l l i g e n t Page Item w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Descriptions The pull-down menu allows the user to select a long, short or dynamic radio preamble. The default is dynamic. Long: a long preamble ensures compatibility with most clients. Short: a short preamble improves throughput performance. But only allow short preamble capable clients to associate. Dynamic: a dynamic preamble allows mixing of short and long preamble.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 3.2. Bandwidth Controller Using the Bandwidth Controller on the airClient, the user can limit the wireless link bandwidth for the the upload/fownload speed. The default is disable with default upload speed of 512kbps and download speed of 6Mbps. This is subject to the available upstream bandwidth, signal level and distance.. The user can key in the upload and download bandwidth for the wireless link.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 4. Site Survey Tool To access the Site Survey page, go to the ‘Tools’ | ‘Site Survey’ drop down menu. The following figure shows the list of SSID from the site survey. Figure 4-1 Site Survey showing associated devices To associate to a particular SSID, click the ‘Associate’ button to establish the wireless link to the access point. If WEP is used on the access point, then WEP needs to be enabled and the WEP key defined prior to association.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 5. Antenna Alignment Antenna alignment can be used to optimize the radio performance and check the RSSI and Noise Floor. To access the antenna alignment, go to the menu bar under Tools and choose ‘Antenna Alignment’. In order to view this information (Link Status), from the Radio page, use the Wireless Settings to associate the airClient with an access point. Click on the ‘Status’ link to go to the Antenna Alignment page.
i n t e l l i g e n t Note: w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m A jump in the audio frequency from low to high indicates that the RSSI is increasing and vice versa.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 6. Traffic Statistics Wireless and Ethernet Traffic Statistics can be displayed by clicking on the ‘Networking’ | ‘Statistics’ drop down menu. The following figure shows the statistics page. This page is refreshed after every 10 seconds.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Ethernet Traffic Statistics No of packets discarded because of format error Transmitted error Received Bytes Total No of packets received through the particular interface Received Unicast packets Received Multicast Packets Total No of packets received with a specified destination. Total No of packets received with a specified destination.
i n t e l l i g e n t Received Frame FCS Error Count w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Wireless Traffic Statistics No of unsuccessfully received frames ACK Receives Failure Count No of frame transmissions for which an acknowledgement response frame was expected but not received. RTS Fail No of transmitted RTS frames for which no response CTS frame was received. No of Aborted Frames No of frames that are aborted by the radio.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 7. Tools Here you will find the relevant information for conducting the different reset options, using the Profile Manager and doing a Link Test as well as estimating the Link Budget. 7.1. System Configuration The System Configuration page provides a one page tool to configure the airClient device. To access the System Configuration page go to ‘Tools’ | ‘System Configuration’ drop down menu.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m The following page summarizes the page contents of the System Configuration page. Table 7-1 System Configuration Page Items Page Item Descriptions.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Follow the steps below to change the SNMP security settings. 1. Enter New Community and Confirm Community with the same string. 2. Check the ‘SNMP Access Filters’ Enable box. 3. Enter Access Filters IP Address and Mask. Up to three IP’s settings can be entered. 4. Click the ’Apply Changes’ button.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m (there is one already specified by default) and the time zone. After enabling the delayed reset, specify a time which is valid in reference to current time. When recurrence is set to weekly, monthly or daily, the reference is made with the first set time i.e. Reset time. Figure 7-3 Delayed Reset Settings For delayed reset, follow the steps below: 1. Select date from the calendar that has been provided. 2. Select the recurrence. 3.
i n t e l l i g e n t Note: w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Please ensure that the NTP server IP is accessible from the device. Use the ping test tool from the ’Tools | Link Test’ to check if the NTP server can be pinged from the device. The device can still operate without the Time Server configuration but you will not be able to perform the Delayed Reset function. Figure 7-4 NTP Time Settings 7.2. Profile Manager The airClient Nexus configuration parameters can be saved as profiles in the system.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 7-5 Profile Manager Table 7-3 Description of Commands Page Item Descriptions Save As: Profile Description: Save Profile button Change Profile To: Profile Description: Load Profile button Select which profile name to save for the current configuration Select Profile: Choose a profile to schedule Specify a description for the profile to be saved.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 3. Click the ‘Save Profile’ button to effect the changes. Note: Existing configuration parameters in the selected profile name will be replaced with current configuration parameters. 7.2.2. Load Operating Profile To load the desired operating profile, follow these steps: 1. Select a profile to load from the Profile Table. 2. Click the Load button to load the selected profile.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 7-6 Scheduling a Profile airClient™ Nexus User Guide Page 55 of 66
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 7.3. Link Test The Link Test utility is available from the navigation menu bar in the ‘Tools | Link Test’ drop down menu. From the Link Test tools, the user can test Throughput and perform Ping Test. You can run Radio Transmit or Radio Receive. The remote device will automatically start receiving /transmitting (provided an airPoint Nexus is used). The remote radio IP address has to be specified for the test.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m 3. The Throughput test will start and the result will be displayed. 4. Click on the ‘Stop’ button if you want to stop the test. Note: The Throughput Test can be done only between Nexus units. Figure 7-8 Throughput Test Result 7.4. Link Budget Planning Link Budget Planning is a very useful tool for link budget estimation.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 7-9 Link Budget Planning Calculator GPS Calculator Once the distance is computed follow the steps below for the link budget calculations: 1. Select the radio mode for station 1 and 2. 2. Enter the transmit output power in dBm for station 1 and 2. 3. Enter the antenna Gain in dB for station 1 and 2. 4. Enter the Cable Losses in dB for station 1 and 2. 5. Click the ’Compute Link Budget’ button to calculate the link budget information. 6.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 7-10 Link Budget Planning Calculator Link Budget airClient™ Nexus User Guide Page 59 of 66
i n t e l l i g e n t 8. w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Firmware Upgrade The latest firmware for airClient Nexus is available for download from the smartBridges Support website at http://www.smartbridges.com/support/acn.asp The airClient Nexus unit firmware can be upgraded from the web management interface. Follow the steps below to upgrade the airClient Nexus firmware: 1. Download the latest (or a particular release version) of the airClient Nexus firmware from the web-site http://www.smartbridges.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Figure 8-2 airClient Nexus Firmware Upgrade (Firmware transferred) Figure 8-3 Successful upgrade pop-up window airClient™ Nexus User Guide Page 61 of 66
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Appendix A – SNMP Trap airClient Nexus generates SNMP trap that can be forwarded to the SNMP Trap server. The SNMP Trap server IP address is set in section. The following table provides a list of SNMP traps generated. Trap IP address Message Object Identifier: 1.3.6.1.4.1.14882.2.1.1 Value: Object Identifier: 1.3.6.1.4.1.14882.2.1.2 Value: IP netmask Gateway SSID Radio Mode Object Identifier: 1.3.6.1.4.1.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Appendix B – Useful terms and definitions MAC RSSI SSID DHCP ACL SNMP NTP STP TCP IP Acronyms and Abbreviations Media Access Control Receive Signal Sensitivity Indication Service Set Identifier Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Access Control List Simple Network Management Protocol Network Time Protocol Spanning Tree Protocol Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol 802.11h The 802.11h specification is an addition to the 802.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m According to the IEEE 802.11 standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is intended to provide “confidentiality that is subjectively equivalent to the confidentiality of a wired local area network medium and that does not employ cryptographic techniques to enhance privacy.” WEP relies on a secret key that is shared between a mobile station and an access point. WEP uses the RC4 stream cipher invented by RSA Data Security.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m DHCP stands for ‘Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol’ and is a means for networked computers to get their TCP/IP networking settings from a central server. Importantly, DHCP assigns IP addresses and other TCP/IP configuration parameters automatically. SNMP Short for Simple Network Management Protocol, a set of protocols for managing complex networks. The first versions of SNMP were developed in the early 80s.
i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m Appendix C – License airClient Nexus is Copyright © 2004-2005 by smartBridges. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2.
