MANUAL AirOS
Contents • • 1 AirOS Introduction 2 Configuration Guide o 2.1 Navigation o 2.2 Main Page 2.2.1 Status Reporting 2.2.2 Statistics Reporting 2.2.3 Extra info 2.2.4 Tools 2.2.5 Antenna Alignment o 2.3 Link Setup Page 2.3.1 Basic Wireless Settings 2.3.2 Wireless Security o 2.4 Network 2.4.1 Bridge Mode 2.4.2 Router Mode o 2.5 Advanced 2.5.1 Advanced Wireless Setting 2.5.2 Acknowledgement Timeout 2.5.3 Antenna Settings 2.5.4 Antenna Alignment LED Thresholds 2.5.
AirOS Introduction The design goal of AirOS was simplicity and power. Unlike previous and current market-leading wireless or router operating systems that are complex and require a training investment, Ubiquiti set out to make an advanced operating system capable of powerful wireless and routing features, but was built upon a simple, clean, intuitive user interface foundation. Our goal is to make AirOS simple enough for the operator, customer, or new technician to easily understand, configure, and deploy.
Note: the screen shots in this document represent PowerStation2 graphical user interface but they are also fully applicable for NanoStation2 and LiteStation2 series devices. The graphical user interface elements which are specific for the NanoStation5, LiteStation5 and PowerStation5 are described individually in the this document.
The Main Page displays a summary of link status information, basic configuration settings of the device (operating mode, network settings), traffic statistics of all the interfaces. Network administration and monitoring utilities such as antenna alignment, ping test, and speed test tools are accessible via Main page also. Status Reporting Base Station SSID: The Name of the 802.
Channel: This is the 802.11 channel number that corresponds to the operating frequency. Device uses the selected channel to transmit and receive data. More information is provided in the Link Setup section. Antenna: This shows which antenna option the AirOS device is using currently. Most of Ubiquiti Devices have 4 antenna options: vertical, horizontal, and Adaptive Antenna Polarity (AAP) options. There is also often an external antenna option. Security: This is the current security setting.
Note: LAN IP Address and WLAN IP Address displays the same value - current IP address of the virtual bridge interface, while the device is operating in Bridge mode. Statistics Reporting LAN interface Statistics LAN Statistics: section displays the detailed receive and transmit statistics (Bytes, Packets, Errors) of LAN (Ethernet) interface. This statistics represents the total amount of data and packets transfered between devices through the ethernet interface either way.
This statistics represents the total amount of unicast and broadcast IP data transfered between AirOS powered device and PPPoE server through the PPP tunnel either way. As long as there is some network traffic being passed through the PPP tunnel, Received and Transmitted Bytes, Packets and Errors (if any) value will go on increasing. Refer to the Network section for more information aboutPPPoEsetup. WLAN Errors Statistics WLAN Errors: section displays the counters of 802.
• Show Stations: selection lists the stations which are connected to the device while operating in Access Point mode. Statistics for all the stations (RSSI, Tx Rate, Rx Rate and Idle time) can be updated using the Reload button. More statistics (Station Uptime, Negotiated Rates, Static WDS Flag, Tx/Rx Frames, Tx/Rx Bytes) can be retrieved while clicking on the “+” button near MAC address of the each Station entry.
Current Status of the system bridge table • Show Bridge Table: selection lists all the entries in the system bridge table, while the device is operating in Bridge mode. The list can be updated using the Reload button.
Current Status of the DHCP leases • Show DHCP Leases selection shows the current status of the leased IP addresses by the device’s DHCP server. Interface name shows from which device interface DHCP client which has specified MAC Address is connected. Remaining Lease time shows for how long the leased IP address will be valid and reserved for particular DHCP client. The list can be updated using the Reload button.
Tools Tools: provides network utilities in pop-up window: Wireless link throughput estimation with Network Speed Test utility • Speed Test: This utility allows for testing the connection speed to and from any reachable IP address on the AirOS device network. It should be used for the preliminary throughput estimation between two network devices. If both devices are powered by AirOS, the estimation is more precise, otherwise only rough estimation is provided while using ICMP packet exchange routines.
Ping utility should be used for the preliminary link quality and packet latency estimation between two network devices using the ICMP packets. Remote system IP can be selected from the list which is generated automatically (Select destination IP) or can be specified manually. The size of the ICMP packets can be specified in the Packet size field. Estimation is done after the number of ICMP packets (specified in Packet count field) is transmitted/received.
Antenna alignment Tool Antenna Alignment utility allows the installer to point and optimize the antenna in the direction of maximum link signal. The "RSSI Range" slider bar allows the range of the meter to be either increased or reduced. If the range is reduced, the color change will be more sensitive to signal fluctuations. Click the Align Antenna button and the new pop-up window with signal strength indicator will appear. RSSI Range slider can be used to change an offset of the maximum indicator value.
2. Station WDS: WDS stands for Wireless Distribution System. Station WDS should be used while connecting to the Access Point which is operating in WDS mode. Station WDS mode enables packet forwarding at layer 2 level. The benefit of Station WDS is improved performance and faster throughput. Station WDS - Bridge mode is fully transparent for all the Layer2 protocols. Refer to the section Network Settings for detailed Bridge network mode configuration information. 3. Access Point: This is an 802.
Auto option should be enabled in order to establish WDS connection between Access Points if WDS Peers are not specified (applicable for AP WDS mode only). If Auto option is enabled AirOS powered Access Point will choose WDS Peers according to the SSID setting. Note: Access Point operating in WDS mode and all the WDS Peers must operate on the same frequency channel and use the same channel spectrum width. SSID: Service Set Identifier used to identify your 802.
network scans on the wireless stations. Control is available while operating in Access Point mode only. Lock to AP MAC: This allows the station to always maintain connection to a specific AP with a specific MAC (applicable for Station and Station WDS modes only). This is useful as sometimes there can be few identically named SSID's (AP's) with different MAC addresses. With AP lock on, the station will lock to MAC address and not roam between several Access Points with the same ESSID.
Drawback: It will reduce throughput proportional to the channel size reduction. So just as turbo mode (40MHz) increases possible speeds by 2x, half specrtrum channel (10MHz), will decrease possible speeds by 2x. Channel Shifting: option enables the special channels which have the frequency offset from the standard 802.11b/g and 802.11a channels. This is a proprietary Ubiquiti developed feature. While 802.11 networks have standard channels such as Channel 1 (2412MHz), Channel 2 (2417MHz), etc.
Choose the security method according to the Access Point security policy. Subscriber station should be authorized by Access Point in order to get access to the network and all the user data transferred between subscriber station and Access Point will be encrypted if the wireless security methods are used. Security: AirOS supports all the popular 802.11 security options such as WEP, WPA, and WPA2. Select the security mode of your wireless network: WEP – enable WEP encryption.
For 64-bit – specify WEP key as 5 HEX (0-9, A-F or a-f) pairs (e.g. 00112233AA) or 5 ASCII characters. For 128-bit – specify WEP key as 13 HEX (0-9, A-F or a-f) pairs (e.g. 00112233445566778899AABBCC) or 13 ASCII characters. Key Index: specify the Index of the WEP Key used. WPA Authentication: one of the following WPA™ key selection methods should be specified if WPA™ or WPA2™ security method is used (applicable for Station and Station WDS modes only).
The Network Page allows the administrator to setup bridge or routing functionality. AirOS powered devices can operate in bridge or router mode. The IP configuration as described below is required for device management purposes. IP addresses can either be retrieved from a DHCP server or configured manually. Use the Network menu to configure the IP settings. AirOS Network Mode selection Network Mode: specify the operating network mode for the device.
address space. WLAN and LAN interfaces form the virtual bridge interface while acting as the bridge ports. The bridge has assigned IP settings for management purposes: Bridge IP Address: The device can be set for static IP or can be set to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server it is connected to. One of the IP assignment modes must be selected: DHCP – choose this option to assign the dynamic IP address, Gateway and DNS address by the local DHCP server.
platform Utility should be started on the administrator PC which resides on the same network segment as the AirOS device. AirOS system will return to the default IP configuration (192.168.1.20/255.255.255.0) If the Reset to defaults routine is initiated. Spanning Tree Protocol: Multiple interconnected bridges create larger networks using the IEEE 802.1d Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), which is used for finding the shortest path within network and to eliminate loops from the topology.
Enable DHCP Server: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server assigns IP addresses to clients who will associate to the wireless interface. Range Start/End: This range will determine the IP addresses given out by the DHCP server to associated client devices. Lease Time: The IP addresses given out by the DHCP server will only be valid for the duration specified by the lease time. Increasing the time ensure client operation without interrupt, but could introduce potential conflicts.
This page handles advanced routing and wireless settings. The Advanced options page allows you to manage advanced settings that influence on the device performance and behavior. The advanced wireless settings are dedicated for more technically advanced users who have a sufficient knowledge about wireless LAN technology. These settings should not be changed unless you know what effect the changes will have on your device. Advanced Wireless Setting Rate Algorithm: defines data rate algorithm convergence.
conservative rate algorithm provides the best case stability / robustness, but may compromise maximum throughput. The optimistic rate algorithm always looks to achieve highest throughput while sacrificing noise immunity and robustness. The EWMA algorithm is a hybrid of the two. Noise Immunity: options define the robustness of the device to operate in the presence of noise disturbance: For Channel Hopping Signals configuration provides robustness against Channel Hopping Signals. For 802.
Acknowledgement Timeout AirOS has an auto-acknowledgement timeout algorithm which dynamically optimizes the acknowledgement timeout value without user intervention. This is a critical feature required for stabilizing long-distance outdoor links. The user also has the ability to enter the value manually, but this is not recommended. Distance: specify the distance value in miles using slider or enter the value manually. The signal strength and throughput falls off with range.
LED 1 (Red) will switch on if the RSSI reach the value set in an entry field next to it. LED 2 (Yellow) will switch on if the RSSI reach the value set in an entry field next to it. LED 3 (Green) will switch on if the RSSI reach the value set in an entry field next to it. LED 4 (Green) will switch on if the RSSI reach the value set in an entry field next to it.
Ping WatchDog The ping watchdog sets the AirOS Device to continuously ping a user defined IP address (it can be the internet gateway for example). If it is unable to ping under the user defined constraints, the AirOS device will automatically reboot. This option creates a kind of "fail-proof" mechanism. Ping Watchdog is dedicated for continuous monitoring of the particular connection to remote host using the Ping tool.
Failure Count To Reboot: specify the number of ICMP “echo response” replies. If the specified number of ICMP “echo response” packets is not received continuously, the Ping Watchdog Tool will reboot the device. SNMP Agent Simple Network Monitor Protocol (SNMP) is used in network management systems to monitor network-attached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention. AirOS contains an SNMP agent which allows it to communicate to SNMP manage applications for network provisioning.
Enable Telnet Server: Enables Telnet access to the AirOS Device. Server Port: Telnet service TCP/IP port setting. System The System Page contains Administrative options. This page enables administrator to customize, reboot the device, set it to factory defaults, upload a new firmware, backup or update the configuration and configure administrator’s credentials. Administrative Management In this section you can modify the administrator password to protect your device from unauthorized configuration.
Verify Password: re-enter the new password to verify its accuracy. Click Change button to save the changes. Router Protocol Host Name Host Name is the system wide device identifier. It is reported by SNMP Agent to authorized management stations. Host Name: specify the system identity. Click Change button to save the changes. Logo Customization Use this section to enable and upload your custom logo on the device user interface.
and click the Upload button. Close this window – cancel the upload process. After the new firmware image is uploaded into the system, use Upgrade button to upgrade a device: Image:System5.jpg Do not switch off, do not reboot and do not disconnect the device from the power supply during the firmware upgrade process as this can damage the device! After clicking the Upgrade button the upgrade process starts immediately: Close this window – close firmware upgrade window.
