User's Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction
ZoneDAS User Guide Page | 6
Hardware Overview
Before installation, it is helpful to go over the system’s parts and what this User Guide calls
them. In particular, one needs to be familiar with the ports and modules on the BU,
Extender, and RU. This section describes these devices’ front panels and provides
information that may require special attention. Where “left” and “right” are mentioned, this
Guide assumes that the user is sitting opposite to and looking at the front panel of the
device.
1.3.1 Names and Terminology
ZoneDAS devices use a 2-letter naming scheme. Each device is abbreviated into 2 letters.
For example, the Base Unit (a device) is abbreviated into just “BU”. Below is a short list of 2
letter device abbreviations and what they represent:
BU
Base Unit
RU
Remote Unit
ET Extender
Major ports and modules are also abbreviated into 2 letters. A Radio Frequency module, for
example, is referred to as an “RF” module. Likewise, the slot for inserting that module is
called the “RF” slot, and the port on that module is referred to as the “RF” port. Below is a
short list of 2 letter port/module abbreviations and what they represent:
RF Radio Frequency port / slot / module
SD
Signal Distribution port / slot / module
(for connecting ETs and RUs)
MB
Motherboard
As each BU supports up to 4 RF connections and up to 8 RUs through its 4 RF modules and 2
SD modules (4 SD ports on each), a third character is added to differentiate each RF or SD
module/port. Below is a summary of such differentiation:
RFA ~ RFD Left-most RF module/slot/port is A, right-most is D, etc.
SD-U, SD-L
SD-U is the “upper” SD module/slot,
SD-L is the “lower” SD module/slot
SD1 ~ SD8
(a.k.a. RU1~RU8)
The left-most SD port on SD-U is SD1, the right-most is SD4.
The left-most SD port on SD-L is SD5, the right-most is SD8.
But on the SD module front panel, they are labelled RU1~RU8
instead of SD1~SD8.
ET5
The Extender that’s connected to SD5 on the BU.
Finally, because ports and modules reside on devices, and because some of the most
important ports and modules actually exist on different ZoneDAS devices, device
abbreviations are placed in front of port/module abbreviations to specify specific ports on
specific devices. The (single) SD port on an RU, for example, is called an RU-SD, while the 5
th
SD port on the BU is called BU-SD5. Below are some examples of combined abbreviations
and what they mean:
BU-RFA
Left-most RF module/slot/port on the BU.
RU2-RFA
The RF module that is installed onto the RF slot “A” on RU2. This
module would match the BU-RFA in terms of Band and frequency.
BU-SD1 The 1
st
SD port on the BU
ET5-SD2
The 2
nd
SD port on the Extender that’s connected to the 5
th
SD port
on the BU.
Only the most frequently connected devices and ports have 2-letter abbreviations. For
example, the Fan module has no abbreviation, and words like Power and Alarm have 3-
letter abbreviations.