GE MDS MDS iNET 900 Reference Manual Download Page 66

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iNET Series Reference Manual

05-2806A01, Rev. H

Figure 2-27. Skip Zone Options Submenu—GE MDS iNET Only

(“Commit changes” displayed only on Access Point radios)

Figure 2-27 displays the utilization of 10 zones, each having
eight RF operating frequencies. Zones can be toggled between

Active

and

Skipped

at Access Point units by

rst keying in the let-

ter of the zone to be changed, and then pressing the spacebar to
toggle between the two options for each zone. Select the

Commit

Changes

menu item to implement changes. These changes will

be forwarded to all units in the network through the Access
Point’s beacon signal.

With an iNET radio (non-iNET-II), a maximum of three zones
can be skipped and still be compliant with FCC regulations.

2.5.4 Auto Data Rate Configuration Menu

The Auto Data Rate Configuration submenu is typically for use in envi-
ronments where signal quality is variable, and you wish to maintain the
highest possible over-the-air data rate as conditions change.

Summary of Contents for MDS iNET 900

Page 1: ...eference Manual MDS 05 2806A01 Rev H NOVEMBER 2007 Wireless IP Ethernet Transceiver iNET II 900 Firmware Release 2 3 iNET 900 Firmware Release 6 3 MDS iNET Series MDS iNET II 900TM MDS iNET 900TM GE MDS ...

Page 2: ...controlled by password BASIC CONFIGURATION DEFAULTS COM2 Serial RS EIA 232 compatible equipment COM1 Management System Default Serial Alternate Step 6 Check for Normal Operation Observe the transceiver LED status panel for the proper indications In a normally operating system the following LED indications will be seen within 30 seconds of power up PWR Lights continuously LAN On or blinks intermitt...

Page 3: ...0 1 3 6 Upgrading Older Wireless Network with Serial Interfaces 10 Replacing Legacy Wireless Products 11 Supplement legacy wireless network with IP services 11 1 3 7 High Speed Mobile Data 11 1 4 NETWORK DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 12 1 4 1 Extending Network Coverage with Repeaters 12 What is a Repeater System 12 Option 1 Using two transceivers to form a repeater station back to back repeater 12 Option ...

Page 4: ...rk Configuration Menu 37 2 4 2 Network Interface Configuration Menu 39 Virtual LAN in iNET II and iNET 40 Configuring for Operation with VLAN 41 Configuring the IP Address when VLAN Status is Enabled 42 Configuring the IP Address When VLAN Status is Disabled 43 2 4 3 Ethernet Port Configuration Menu 45 2 4 4 DHCP Server Configuration 46 2 4 5 SNMP Agent Configuration 47 2 4 6 Prioritized AP Config...

Page 5: ...7 CYBER SECURITY CONFIGURATION 78 2 7 1 Device Security 79 2 7 2 Wireless Security 80 Local Authentication Approved Remotes Access Points List Submenu 81 2 7 3 RADIUS Configuration 82 Operation of Device Authentication 83 Operation of User Authentication 83 2 7 4 RADIUS Configuration 84 2 7 5 Certificate Management Remote transceivers only 84 2 8 PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION 85 2 8 1 RSSI by Zone Menu...

Page 6: ... of Remote 108 2 9 5 Auto Upgrade Remote Reboot Menu 108 Firmware Upgrade with AP Acting as a TFTP Server 109 2 9 6 Radio Test Menu 110 2 9 7 Ping Utility Menu 111 2 9 8 Reset to Factory Defaults 111 Password Reset 111 3 TROUBLESHOOTING 113 3 1 Interpreting the Front Panel LEDs 115 3 2 Troubleshooting Using the Embedded Management System 116 3 2 1 Starting Information Screen 117 3 2 2 Packet Stati...

Page 7: ...40 Introduction 140 Procedure 140 4 2 2 Antenna Aiming 141 Introduction 141 Procedure 141 4 3 dBm WATTS VOLTS CONVERSION CHART 143 4 4 PERFORMANCE NOTES 144 4 4 1 Wireless Bridge 144 4 4 2 Distance Throughput Relationship 144 4 4 3 Data Latency TCP versus UDP Mode 145 4 4 4 Data Compression 145 4 4 5 Packets per Second PPS 145 4 4 6 Station to Station Traffic 145 4 4 7 Interference has a Direct Co...

Page 8: ... free rules The iNET radio is a Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum FHSS transceiver that operates at data speeds of 256 and 512 kbps The iNET II is a similar design but it is certified under the Digital Transmission System DTS provisions of FCC Part 15 and can operate at data speeds of 512 or 1024 kbps Operational differ ences between these two models are identified as necessary in this manual NOTE...

Page 9: ... defined in Article 500 of the National Fire Protection Association NFPA publication NFPA 70 otherwise known as the National Electrical Code The transceiver has been recognized for use in these hazardous locations by two independent agencies Underwriters Laboratories UL and the Canadian Standards Association CSA The UL certification for the transceiver is as a Rec ognized Component for use in thes...

Page 10: ...duce potential radio interference to other users the antenna type and its gain should be chosen so that the Equiv alent Isotropic Radiated Power EIRP is not more than that permitted for successful communication This device as been designed to operate with the antennas listed below and having a maximum gain of 12 dB Antennas not included in this list or having a gain greater than 12 dB are strictly...

Page 11: ... Services 10 1 3 6 Upgrading Older Wireless Network with Serial Interfaces 10 Replacing Legacy Wireless Products 11 Supplement legacy wireless network with IP services 11 1 3 7 High Speed Mobile Data 11 1 4 NETWORK DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 12 1 4 1 Extending Network Coverage with Repeaters 12 What is a Repeater System 12 Option 1 Using two transceivers to form a repeater station back to back repeater...

Page 12: ...2 iNET Series Reference Manual 05 2806A01 Rev H ...

Page 13: ...rnet and serial data interface options at over the air data speeds of up to 1 Mbps iNET II and 512 kbps iNET NOTE For information on the GE MDS iNET 900 ENI which provides expanded gateway and protocol conversion capabili ties not found in the GE MDS iNET 900 DF1 to EIP and MODBUS to MODBUS TCP conversions refer to the GE MDS iNET ENI Supplement 05 4131A01 Invisible place holder Figure 1 1 The GE ...

Page 14: ...ical ISM band It can provide reliable communications at distances up to 25 miles 40 km over favorable terrain even in the presence of weak signals or interference Frequency hopping allows the transceiver to avoid interference from other transmitters in the same band and pro vides frequency diversity for more reliable transmission The over the air MAC increases reliability by adding retries to fail...

Page 15: ...Ethernet bridge configuration option requires minimal setup Serial Ports Gateway for serial based equipment to IP Ether net networks with embedded terminal server Site to site con figurations are also possible Single hardware package provides configuration as Access Point or Remote 1 2 1 Model Offerings The transceiver comes in two primary models Access Point and Remote Three types of Remote Gatew...

Page 16: ... between Transceiver A and Transceiver B as the active radio Figure 1 2 shows a view of the protected chassis For system level information on this product see GE MDS publication 05 4161A01 Table 1 1 Transceiver Models and Data Interface Services Model Type LAN1 COM11 COM2 Access Point3 N A Yes Yes Yes Remote Ethernet Bridge2 Yes No No Serial Gateway2 No Yes Yes Dual Gateway3 Yes Yes Yes NOTES 1 Pr...

Page 17: ...provides communications between a central WAN LAN and remote Ethernet segments The operation of the radio system is transparent to the com puter equipment connected to the transceiver The Access Point is positioned at a location from which it can commu nicate with all of the Remote units in the system Commonly this is a high location on top of a building or communications tower Messages are exchan...

Page 18: ... in operation today still rely on serial networks at data rates of 9600 bps or less These networks can use the transceiver as a means to continue using the serial service while allowing the rest of the infrastructure to migrate to an IP format A Remote transceiver using one serial port for the data stream and the other for network wide diagnostics can support operational radio net works built with...

Page 19: ...ing a single radio the cost of deployment is cut in half Beyond requiring only one radio instead of two the biggest cost reduction comes from using half of the required infrastructure at the remote site one Data Data MDS 4790 Master MDS 9790 Master MDS 9810 Master Diagnostics Data Diagnostics Diagnostics MDS 4710 Remote NMS Control Point SCADA Host Modbus IP HUB Access Point MDS 4710 Remote MDS 97...

Page 20: ... such as offices warehouses and homes They provide high data rates but have limited range The iNET transmits at a higher power level uses a different frequency band has higher sensitivity and a narrower channel to concentrate the radio energy and reach farther distances It is designed for industrial operation from the ground up IP based devices that may be used with the transceiver include a new b...

Page 21: ... their interface connectors to control sleep func tions and alarm lines for example These special functions are not provided nor supported by the iNET Series Consult equip ment manuals for complete pinout information Supplement legacy wireless network with IP services The iNET Dual Gateway model can support up to two serial devices and one Ethernet connection at the same time The serial interfaces...

Page 22: ... 8 This arrangement should be used whenever the objective is to utilize the maximum range between stations In this case using high gain Yagi antennas at each location will provide more reliable communications than their counter parts omnidirectional antennas Invisible place holder Figure 1 8 Typical LAN with a Repeater Link Overview Two transceivers may be connected back to back through the LAN Po...

Page 23: ... the horizontal plane an additional 20 dB of attenuation can be achieved Remember that the corresponding stations should use the same antenna orientation when cross polarization is used Network Name The two radios that are wired together at the repeater site must have dif ferent network names Option 2 Using the AP as a Store and Forward Packet Repeater A wireless network can be extended through th...

Page 24: ...e AP s the Remotes will quickly associate with another of the remaining Access Points re establishing connectivity to the end devices The Access Points are unaware of the existence of the other AP s Because the hopping algorithm uses both the Network Name and the Wireless MAC address of the AP to generate the hopping pattern mul tiple AP s can coexist even if they use the same network name The col...

Page 25: ... radio frequency interference RFI disrupt my wireless network When multiple radio networks operate in close physical proximity to other wireless networks individual units may not operate reliably under weak signal conditions and may be influenced by strong radio signals in adjacent bands This radio frequency interference cannot be predicted with certainty and can only be determined by experimentat...

Page 26: ... its local authorized list of AP Dictionary attacks where a hacker runs a program that sequentially tries to break a password Failed loginlockdown After 3 tries the transceiver ignores login requests for 5 minutes Critical event reports traps are generated as well Denial of service where Remote radios could be reconfigured with bad parameters bringing the network down Remote login with SSH or HTTP...

Page 27: ...ntinuous service UL approved Input 120 220 Output 13 8 Vdc 2 5 A 01 3682A02 Omni Directional Antennas Rugged antennas well suited for use at Access Point installations Consult with your factory Sales Representative for details Call factory Yagi Antenna Directional Rugged antennas well suited for use at Remote installations Consult with your factory Sales Representative for details Call factory TNC...

Page 28: ...ttom of the unit for surface mounting the radio 82 1753 A01 Screws 6 32 1 4 with locking adhesive Industry Standard MS 51957 26 70 2620 A01 DIN Rail Mounting Bracket Bracket used to mount the transceiver to standard 35 mm DIN rails commonly found in equipment cabinets and panels 03 4022A02 COM2Interface Adapter DB 25 F to DB 9 M shielded cable assembly 6 ft 1 8 m for connection of equipment or oth...

Page 29: ...on 35 Device Names Menu 36 2 4 CONFIGURING NETWORK PARAMETERS 37 2 4 1 Network Configuration Menu 37 2 4 2 Network Interface Configuration Menu 39 Virtual LAN in iNET II and iNET 40 Configuring for Operation with VLAN 41 Configuring the IP Address when VLAN Status is Enabled 42 Configuring the IP Address When VLAN Status is Disabled 43 2 4 3 Ethernet Port Configuration Menu 45 2 4 4 DHCP Server Co...

Page 30: ...mbined Serial and IP Application Example 75 Operation and Data Flow 75 2 6 10 Virtual LAN in iNET II and iNET 77 Configuring for Operation with VLAN 78 2 7 CYBER SECURITY CONFIGURATION 78 2 7 1 Device Security 79 2 7 2 Wireless Security 80 Local Authentication Approved Remotes Access Points List Submenu 81 2 7 3 RADIUS Configuration 82 Operation of Device Authentication 83 Operation of User Authen...

Page 31: ...9 2 9 1 Reprogramming Menu 100 Upgrading the Firmware 102 Error Messages During File Transfers 104 2 9 2 Configuration Scripts Menu 105 How Configuration Files Work 105 Sample of Configuration Script File 106 Editing Configuration Files 107 2 9 3 Authorization Keys Menu 108 2 9 4 Change the Type of Remote 108 2 9 5 Auto Upgrade Remote Reboot Menu 108 Firmware Upgrade with AP Acting as a TFTP Serve...

Page 32: ...22 iNET Series Reference Manual 05 2806A01 Rev H ...

Page 33: ...NG NETWORK PARAMETERS beginning on Page 37 Section 2 5 RADIO CONFIGURATION beginning on Page 51 Section 2 6 CONFIGURING THE SERIAL PORTS beginning on Page 61 Section 2 7 CYBER SECURITY CONFIGURATION begin ning on Page 79 Section 2 8 PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION beginning on Page 85 Section 2 9 MAINTENANCE beginning on Page 99 Each of these sections has a focus that is reflected in its heading The sect...

Page 34: ...configurable Some menu items depend on the Device Mode selected RTS Threshold RF Hopping Format AP Skip Zones AP Some models RSSI Threshold RM SNR Threshold RM Seamless Inter Frame Delay UDP Point to Point example shown Serial Number Hardware Version Firmware Version Console Baud Rate Uptime Model Number Date Format Time UTC Time Offset Date Device Names Login Status Wireless Security RADIUS Confi...

Page 35: ...lace holder Figure 2 3 View of the MS with a Browser Selections at left provide links to the various menus 2 2 ACCESSING THE MENU SYSTEM The radio has no external controls All configuration diagnostics and control is performed electronically using a connected PC This section explains how to connect a PC log into the unit and gain access to the built in menu screens ...

Page 36: ...ng an Internet website The appearance of menu screens differs slightly from other methods of control but the content and organization of screen items is similar Web browser sessions may be run locally or remotely via the Inter net Telnet SSH and Web Browser sessions require the use of a straight through or crossover Ethernet cable depending on the whether the PC to radio connection is made directl...

Page 37: ...bit and no flow control Use ANSI or VT100 emulation TIP The HyperTerminal communications program can be accessed on most PCs by selecting this menu sequence Start Programs Accesso ries Communications HyperTerminal NOTE Early versions of PuTTY might not operate when using SSH to connect to the transceiver However beta versions 0 59 and later do work properly Both the latest released and the latest ...

Page 38: ...ou can review basic information about the unit or press G to proceed to the Main Menu Invisible place holder Figure 2 6 Starting Information Screen Local Console Session Telnet has similar menu structure Starting a Telnet Session NOTE This method requires that you know the IP address of the unit beforehand If you do not know the address use the Local Console method above and access the Starting In...

Page 39: ...odel Press Next the Password prompt appears Enter your password default password is admin For security your password keystrokes will not appear on the screen Press The unit responds with a Starting Information Screen see Figure 2 6 From here you can review basic information about the unit or press G to proceed to the Main Menu NOTE Passwords are case sensitive Do not use punctuation mark character...

Page 40: ...Default Password is admin Invisible place holder Figure 2 7 Log in Screen when using a Web Browser NOTE Passwords are case sensitive Do not use punctuation mark characters You may use up to eight alpha numeric characters 5 Click OK The unit responds with a startup menu screen similar to that shown in Figure 2 8 From here you can review basic informa tion about the unit or click on one of the menu ...

Page 41: ...ur mind before pressing the key simply press to restore the previous value In some cases when you type a letter to select a parameter you will see a prompt at the bottom of the screen that says Choose an Option In these screens press the keyboard s to step through the available selections When the desired option appears press the key to choose that selection In some cases several parameters may be...

Page 42: ... pre sented with a screen that provides an overview of the transceiver and its current operating condition It provides an array of vital information and operating conditions Figure 2 9 Starting Information Screen Device Mode Current operating mode of the unit as it relates to the radio network Device Name This is a user defined parameter that will appear in the heading of all pages To change it se...

Page 43: ...ta Associated This unit has successfully synchronized and associated with an Access Point Alarmed The unit is has detected one or more alarms that have not been cleared NOTE If an alarm is present when this screen is displayed an A appears to the left of the Device Status field Pressing the A key on your keyboard takes you directly to the Current Alarms screen Uptime Elapsed time since the transce...

Page 44: ...figuration Tools to configure the two serial ports See Serial Data Port Configuration Menu on Page 64 Security Configuration Tools to configure the security services available with the transceiver s environment See CYBER SECURITY on Page 15 Device Information Top level user specific and definable param eters such as unit password See Device Information on Page 35 Performance Information Tools to m...

Page 45: ...ate Used to set display data communications rate in bits per second between a connected console terminal and the radio 19200 Device Names Menu Fields used at user s discretion for general administrative purposes The Device Name field is used by the transceiver as the Realm name for network security and in the MS screen headings See Figure 2 12 on Page 36 NOTE Do not use a colon or percent symbol i...

Page 46: ...he transceiver as the Realm name for network login web browser only and menu headings NOTE Do not use a colon or percent symbol in the device name Owner User defined appears on this screen only Contact User defined appears on this screen only Description User defined appears on this screen only Location User defined appears on this screen only ...

Page 47: ...CP IP and Ethernet protocols There are some differences between AP and Remote type radios regarding these parameters and they are noted where appropriate Invisible place holder Figure 2 13 Network Configuration Menu From Access Point Invisible place holder Figure 2 14 Network Configuration Menu From Remote Unit Device Mode Either Access Point or a variation of a Remote Access Point Remote Remote ...

Page 48: ...therwise it gets it from the AP at authentication time The transceivers use UTC Universal Coor dinated Time with a configurable time offset 0 0 0 0 Maximum Remotes AP only Number of Remotes permitted to be associated with this Access Point 50 DatabaseTimeout AP Only This sets the database age time See Remote Listing Menu Access Points Only on Page 96 to determine when a remote is declared unavaila...

Page 49: ...s only available on Access Point radios When this option is disabled communication can only happen from Remote to Access Point This setting prevents a PC connected to one Remote radio to access a network con nected to a different Remote within the same AP realm enabled disabled enabled Prioritized AP Configuration This option is only available on Remotes It allows the definition of a Primary AP to...

Page 50: ...port port based VLAN at the Ethernet inter face and over the air according to the IEEE 802 1Q standard When VLAN Status is enabled the wireless port of both AP and remote radios act as a trunk port The Ethernet port of an Access Point radio is normally configured as a trunk port This type of port expects incoming frames to have a VLAN ID and sends outgoing frames with a VLAN structure as well The ...

Page 51: ...d enabled disabled disabled NOTE This parameter must be consistent at both Access Point and Remote radios in order for data to flow correctly Inconsistent configuration may result in data not being transported correctly and the loss of over the air communications NOTE A change made to the above parameter will result in the Commit Changes option appearing on screen This will modify the appearance o...

Page 52: ... When the radio is configured for VLAN operation the IP address can only be set as a static IP address Invisible place holder Figure 2 17 Management VLAN Subnet Configuration Menu IP Address Mode Defines the source of the IP address of this device Only static IP addressing mode is available when VLAN Status is enabled Static Static NOTE Changes to any of the following parameters while communi cati...

Page 53: ...s available when VLAN Status is enabled Static Static NOTE Changes to any of the following parameters while communi cating over the network LAN or over the air may cause a loss of communication with the unit being configured Communication will need to be re established using the new IP address Static IP Address The IPv4 local IP address 192 168 1 1 Static IP Netmask The IPv4 local subnet mask This...

Page 54: ... be configured manually when set to Static A DHCP server must be available for the radio to obtain a valid IP address when set to Dynamic Only static IP address ing mode is available when VLAN Status is enabled Static Static Dynamic Dynamic Mode Enabling this option forces the transceiver AP or Remote to obtain an IP address from any DHCP server avail able on the LAN Dynamic Mode is also known as ...

Page 55: ...port 10BaseT connections only This should not present a problem because most hubs switches auto switch between 10BaseT and 100BaseT connections Confirm that your hub switch is capable of auto switching data rates To prevent Ethernet traffic from degrading performance place the transceiver in a segment or behind routers Figure 2 20 Ethernet Port Configuration Menu Ethernet Port Status Allows enabli...

Page 56: ...o associate to it Once the IP address is reachable this beacon signal changes to AVAILABLE and Remotes are allowed to join in 0 0 0 0 dis ables this function Any other valid IP address enables it 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 DHCP Server Configuration A transceiver can provide automatic IP address assignments to other IP devices in the network by providing DHCP Dynamic Host Configura tion Protocol services This s...

Page 57: ...vice WINS Address Windows Internet Naming Service server address to be provided by this service Restart DHCP Server Selecting this option forces the transceiver to start servicing DHCP requests using the Starting Address Payload data will not be interrupted but may experience some delays as new addresses are distributed 2 4 5 SNMP Agent Configuration The transceiver contains over 100 custom SNMP m...

Page 58: ...ess network and gateway addresses are configured in each trans ceiver of the associated network In addition some management systems may require the MIB files to be compiled in the order shown above Invisible place holder Figure 2 22 SNMP Server Configuration Menu From Access Point This menu provides configuration and control of vital SNMP functions Read Community String SNMP community name with SN...

Page 59: ...e Agent responds to the specified version of SNMP traffic v1 v2 v3 Trap Version This specifies what version of SNMP will be used to encode the outgoing traps The choices are v1_traps v2_traps and v3_traps When v3_traps are selected v2 style traps are sent but with a v3 header v1 Traps v2 Traps v3 Traps Auth Traps Status Indicates whether or not traps will be gener ated for login events to the tran...

Page 60: ... here and is only included as an aid to facilitate configuration Import from Approved List Copies the entries configured in the Approved AP List to this priority table 1 10 Priority Table of Access Points This table should include the Wireless MAC Address of the desired Access Point units When association to an AP is terminated for any reason the Remote enters Scanning mode During this time it lis...

Page 61: ...re two primary data layers in the transceiver network radio and data Since the data layer is dependent on the radio layer working prop erly configuration of the radio items should be reviewed and set before proceeding This section explains the Radio Configuration Menu Figure 2 24 for AP Figure 2 25 for Remote 2 5 1 Radio Configuration Menu Figure 2 24 Radio Configuration Menu From Access Point Uni...

Page 62: ...luding a 15 dB fade margin When the data rate is set to AUTO the remote radio is able to change speeds based on the signal quality criteria set in the Auto Data Rate submenu described later in this section see Page 55 iNET 256 512 AUTO AUTO iNET II 512 1024 AUTO AUTO Compression AP Only Enabling this option uses LZO com pression algorithm for over the air data Varying levels of data reduction are ...

Page 63: ...nal collisions in these situations This field is only changeable on an Access Point Remotes read the AP s value upon associa tion 0 to 255 1 Mobility Configuration This selection brings up a submenu where parameters related to mobile operation may be set For details See Mobility Configuration Menu on Page 58 FragmentThreshold Before transmitting over the air if a packet exceeds this number of byte...

Page 64: ...ed and logged Under these conditions the PWR lamp flashes and an SNMP trap is sent to the configured SNMP manager 0 to 40 Not Programmed Channel Config Only applies to iNET II Brings up the submenu discussed in Channel Config Menu on Page 55 RF Hopping Format Only applies to iNET This option must be specified when the order is placed and cannot be modified in the field by the user Operation must b...

Page 65: ... operation The selection of particular channels will result in an indication of y Be aware that these channels do not become active until the Commit Changes selection is invoked Commit Changes This re boots the radio and loads the active channels into the frequency list for frequency hopping oper ation 2 5 3 Skip Zones Menu Skip Zones Does not apply to iNET II Editable at AP Only This selection br...

Page 66: ... pressing the spacebar to toggle between the two options for each zone Select the Commit Changes menu item to implement changes These changes will be forwarded to all units in the network through the Access Point s beacon signal With an iNET radio non iNET II a maximum of three zones can be skipped and still be compliant with FCC regulations 2 5 4 Auto Data Rate Configuration Menu The Auto Data Ra...

Page 67: ...elta A user specified difference from the SNR Threshold figure which if exceeded causes a data rate change in the transceiver 0 10 2 NOTE In the description below high speed refers to 512 kbps for the iNET radio and 1 Mbps for the iNET II radio Standard speed refers to 256 kbps for the iNET radio and 512 kbps for the iNET II Using the example of Figure 2 28 assume the current RSSI is 87 dBm An RSS...

Page 68: ... use of the threshold and delta settings will result in smoother more reliable perfor mance from your wireless link Figure 2 28 shows the default values for RSSI and SNR parameters but these may be changed to optimize performance in your environment In properly designed systems experience has shown that RSSI levels between 50 dBm and 90 dBm provide reliable operation provided the signal to noise r...

Page 69: ...y points should be considered for all mobile installa tions Use middleware The use of middleware in the mobile laptops is highly recommended for better operation of a mobile data system GE MDS provides middleware from one of the vendors in this mar ket Contact your GE MDS representative for details Plan your network coverage Deploy Access Points so that they provide overlapping coverage to each ot...

Page 70: ...ter setting minimizes resyn chronization times when remote radios roam between access points or in highly interrupted coverage areas dense buildings for example RTSThreshold 0 1600 bytes Enable RTS flow at a small value This setting is a wireless equivalent to RTS CTS flow control in a wired communications circuit This mechanism prevents packet collisions caused by the Hidden Node scenario in whic...

Page 71: ...ols will be best served by UDP service as the protocol itself has built in error recovery mechanisms UDP provides the needed multidrop operation by means of multicast addressing On the other hand TCP services are best suited for applications that do not have a recovery mechanism error correction and must have the guaranteed delivery that TCP provides despite the extra overhead The IP to Serial exa...

Page 72: ...s closed it must be opened again before traffic can flow UDP Multicast IP provides a mechanism to do a limited broadcast to a specific group of devices This is known as multicast addressing Many IP routers hubs and switches support this functionality Multicast addressing requires the use of a specific branch of IP addresses set apart by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority IANA for this purpose...

Page 73: ...ttable in either Seamless or Custom modes Implementing Configuration Changes There are several configuration parameters for the Serial Gateway found under the Serial Configuration Menu of the Management System After making changes to the configuration you must use the menu s Commit Changes to assert the changes If you are connecting EIA 232 serial devices to the transceiver review these parameters...

Page 74: ...step process View Current Settings Displays all settable options Depend ing on the selected IP protocol 2 6 3 Configuring for UDP Mode Invisible place holder Figure 2 31 UDP Point to Multipoint Menu Use UDP point to multipoint to send a copy of the same packet to mul tiple destinations such as in a polling protocol Status Enable Disable the serial data port ...

Page 75: ...ode vs Packet Repeat mode This is because a transceiver when in Packet Repeat mode sends 12 extra characters sequence numbers etc to control the delivery of the repeated data Misconfigurations can result in undesired operation Data Baud Rate Data rate payload for the COM port in bits per second 1 200 115 200 19200 Configuration Formatting of data bytes representing data bits parity and stop bits 7...

Page 76: ...32 UDP Point to Point Menu Use UDP point to point configuration to send information to a single device Status Enable Disable the serial data port IP Protocol UDP Point to Point This is the type of IP port that will be offered by the transceiver s serial device server TCP UDP PPP TCP Remote IP Address Data received through the serial port is sent to this IP address To reach multiple Remotes in the ...

Page 77: ...less mode is selected data bytes will be sent over the air as quickly as possible but the receiver will buffer the data until enough bytes have arrived to cover worst case gaps in transmission The delay intro duced by data buffering may range from 22 to 44 ms but the radio will not create any gaps in the output data stream This mode of operation is required for protocols such as MOD BUS that do no...

Page 78: ...ss to be used as a desti nation for data received through the serial port in case the pri mary host address is not available Any legal IP address 0 0 0 0 Secondary IP Port The destination IP port for data packets received through the serial port on the transceiver used along with the secondary host address above Any valid IP port COM1 30010 COM2 30011 Client Inactivity Timeout sec Amount of time i...

Page 79: ...of a message inter character time out MOD BUS defines a 3 5 character parameter 1 65 535 4 Custom Data Buffer Size Custom Packet Mode only Maxi mum amount of characters that the Remote end will buffer locally before starting to transmit data through the serial port 16 32 64 128 256 32 Commit Changes and Exit Wizard Save and execute changes made on this screen Shown only after changes have been ent...

Page 80: ... The delay introduced by data buffering may range from 22 to 44 ms but the radio will not create any gaps in the output data stream This mode of operation is required for protocols such as MODBUS and some variants which do not allow gaps in their data transmission Seamless Custom Seamless Seamless Inter Frame Delay Number of characters that repre sent the end of a message inter character time out ...

Page 81: ...ODBUS that do not allow gaps in their data transmission Seamless Custom Seamless Seamless Inter Frame Delay Number of characters that represent the end of a message inter character time out MODBUS defines a 3 5 character parameter 1 65 535 4 Custom Data Buffer Size Custom Packet Mode only Maxi mum amount of characters that the Remote end will buffer locally before starting to transmit data through...

Page 82: ...iagram 2 6 7 Point to Multipoint IP to Serial Application Example The operation and data flow for this mode is very similar to Point to Point serial to serial application except that it uses multicast addressing The primary difference is that the PC uses UDP to commu nicate with all of the Remotes Upon receiving the packet each Remote strips the data out of the UDP packet and sends it from its COM...

Page 83: ...otocol UDP Remote IP Address 224 254 1 1 Multicast Address1 Local IP Port 30011 Access Point COM2 2 N A None required Remote Units COM2 1 Enable Enabled Baud Rate 2 400 Example Serial Mode Custom Flow Control Hardware Example IP Protocol UDP Remote IP Address 192 168 0 1 Remote IP Port 30011 Local IP Port 30011 Local Multicast Address 224 254 1 1 Multicast Address2 1 This address is an example onl...

Page 84: ...nd sends it out its COM port Likewise data presented at the Remote s COM port is packetized sent to the Access Point stripped and sent out the Access Point s COM port Note this configuration does not use multicast addressing Invisible place holder Figure 2 39 Point to Point Serial to Serial Application Diagram EIA 232 RTU EIA 232 Terminal or Computer 192 168 0 10 192 168 0 1 192 168 0 2 Remote Acc...

Page 85: ... Communicate with RTU A by Telneting to Remote 1 port 30011 Communicate with RTU B by Telneting to Remote 2 port 30011 Communicate with RTUs C and D by sending and receiving data from the Access Point s COM port All communication paths can be used simultaneously Remote IP Address 192 168 0 2 IP address of the Remote radio Remote IP Port 30011 Local IP Port 30011 Remote Unit COM2 1 Status Enabled D...

Page 86: ...cation Configuration Transceiver Location Menu Item Setting Access Point Status Enabled Baud Rate 9 600 Flow Control Disabled IP Protocol UDP Send to Address A multicast IP address such as 224 254 1 1 Send to Port 30011 Receive on Port 30011 Receive on Address 0 0 0 0 Not Used Remote Units 1 2 COM2 Status Enabled Baud Rate 2 400 Flow Control Disabled IP Protocol TCP Receive on Port 30011 Remote Un...

Page 87: ...oes not support Generic Attribute Registration Pro tocol GVRP The Ethernet port of an Access Point radio is normally configured as a trunk port and is connected to a VLAN aware switch or router You can configure the Ethernet port of a remote radio as an access port or as a trunk port When the Ethernet interface is configured as an access port incom ing traffic is tagged with a VLAN ID and outgoing...

Page 88: ...ment VLAN are tagged or untagged Native Config Management IP Opens the Configuration Management IP menu Config Data IP Opens the Configuration Management IP menu 2 7 CYBER SECURITY CONFIGURATION The cyber security features of the transceiver are grouped into three gen eral areas controlling access to the radio itself for configuration and management purpose Device Security controlling how and when...

Page 89: ...isible place holder Figure 2 43 Device Security Menu User Auth Method Defines whether username and password is verified locally or via a central server Local RADIUS Local User Auth Fallback Defines the alternate authentication mode in case the authentication server is not available Local None Local User Password Local password for this unit Used at log in via COM1 Port Telnet SSH and Web browser U...

Page 90: ...lnet Access Controls remote access through Telnet sessions on Port 23 Enabled Disabled Enabled SSH Access Controls remote access through SSH Secure Shell sessions on Port 22 Enabled Disabled Enabled HTTP Mode Controls remote access through HTTP sessions on Ports 80 and 443 Selecting HTTPS forces secure connections to Port 443 When HTTP Mode is disabled access through HTTP or HTTPS is not allowed D...

Page 91: ... a new encryption key after 500 kilobytes of information has been transmitted or one hour has elapsed Enabled Disabled Disabled Approved Access Points Remotes List Displays a menu to man age the list of other radios with which this unit will be permitted to communicate Encryption Phrase Phrase text numbers that will be used by the encryption algorithm 8 to 29 alphanumeric characters Blank Force Ke...

Page 92: ... Add Associated Remotes Add all currently associated remotes to the approved remote list Alternatively you can enter each Remote MAC manually Delete All Remotes Remove complete purge of all Remotes from current list View Approved Remotes Simple listing of approved Remotes by MAC address of radios authorized to join this AP If a Remote is not in this list it will not be able to associate with this ...

Page 93: ...S as the active mode The behavior of this setting differs depending on whether it is implemented on an Access Point or a Remote transceiver An explanation of these behaviors is given below Access Point When Device Auth Method is set to RADIUS the AP disasso ciates all associated Remotes and waits for the RADIUS Server to Authenticate the Remotes before allowing data to be passed from them When app...

Page 94: ... entry must match the string used to configure the appropriate files on the RADIUS Server User Auth Mode Should be set to PAP or CHAP depending on the configuration of the server NOTE CHAP is more secure than PAP PAP may display the login password in log files at the RADIUS Server while CHAP will encrypt the login password NOTE The security password may not exceed 40 characters in length 2 7 5 Cer...

Page 95: ...ng on the TFTP server Certificate Type Selects one of the three file types mentioned above Root Certificate Client Certificate Private Key Certificate Root Certificate Retrieve Certificate Initiates the retrieval of the certificate file from the storage location A successful installation issues a Com plete status message NOTE It is imperative that the three certificate files are installed correctl...

Page 96: ...erating frequencies No value displayed on APs NOTE The RSSI is an average of the last 20 RSSI samples The RSSI value is reset every time the radio returns to scanning mode Display only Current running average Received Signal Strength Indication for all active operating frequencies No value displayed on APs Actual Data Rate Display only Over the air transmission rate as opposed to selected data rat...

Page 97: ...e Listing Menu Access Points Only on Page 98 2 8 1 RSSI by Zone Menu Remotes Only This screen displays the strength of RF signals received from the cur rently associated Access Point Network integrity depends in large part on stable radio signal levels being received at each end of a data link In general signal levels stronger than 80 dBm will provide reliable communication that includes a 15 dB f...

Page 98: ... in Table 2 5 Some of these events will result from a condition that prevents the normal of the unit these are critical events These will cause the unit to enter an alarmed state and the PWR LED to blink until the condition is corrected All events are stored in the Event Log that can hold up to 8 000 entries Time and Date The events stored in the Event Log are time stamped using the time and date ...

Page 99: ...of events stored in the current log Some of these events are stored in volatile memory and will be erased with a loss of power The events are numbered for easier iden tification and navigation Clear Log Purges the log of all events TIP Save your Event Log before choosing to clear it in order to retain potentially valuable troubleshooting information See Upgrading the Firmware on Page 102 for an ov...

Page 100: ...ing the file transfer 10 to 120 seconds 10 Syslog Server IP address to which alarms are sent using the sys log message format Any valid IP address 0 0 0 0 View Current Alarms Most events classified as critical will make the PWR LED blink and will inhibit normal operation of the transceiver The LED will remain blinking until the corrective action has been completed An alarm condition is different f...

Page 101: ... 2 8 3 Packet Statistics Menu An iNET radio maintains running counters of different categories of events in the Ethernet protocol The Packet Statistics refer to each Ethernet interface from the perspective of the radio Figure 2 53 Sample Packet Statistics Menu Wireless Packet Statistics Packets received Over the air data packets received by this unit ...

Page 102: ...received Packets received by the transceiver through the Ethernet port Packets sent Packets transmitted by the transceiver through the Ethernet port Bytes received Data bytes received by this Remote through its LAN port Bytes sent Data bytes sent by this Remote Packets dropped Received packets dropped as a result of a lack of buffers Receive errors Packets that do not pass CRC This may be due to c...

Page 103: ...is defined as an Access Port or as a Trunk Port Invisible place holder Figure 2 55 VLAN Packet Statistics Packets Received by Zone This screen shown in Figure 2 56 presents a breakdown of wireless packet statistics by zone All zones should report similar numbers If one or more zones report lower numbers than the others 2 reduction the specific zone is probably experiencing interference An improve ...

Page 104: ...emote will stop its scanning and temporarily synchro nize its frequency hopping pattern to match the one encoded on the AP s beacon signal The Remote waits for three identical beacon signals from the AP and then it toggles into a fully synchronized associated state If the Remote does not receive three identical beacons from the Access Point unit within a predetermined time period it returns to a s...

Page 105: ...radio RF connec tion with the Access Point but has not obtained cyber secu rity clearance to pass data Associated This unit has successfully synchronized and associated with an Access Point This is the normal status Alarmed The unit is has detected one or more alarms that have not been cleared Current AP Mac Address Wireless address of Access Point with which the Remote is associated Current AP IP...

Page 106: ...emote transceiver AgeTime Time in minutes remaining before the device address will be deleted from the table Each transceiver maintains a table with the addresses of the devices it communicates with The age time countdown is restarted to 5 minutes every time a message to from that device is detected If no traffic is exchanged with that device it then ages out of the table When traffic is detected ...

Page 107: ...ore the device address will be deleted from the table Each AP maintains a table with the addresses of the remote radios it communicates with The age time countdown is restarted to 5 min utes every time a message to from that remote is detected If no traf fic is exchanged with that remote it then ages out of the table When traffic is detected it is included again in the table This opti mizes memory...

Page 108: ...olumn format with each line corresponding to one Remote RxRate Over the air data rate the radio is currently using All transceivers do not need to use the same rate RxPkts Over the air data packets received from this unit TxPkts Over the air data packets sent to this unit RxBCMC Total number of Broadcast and or Multicast packets received over the air RxViaEP Packets received by the transceiver thr...

Page 109: ...et Number of bytes transmitted by the trans ceiver through the IP socket In general the number of bytes Out on Socket should follow the number of bytes In On Port as all bytes received on the serial port should be transmitted out to the IP interface The same should be true in the opposite direction bytes Out On Port should follow bytes In On Socket Clear Com1 Statistics Resets counter to zero Clea...

Page 110: ...iving the new firmware See Auto Upgrade Remote Reboot Menu on Page 108 Radio Test A diagnostic tool for testing RF operation See Radio Test Menu on Page 110 Ping Utility Diagnostic tool to test network connectivity See Ping Utility Menu on Page 111 Figure 2 62 Maintenance Tools Menu 2 9 1 Reprogramming Menu The transceiver has two copies of the firmware microprocessor code used for the operating s...

Page 111: ...d again It is recom mended that you wait until this 5 10 minute process is complete before verifying operation of HTTP HTTPS or SSH NOTE Always read the release notes for downloaded firmware Some versions may not be compatible over the air or with the partic ular unit you have Figure 2 63 Reprogramming Menu Shown with Image Copy Selected TFTP Host Address IP address of the host computer from which...

Page 112: ...the TFTP server Upgrading the Firmware Firmware images are available free of charge at www GEmds com service technical support NOTE GE MDS iNET firmware may not be installed in GE MDS iNET II radios or vice versa To install firmware by TFTP you will need A PC with a TFTP server running The IP address of the PC running the TFTP server A valid firmware file The IP address of the radio can be found u...

Page 113: ...o the transceiver loading firm ware configuration files into the unit s flash RAM is much slower than loading software onto a PC hard drive or RAM Upgrade Procedure To load a new firmware file filename ipk into the transceiver use the following procedure LA N CO M1 CO M2 PW R LINK LAN PORT LOCAL WINDOWS PC WITH iNET FILES IP ADDRESS 172 0 0 A IP ADDRESS 172 0 0 B TFTP SERVER TELNET MDS iNET 900 CR...

Page 114: ...ramming Menu Retrieve File Status messages on the transfer are posted on the Management Sys tem screen NOTE The new firmware image file that replaces the Inactive Image file will be automatically verified 6 Reboot the transceiver Main Menu Maintenance Menu Reprogramming Menu Reboot Device 7 Test the transceiver for normal operation End of Procedure Error Messages During File Transfers It is possib...

Page 115: ...cal support How Configuration Files Work When a configuration script file is downloaded to a radio Retrieve the radio executes the parameters as commands and takes the values con tained in it When a configuration script file is uploaded from the radio Send it contains the current values of the parameters that the radio is configured with Figure 2 66 below shows the Configuration Scripts Menu Bad C...

Page 116: ...FTP server Before exporting a unit s configuration you may want to name it in a way that reflects the radio s services or other identifica tion TFTP Timeout Time in seconds the TFTP server will wait for a packet ACK acknowledgment from the transceiver before suspending the file transfer 10 to 120 seconds 10 Retrieve File Initiate the file transfer of the configuration file from TFTP server into th...

Page 117: ... you want to change from the default value Change only the parameter values Capitalization counts in some field parameters Example System Mode Comment Fields a Edit or delete anything on each line to the right of the comment delineator the semicolon b Comments can be of any length but must be on the same line as the parameter or on a new line that begins with a semicolon character c Comments after...

Page 118: ... of authorized features available for use enabled disabled GE MDS iNET II radios will show an additional selection called Encryption under Authorized Features 2 9 4 Change the Type of Remote Enter the serial number of the unit to be changed in the Auth Key field to turn a Serial Gateway Remote into an Ethernet Bridge Remote or vice versa 2 9 5 Auto Upgrade Remote Reboot Menu NOTE This menu is only...

Page 119: ...eir current active image the same as if the power were re cycled NOTE To use the Auto Upgrade Reboot feature both the AP and Remotes must already be running version 4 4 0 or newer firm ware Exception If the AP has already been upgraded to version 4 4 0 and the Remote is still at 3 5 0 or older you can upgrade the Remote by using the AP as a file server This method allows for only one remote to be ...

Page 120: ...is an Access Point it will disrupt traffic through the entire network Test Mode function is automatically limited to 10 minutes and should only be used for brief measurement of transmit power It may also be manually reset to continue with the testing or turned off Test Mode Controls access to the transceiver s suite of tools ON OFF OFF Frequency Set radio operating frequency during the testing per...

Page 121: ... shown on screen Screen will be replaced with detailed report of PING activity Press any key after viewing the results to return to this menu 2 9 8 Reset to Factory Defaults To reset all transceiver parameters back to the factory defaults including the password you must enter a special code authorization key provided by the factory in place of the user name at the time of login This procedure is u...

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Page 123: ...ont Panel LEDs 115 3 2 Troubleshooting Using the Embedded Management System 116 3 2 1 Starting Information Screen 117 3 2 2 Packet Statistics Menu 118 3 2 3 Serial Port Statistics Menu 119 3 2 4 Diagnostic Tools 119 3 3 Using Logged Operation Events 119 3 4 Alarm Conditions 120 3 5 Correcting Alarm Conditions 121 3 6 Logged Events 123 ...

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Page 125: ...eters in the Management System Do not overlook the possibility that human error may be the cause of the problem With so many possible parameters to look at and change a parameter may be incorrectly set and then what was changed is forgotten To help avoid these problems we recommend creating an archive of the transceiver s profile when your installation is complete in a Configura tion File This fil...

Page 126: ...me of Remote not identical to desired Access Point Verify that the system has a unique Network Name b Not yet associated with an Access Point with the same Network Name Check the Status of the unit s process of associating with the Access Point Use the Management System c Poor Antenna System Check the antenna feedline and connectors Reflected power should be less than 10 of the forward power readi...

Page 127: ...terminal emulator or Telnet application is set to VT100 Cannot pass IP data to WAN a Verify your IP settings b Use the PING command to test communication with the transceivers in the local radio system c If successful with local PING attempt to PING an IP unit attached to a transceiver d If successful with the LAN PINGs try connecting to a known unit in the WAN Wireless Retries too high Possible R...

Page 128: ...n Alarmed state the unit may still be operational and associated Look for the association state in the Wireless Network Status screen to determine if the unit is associated If it is then look at the Error Log for possible clues If the unit is in an Alarmed state and not able to associate with an Access Point unit then there may be problem with the wireless network layer Call in a radio technician ...

Page 129: ...m during normal conditions with a data rate of 256 kbps If the RSSI levels in each zone are within a few dB of each other but less than 85 dBm then a check should be made of the aiming of the antenna system and for a satisfactory SWR Refer to RADIO RF MEASUREMENTS on Page 139 for information on antenna system checks NOTE For a data rate of 512 kbps 1 Mbps for iNET II the average signal level shoul...

Page 130: ...external access to the Management System Informational events are stored in temporary RAM memory that will be lost in the absence of primary power and Alarms will be stored in permanent memory Flash memory until cleared by user request Table 2 5 summarizes these classifications These various events are stored in the transceiver s Event Log and can be a valuable aid in troubleshooting unit problems...

Page 131: ...ressionChanged 76 EVENT_ENDPOINT Endpoint Added Removed AP only eventEndpoint 67 EVENT_ETH_LINK_AP AP Ethernet Link Disconnected apEthLinkLost 19 EVENT_FLASH_TEST Flash Test Failed EVENT_FPGA FPGA communication Failed fpgaCommunication 2 EVENT_FREQ_CAL Frequency Not Calibrated frequencyCal 7 EVENT_INIT_ERR Initialization Error initializationError 18 EVENT_IPADDR IP Address Invalid ipAddressNotSet ...

Page 132: ... Remote sinRemSwitch 70 EVENT_SYSTEM_ERROR System Error Cleared Please Reboot systemError 16 EVENT_TFTP_CONN TFTP connectivity achieved tftpConnection 73 EVENT_TFTP_ERR Attempted TFTP connection failed tftpConnFailed 79 Table 3 5 Alarm Conditions Alphabetical Order Continued Alarm Condition Reported Event Log Entry SNMP Trap Table 3 6 Correcting Alarm Conditions Alphabetical Order Event Log Entry ...

Page 133: ... MAC Contact factory Technical Services for assistance Network Interface Error Unit does not recognize the LAN interface Contact factory Technical Services for assistance Network Name Not Programmed Network name is Not Programmed Change Network Name to something other than Not Programmed PLL Out of Lock The FPGA reports a synthesizer out of lock condition when monitored by the CPU Contact factory ...

Page 134: ...match INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory Current AP No Longer Approved MAJOR May occur during the Scanning process at a remote Indicates that the received beacon came from an AP which is not in the Approved AP list This may be caused by some remotes hearing multiple AP s This event is expected behavior MAC Decryption Failed MAC Decryption OK A decryption error is logged when an encryption phrase misma...

Page 135: ...Beacon Netname Does Not Match INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory Received Beacon Valid Errored INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory Rem Ethernet Link Connected Disconnected MAJOR Self explanatory Reprogramming Complete INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory Reprogramming Failed MAJOR Self explanatory Reprogramming Started INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory Scanning Started INFORMATIONAL Self explanatory SNR Within thre...

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Page 137: ...ASUREMENTS 139 4 2 1 Antenna System SWR and Transmitter Power Output 140 Introduction 140 Procedure 140 4 2 2 Antenna Aiming 141 Introduction 141 Procedure 141 4 3 dBm WATTS VOLTS CONVERSION CHART 143 4 4 PERFORMANCE NOTES 144 4 4 1 Wireless Bridge 144 4 4 2 Distance Throughput Relationship 144 4 4 3 Data Latency TCP versus UDP Mode 145 4 4 4 Data Compression 145 4 4 5 Packets per Second PPS 145 4...

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Page 139: ...t a problem because most hubs switches auto switch between 10BaseT and 100BaseT connections Confirm that your hub switch is capable of auto switching data rates To prevent Ethernet traffic from degrading iNET performance place the iNET in a segment or behind routers Invisible place holder Figure 4 1 Typical Installation with a Tower Mounted Antenna Connect user data equipment to any compatible LAN...

Page 140: ...ectors on the end of the radio and an unobstructed view of the LED status indicators Figure 4 2 Transceiver Dimensions 4 25 10 8 cm 4 75 12 0 cm 1 4 3 56 cm 6 75 17 15 cm 4 5 11 43 cm TOP SIDE BOTTOM 2 5 6 35 cm 4 85 12 32 cm THREADED HOLES FOR MOUNTING SCREWS 4 6 32 X 1 4 LONG Not to scale FRONT ...

Page 141: ...of the radio without the need for tools of any kind Figure 4 4 shows how the DIN Rail bracket attaches to the back of the unit s case and how the entire unit attaches to the mounting rail Invisible place holder Figure 4 4 DIN Rail Mounting of GE MDS Equipment 4 1 2 Site Selection Suitable sites should provide Protection from direct weather exposure A source of adequate and stable primary power 2 7...

Page 142: ... s is highly desirable and provides the most reli able communications link Much depends on the minimum signal strength that can be tolerated in a given system Although the exact figure will differ from one system to another a Received Signal Strength Indication RSSI of 77 dBm 80 dBm for iNET II or stronger will provide acceptable performance in many systems While the equipment will work at lower s...

Page 143: ...rectional antenna at the Access Point station employ vertical polarization of the signal therefore the remote antenna s must also be vertically polar ized elements oriented perpendicular to the horizon When required horizontally polarized omnidirectional antennas are also available Contact your factory representa tive for details Invisible place holder Figure 4 5 Typical Omnidirectional Antennas A...

Page 144: ...losses in dB that result when using various lengths of cable at 900 MHz The choice of cable will depend on the required length cost considerations and the amount of signal loss that can be tolerated The tables below outline the minimum lengths of RG 214 coaxial cable that must be used with common GE MDS omnidirectional antennas in order to maintain compliance with FCC maximum limit of 36 dBi If ot...

Page 145: ...in is 6 dBi or less See How Much Output Power Can be Used on Page 135 for power control of higher gain antennas 4 1 5 How Much Output Power Can be Used The transceiver is normally supplied from the factory set for a nominal 30 dBm 29 dBm for iNET II RF power output setting this is the maximum transmitter output power allowed under FCC rules The power must be decreased from this level if the antenn...

Page 146: ...value See Antenna Aiming on Page 141 for details If adequate signal strength cannot be obtained it may be necessary to mount the station antennas higher use higher gain antennas select a dif ferent site or consider installing a repeater station To prepare the equip ment for an on the air test follow the general installation procedures given in this guide and become familiar with the operating inst...

Page 147: ...stant interference is present in a particular frequency zone collection of 8 RF channels it may be necessary to skip that zone from the radio s hopping pattern The radio includes built in software to help users identify and remove blocked frequency zones from its hopping pattern See Page 56 for more information on Skip Zones If interference problems persist even after skipping some zones try reduc...

Page 148: ...ION CHART on Page 143 4 1 8 Notes on Using 28 VDC Power Supplies Common 28 Vdc supplies are often high current power supplies designed primarily to charge battery banks The radio can be operated from these supplies providing there are no transients on the leads as power is applied to the radio Transients can be created that rise above 30 Vdc to a voltage that exceeds the primary voltage rating of ...

Page 149: ...h of the power cabling within reason When power is applied from a power source having a relatively high 1 or 2 Ω source impedance or from a power source with out a large amount of output capacitance no overshoot occurs Therefore use a power supply that is rated appropriately for the radio if possible avoid using power supplies that far exceed the radio s current requirements Please direct any ques...

Page 150: ...han 10 of the forward power 2 1 SWR Higher readings usually indicate problems with the antenna feedline or coaxial connectors If the reflected power is more than 10 check the feedline antenna and its connectors for damage Record the current transmitter power output level and then set it to 30 dBm for the duration of the test to provide an adequate signal level for the directional wattmeter Procedu...

Page 151: ... of directional antennas at Remote locations becomes necessary Directional antennas usually require some fine tuning of their bearing to optimize the received signal strength The transceiver has a built in received signal strength indicator RSSI that can be used to tell you when the antenna is in a position that provides the optimum received signal RSSI measurements and Wireless Packet Statistics ...

Page 152: ...n of the antenna Watch the RSSI indication for several seconds after making each adjustment so that the RSSI accurately reflects any change in the link signal strength 6 View the Wireless Packets Dropped and Received Error rates at the point of maximum RSSI level They should be the same or lower than the previous reading Main Menu Performance Information Packet Statistics Wireless Packet Statistic...

Page 153: ...40mW 5 125 32mW 6 115 25mW 7 100 20mW 8 090 16mW 9 080 125mW 10 071 10mW 11 064 12 058 13 050 14 045 15 040 16 0355 dBm mV Po 17 31 5 18 28 5 19 25 1 20 22 5 01mW 21 20 0 22 17 9 23 15 9 24 14 1 25 12 8 26 11 5 27 10 0 28 8 9 29 8 0 30 7 1 001mW 31 6 25 32 5 8 33 5 0 34 4 5 35 4 0 36 3 5 37 3 2 38 2 85 39 2 5 40 2 25 1μW 41 2 0 42 1 8 43 1 6 44 1 4 45 1 25 46 1 18 47 1 00 48 0 90 dBm mV Po 49 0 80...

Page 154: ... the destination address is a multicast or broadcast address forward the packet to all remotes If the destination address is not known forward the packet to all remotes If the destination address is known forward the packet to the port that the destination is known to be on usually the RF port The bridge code uses Spanning Tree Protocol STP to pre vent loops from being created when connecting brid...

Page 155: ...ta Text files are typically the most compressible whereas binary files are the least compressible On average a 30 increase in throughput can be achieved with compres sion enabled Compression is used on data packets of 100 bytes or more including Ethernet IP and TCP UDP headers 4 4 5 Packets per Second PPS The iNET II radio has a limit of approximately 140 PPS 70 PPS in iNET Consider this restricti...

Page 156: ...echanism is used to reserve a time slot if packets exceed this number On the other hand a hidden node might interfere more often than if RTS was not used Main Menu Radio Configuration RTS Threshold Decreasing the RTS Threshold to the 100 to 200 range may improve throughput on a busy network It will add small packets but reduce collisions and resulting re tries of large packets Main Menu Radio Conf...

Page 157: ...ent supports SNMP version 3 SNMPv3 The SNMPv3 protocol introduces Authentication MD5 SHA 1 Encryption DES the USM User Table and View Based Access Refer to RFC2574 for full details The SNMP Agent has limited SNMPv3 support in the following areas Only MD5 Authentication is supported no SHA 1 SNMPv3 provides support for MD5 and SHA 1 Currently only MD5 Authentication is supported in the SNMP Agent L...

Page 158: ...ords are configured and managed locally they are non volatile and will survive a power cycle If passwords are configured from an SNMP manager they will be reset to whatever has been stored for local man agement on power cycle This behavior was chosen based on RFC specifications The SNMP Manager and Agent don t exchange passwords but actually exchange keys based on passwords If the Manager changes ...

Page 159: ...ill now be used by the Agent to re generate keys The Manager will need to know these passwords in order to talk to the Agent Passwords are currently being managed locally The local pass words are Fairport Auth and Churchville Priv Configuration is changed to handle the passwords from the Manager The same passwords will continue to be used but now the Manager can change them Passwords are currently...

Page 160: ...r 5 Min httpLogin 49 MAJOR HTTP User Logged Out Logged In countrySkipZoneMismatch 50 INFORMATIONAL Country SkipZone Mismatch desiredAPIPMismatch 51 INFORMATIONAL Desired AP IP Addr Mismatch eventLogCleared 52 INFORMATIONAL Log Cleared authDemoMode 53 MAJOR Auth Demo Mode Expired Rebooted Radio Enabled keyEntered 54 MAJOR Auth Key Entered Key Valid Key Invalid apEthLinkDown 55 MAJOR Association Los...

Page 161: ...ote lost association due to a change in the AP s netname ipConnectivityOK 75 INFORMATIONAL Radio is associated AND 1 has an IP address statically defined OR 2 received an IP address via DHCP compressionChanged 76 INFORMATIONAL Compression state has changed enabled disabled macDecryptError 77 INFORMATIONAL MAC has received a packet that it could not decrypt lanPortStatus 78 INFORMATIONAL Ethernet p...

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Page 163: ...5 TECHNICAL REFERENCE 5 Chapter Counter Reset Paragraph Contents 5 1 DATA INTERFACE CONNECTORS 155 5 1 1 LAN Port 155 5 1 2 COM1 Port 156 5 1 3 COM2 Port 156 5 2 FUSE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE 157 5 3 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 158 5 4 CHANNEL HOP TABLE 161 ...

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Page 165: ...a data link to an Internet Pro tocol based IP network via the Access Point station Each radio in the network must have a unique IP address for the network to function prop erly To connect a PC directly to the radio s LAN port an RJ 45 to RJ 45 cross over cable is required To connect the radio to a Ethernet hub or bridge use a straight through cable The connector uses the standard Ethernet RJ 45 ca...

Page 166: ... port use a DB 9F to DB 9M straight through cable These cables are available commercially or may be constructed using the pinout information in Figure 5 3 and Table 5 3 Figure 5 3 COM2 Port DTE Viewed from the outside of the radio Table 5 2 COM1 Port Pinout DB 9F RS 232 Interface Pin Functions DCE 1 Unused 2 Receive Data RXD Out 3 Transmit Data TXD In 4 Unused 5 Signal Ground GND 6 9 Unused Table ...

Page 167: ...ribbon cable between the top cover s LEDs and the unit motherboard You do not need to disconnect the ribbon cable 4 Locate the fuse and fuse holder between the COM1 port and the power connector See Figure 5 4 for details 5 Loosen the fuse from the holder using a very small screwdriver Use a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull the fuse straight up and remove it 6 Using an Ohmmeter or other con...

Page 168: ... 9 watts 24 5 30 Vdc Receive 2 8 watts 10 5 24 Vdc 3 5 watts 24 5 30 Vdc MTBF 35 Years Telcordia Method 1 Case 3 Size Excluding mtg hardware 1 25 x 6 75 x 4 5 H x W x D 3 15 x 17 15 x 11 43 cm Mounting w Optional Hardware DIN Rail Flat surface mounting brackets 19 rack 1U high Weight 908 g 2 lb Case Cast Aluminum Boot Time 30 sec Time Required to Associate with Access Point 20 sec APPROVALS HOMOLO...

Page 169: ...OG GE MDS NETview MS DATA CHARACTERISTICS PORTS Ethernet Interface Connectors RJ 45 Standard Data Rate 10BaseT 10 Mbps Serial 2 Ports Signaling Standard EIA 232 V 24 Interface Connectors DB 9 Interface COM1 DCE COM2 DTE Data Rate 1200 115 200 bps asynchronous Data Latency 10 ms typical Byte Formats 7 or 8 bit even odd or no parity 1 or 2 stop bits OPERATING MODES Configurable as Access Point or Re...

Page 170: ...2 5 MHz wide zones each containing 8 frequencies iNET iNET II From one and up to 75 overlapping channels Hop Patterns 8192 based on network name Frequency Stability 20 ppm TRANSMITTER Power Output at antenna connector 0 1 to 1 0 watt 20 dBm to 30 dBm 1 0 dB set by user Duty Cycle Continuous Modulation Type Binary CPFSK Output Impedance 50 Ohms Spurious 67 dBc Occupied Bandwidth GE MDS iNET 316 5 k...

Page 171: ...margin and a mix of agricultural and commercial terrain with line of sight Range calculations for mobile units assume a 6 dBd gain Omni on a 100 ft tower at the AP a 5 dBd gain Omni with 1 watt output power at 6 ft height a 10 dB fade margin and 90 confidence with near line of sight in a mix of agricultural and commercial terrain Actual performance is dependent on many factors including antenna he...

Page 172: ...4 7155 2 8 905 0320 2 9 905 3485 2 10 905 6650 2 11 905 9815 2 12 906 2980 2 13 906 6145 2 14 906 9310 2 15 907 2475 3 16 907 5640 3 17 907 8805 3 18 908 1970 3 19 908 5135 3 20 908 8300 3 21 909 1465 3 22 909 4630 3 23 909 7795 4 24 910 0960 4 25 910 4125 4 26 910 7290 4 27 911 0455 4 28 911 3620 4 29 911 6785 4 30 911 9950 4 31 912 3115 5 32 912 6280 5 33 912 9445 5 34 913 2610 5 35 913 5775 5 3...

Page 173: ...919 9075 8 56 920 2240 8 57 920 5405 8 58 920 8570 8 59 921 1735 8 60 921 4900 8 61 921 8065 8 62 922 1230 8 63 922 4395 9 64 922 7560 9 65 923 0725 9 66 923 3890 9 67 923 7055 9 68 924 0220 9 69 924 3385 9 70 924 6550 9 71 924 9715 10 72 925 2880 10 73 925 6045 10 74 925 9210 10 75 926 2375 10 76 926 5540 10 77 926 8705 10 78 927 1870 iNET II DTS highest channel 10 79 927 5035 iNET FHSS highest c...

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Page 175: ...ctors for example are subtracted from this figure to calculate the total antenna system gain AP See Access Point Association Condition in which the frequency hopping pattern of the Remote is synchronized with the Access Point station and is ready to pass traffic Authorization Key Alphanumeric string code that is used to enable additional capabilities in the transceiver Bit The smallest unit of dig...

Page 176: ... istrators to avoid the tedious process of manually configuring and man aging IP addresses for a large number of users and devices When a network device powers on if it is configured to use DHCP it will con tact a DHCP server on the network and request an IP address The DHCP server will provide an address from a pool of addresses allo cated by the network administrator The network device may use t...

Page 177: ...e the pat tern appears to jump around it is said to hop from one frequency to another Frequency Zone The radio uses up to 80 discrete channels in the 902 to 928 MHz spectrum A group of 8 channels is referred to as a zone in total there are 10 zones Hardware Flow Control A transceiver feature used to prevent data buffer overruns when handling high speed data from the connected data communications d...

Page 178: ...ble to determine the file based on the fingerprint For more details review RFC 1321 available on the Internet MIB Management Information Base Microcontroller Unit See MCU Mobile IP An emerging standard by which access points and stations maintain network connectivity as the stations move between various IP networks Through the use of Mobile IP a station can move from its home IP network to a forei...

Page 179: ... nects the station from the access point PING Packet INternet Groper Diagnostic message generally used to test reachability of a network device either over a wired or wireless net work Point Multipoint System A radio communications network or system designed with a central control station that exchanges data with a number of remote locations equipped with terminal equipment Poll A request for data...

Page 180: ...ints are co located for redundancy roaming allows the stations to switch between them to provide a robust network Roaming may also be employed in conjunction with Portability where the station has been moved beyond the range of the original AP to which it was connected As the station comes in range of a new AP it will switch its connection to the stronger signal Roaming refers to a station s logic...

Page 181: ...rol Protocol TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol Trap Manager Software that collects SNMP traps for display or log ging of events UDP User Datagram Protocol UTP Unshielded Twisted Pair WINS Windows Internet Naming Service Part of Microsoft Win dows NT and 2000 servers that manages the association of workstation names and locations with Internet Protocol addresses It works without the user or an ad...

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Page 183: ...165 Process 94 Time 95 Auth Traps Status 49 Authorization Key 108 111 defined 165 Authorized Features 108 Auto Data Rate Menu SNR Threshold Delta 58 Auto Key Rotation 81 Auto Upgrade Remote Reboot 108 B Backhaul for Serial Radio Networks 8 Network 9 bandpass filter 137 Beacon Period 53 145 146 signal 94 Begin Wizard 64 Bit defined 165 Bits per second bps defined 165 BPDU 144 defined 165 BPS define...

Page 184: ...mmand 140 DNS Address 47 DTE 11 60 Dwell Time 52 146 E EIA 232 11 Encapsulation defined 166 Encryption 81 Phrase 81 Ending Address 47 Endpoint defined 167 Listing 87 Listing Menu 97 ENI MDS iNET 900 3 Equalization defined 167 Ethernet Link H W Watch 46 Link Poll Address 46 Packet Statistics 92 port enabled disabled 45 Rate Limit 45 Event Log 86 88 118 120 122 123 F Fade Margin 167 Feedline selecti...

Page 185: ...blished 71 Local Area Network defined 168 IP Port 65 66 Listening IP Port 69 Location 36 107 Logged Events 123 Lost Carrier Detected 92 119 M MAC Address 96 97 144 Management System user interfaces 23 MD5 defined 168 MDS iNET 900 ENI 3 MDS Security Suite 15 measurements radio 139 MIB defined 168 files 47 Mobile IP defined 168 Mobility 58 Mobility Capability 11 MODBUS 69 Mode serial gateway interfa...

Page 186: ... TCP 61 68 71 75 145 defined 171 TFTP 102 defined 171 UDP 61 62 71 74 75 145 PuTTY usage 27 defined 170 R Radio Frequency Interference 15 136 Remote defined 170 Test 110 range transmission 10 Read Community String 48 Reboot Device 102 on Upgrade 109 Receive errors 92 119 Received Signal Strength Indicator 132 defined 170 Redundancy Using multiple Access Points 14 Remote IP Address 66 IP Port 66 Li...

Page 187: ...ined 170 Mode 49 80 traps 150 usage 147 V3 Passwords 49 SNR 54 defined 170 Threshold 54 SNTP defined 170 Spanning Tree Protocol 144 Spanning Tree Protocol defined 170 Specifications 158 161 SSH defined 170 SSL defined 170 Standing Wave Ratio 171 Starting Address 47 Information Screen 34 State 96 Status 32 64 66 68 69 71 STP defined 170 SWR 140 171 performance optimization 140 Syslog Server 90 syst...

Page 188: ...Log 91 Log 89 VLAN 38 39 40 77 Configuring for operation with 41 Configuring IP Address with VLAN disabled 43 Configuring IP Address with VLAN enabled 42 volts dBm watts conversion 143 W watts dBm volts conversion 143 WINS Address 47 defined 171 Wireless Network Status 87 94 Packet Statistics 91 wizard serial configuration 63 Write community String 48 Y Yagi antenna 134 Z Zone defined 171 ...

Page 189: ... your radio to its proper operating specifications If return of the equipment is necessary you will be issued a Service Request Order SRO number The SRO number will help expedite the repair so that the equipment can be repaired and returned to you as quickly as possible Please be sure to include the SRO number on the outside of the ship ping box and on any correspondence relating to the repair No ...

Page 190: ...GE MDS LLC Rochester NY 14620 General Business 1 585 242 9600 FAX 1 585 242 9620 Web www GEmds com 175 Science Parkway ...

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GE MDS MDS iNET 900, Reference Manual

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