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9

Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.

Chapter 3: AirOS™  

AirRouter User Guide

• 

Station 

This is a client mode, which connects 

the AirRouter to an Access Point. In Station mode, 
the AirRouter acts as the subscriber Station while 
connecting to the Access Point. The SSID of the 
Access Point is used and all the traffic to/from the 
network devices connected to the Ethernet interface is 
forwarded.
Subscriber Station is using the arpnat technique which 
may result in a lack of transparency while passing-
through broadcast packets in bridge mode.

• 

Station WDS 

WDS stands for Wireless Distribution 

System. Station WDS should be used while connecting 
to an Access Point that is operating in WDS mode. This 
mode is compatible with WPA/WPA2 encryption.
Station WDS mode enables packet forwarding at the 
layer 2 level.
The benefit of Station WDS is improved performance 
and faster throughput. Station WDS - Bridge mode is 
fully transparent for all Layer 2 protocols.

• 

Access Point 

This is an 802.11 Access Point.

• 

Access Point WDS 

This is an 802.11 Access Point which 

allows for layer 2 bridging with Station WDS devices 
using the WDS protocol. Access Point WDS is not fully 
compatible with WPA/WPA2 encryption.
WDS allows you to bridge wireless traffic between 
devices which are operating in Access Point mode. 
Access Point is usually connected to a wired network 
(Ethernet LAN) allowing wireless connection to the 
wired network. By connecting Access Points to one 
another in an extended service set using the WDS, 
distant Ethernet connections can be bridged into a 
single LAN.
It is very important that network loops should not be 
created with either WDS bridges or combinations of 
wired (Ethernet) connections and WDS bridges. Tree 
or Star shape network topology should be used in all 
WDS use-cases (i.e. if AP2 and AP3 are specified as the 
WDS peers of AP1, AP2 should not be specified as the 
WDS peer of AP3 and AP3 should not be specified as the 
WDS peer of AP2 in any case). Mesh and Ring network 
topologies are not supported by WDS and should be 
avoided in all the use cases.

Note:

 Station WDS and Access Point WDS mode 

use the WDS protocol which is not defined as 
the standard thus compatibility issues between 
equipment from different vendors may arise.

Note:

 When connecting devices in AP-WDS-

to-AP-WDS mode, the WPA/WPA2 security 
methods will not function. When connecting 
AP-WDS devices to another AP-WDS device use 
none or the WEP security method. However, 
this may compromise the security of your 
network. When connecting STA-WDS clients 
to an AP-WDS device, all security methods are 
available and work properly.

WDS Peers 

(Only applicable in Access Point WDS mode.) 

WDS Stations and/or WDS Access Points connected to 
the AirRouter should be specified in this list to create a 
wireless network infrastructure - Wireless Distribution 
System.
Enter the MAC address of the paired WDS device in 
the WDS Peer entry field. One MAC address should be 
specified for Point-to-Point connection use case, up to 
six WDS Peers can be specified for Point-to-Multi-Point 
connection use case.

Auto 

(Only applicable in Access Point WDS mode.) Option 

should be enabled in order to establish WDS connections 
between Access Points if WDS Peers are not specified. If 
the Auto option is enabled, the AirRouter will choose WDS 
Peers (Access Points) according to the SSID setting. Access 
Point operating in WDS mode should have the same SSID 
as the WDS Peer in order to establish the connection 
automatically while the Auto option is enabled. This 
configuration is also known as repeater mode. AP WDS 
Auto option can not be selected if any type of WPA or 
WPA2 security is used as WPA requires different roles on 
AP configuration (authenticator or supplicant).

Note:

 Access Point operating in WDS mode 

and all the WDS Peers must operate on the 
same frequency channel, use the same channel 
spectrum width and the same security settings.

SSID 

The wireless network name or SSID (Service Set 

Identifier) used to identify your 802.11 wireless LAN 
should be specified while operating in Access Point or 
Access Point WDS mode. All the client devices within 
range will receive broadcast messages from the access 
point advertising this SSID.
While operating in Station or Station WDS mode, you 
should specify the SSID of the Access Point the AirRouter 
is associated with. There can be several Access Points with 
an identical SSID. If the SSID is set to “Any” the station will 
connect to any available AP.

Select 

(Only applicable in Station and Station WDS mode.)

The list of the available Access Points can be retrieved 
using the Select button. This control activates Site Survey 
tool which is used for the AP selection. Site Survey will 
search for the available wireless networks in range on 
all supported channels and allows you to select one for 
association. In case the selected network uses encryption, 
you’ll need to set security parameters in the Wireless 
Security
 section. Select the Access Point from the list and 
click Select button for association.

Summary of Contents for AirRouter

Page 1: ......

Page 2: ...View 1 Rear View 1 Chapter 2 Installation 2 Hardware Installation 2 Connecting a Wireless Client to the AirRouter 3 Chapter 3 AirOS 4 Navigation 4 Main 4 Wireless 8 Network 13 Advanced 25 Services 27...

Page 3: ...when the AirRouter is connected to the Internet Flashes to indicate Internet activity Wireless LAN LED Displays solid green when the wireless LAN is enabled It will flash to indicate wireless activit...

Page 4: ...he other end of the Ethernet cable to your computer 4 Launch your Web browser and type http 192 168 1 1 in the address field and press enter PC or return Mac Note Your computer needs to be on the 192...

Page 5: ...ongratulations Basic router installation is complete Proceed to Connecting a Wireless Client to the AirRouter for information on connecting wireless clients Connecting a Wireless Client to the AirRout...

Page 6: ...n be configured in this tab The Advanced tab also includes advanced Ethernet and traffic shaping settings Services The Services tab covers the configuration of system management services like SNMP NTP...

Page 7: ...Every TX RX chain requires a separate antenna WLAN MAC Displays the MAC address of the AirRouter as seen on the wireless network LAN MAC Displays the MAC address of the AirRouter as seen on the LAN L...

Page 8: ...days hours minutes and seconds Signal Strength Value represents in dBm the last received wireless signal level Noise Floor Displays the current value of the noise level in dBm Noise Floor is taken in...

Page 9: ...dresses that the AirRouter uses for translation DHCP Server Displays the IP address of the DHCP Server assigning the WAN IP Address to the AirRouter Domain Displays the domain name Total Lease Time Sh...

Page 10: ...long the leased IP address will be valid and reserved for particular DHCP client Hostname Displays the device name hostname of the client receiving an IP lease Interface Name Displays the interface to...

Page 11: ...none or the WEP security method However this may compromise the security of your network When connecting STA WDS clients to an AP WDS device all security methods are available and work properly WDS Pe...

Page 12: ...oducts The benefits of this are private networking and inherent security Using channel shifting networks instantly become invisible to the millions of Wi Fi devices in the world Frequency MHz Only app...

Page 13: ...with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol which uses the Advanced Encryption Standard AES algorithm This is the strongest security option available If all of the wireless devices...

Page 14: ...UDP port The most commonly used port is 1812 but that depends on the RADIUS Server you are using Radius Server Secret Specifies the password A shared secret is a case sensitive text string used to va...

Page 15: ...for Layer 3 packet filtering and access control in Router mode SOHO Router SOHO Small Office Home Office Router is basically a derivation from Router mode In SOHO Router mode the Main Ethernet port la...

Page 16: ...If enabled the AirRouter Bridge will communicate with other network devices by sending and receiving Bridge Protocol Data Units BPDU STP should be turned off selected by default when the AirRouter is...

Page 17: ...ss interface and all connected wireless clients are considered as part of the internal LAN and the Ethernet interface is dedicated for the connection to the external network while the AirRouter is ope...

Page 18: ...AirRouter is in operating in Router mode A valid Primary DNS Server IP needs to be specified for DNS Proxy functionality The internal network interface IP of the AirRouter should be specified as the D...

Page 19: ...will be used for the host device if the DMZ Management Port option is enabled DMZ IP Enter the IP address of the internal network device and the device will be completely exposed to the external netwo...

Page 20: ...lity as an alternative to Port Forwarding but DMZ opens all ports of the host network device to the external network DMZ Management Port Web Management Port for the AirRouter TCP IP port 80 by default...

Page 21: ...Auto IP Aliasing Automatically generates an IP Address for the corresponding WLAN LAN interface if enabled The generated IP address is a unique Class B IP address from the 169 254 X Y range Netmask 2...

Page 22: ...ditional security DMZ is commonly used with NAT functionality as an alternative to Port Forwarding but DMZ opens all ports of the host network device to the external network DMZ Management Port Web Ma...

Page 23: ...ected message will be displayed A PPPoE tunnel reconnection routine can be initiated using the Reconnect button which is located in the Main tab next to the PPP interface statistics Enable DMZ The Dem...

Page 24: ...as an alternative to Port Forwarding but DMZ opens all ports of the host network device to the external network DMZ Management Port Web Management Port for the AirRouter TCP IP port 80 by default wil...

Page 25: ...onnect to the LAN interface while the AirRouter is operating in Station or Station WDS mode Range Start End This range determines the IP addresses given out by the DHCP server to client devices on the...

Page 26: ...dentifier for the particular IP Alias Comments Field used for a brief description of the purpose of the alias Enabled Enables or disables the particular IP Alias All added IP Aliases are saved in the...

Page 27: ...outer mode Click Change to save the changes made on the Network tab Static Routes In this section you can manually add static routing rules to the System Routing Table this allows you to specify that...

Page 28: ...re If enabled ACK Timeout value will be derived dynamically using an algorithm similar to the Conservative Rate Algorithm used in AirOS v3 4 It is very recommended to use the Auto Adjust option for 80...

Page 29: ...fined constraints the AirRouter 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...

Page 30: ...d password SSH Server The following SSH Server parameters can be set Enable SSH Server This option enables SSH access to the AirRouter Server Port SSH service TCP IP port setting Enable Password Authe...

Page 31: ...tings Timezone Specifies the timezone according to GMT Greenwich Mean Time Enable Startup Date When enabled you are able to modify the device s startup date Startup Date Specifies the device s startup...

Page 32: ...Update The Update button should be activated in order to proceed with firmware upgrade routine new firmware image should be uploaded into the system first Please be patient as the firmware upgrade rou...

Page 33: ...remote system IP can be selected from the list which is generated automatically Select destination IP or may be specified manually Remote system access credentials administrator username User and Pass...

Page 34: ...you can modify AirView Settings such as enabling or disabling charts or specifying the frequency interval Preferences Charts Enable Top Chart Select the chart to be displayed in the top chart on the m...

Page 35: ...is the green area on the Real time chart which represents the average received power level and considers data for as long as AirView has been running You can disable this graph by unchecking the Enabl...

Page 36: ...ght 221 g Ports 5 10 100 Ethernet Ports 1 USB Port 1 Power Port Buttons 1 Reset Button LEDs 4 LAN 1 Main WAN by default 1 Internet 1 WLAN Wireless LAN 1 Power Wireless Security WEP WPA and WPA2 Bands...

Page 37: ...paid No Products will be accepted for replacement or repair without obtaining a Return Materials Authorization RMA number from UBIQUITI NETWORKS Products returned without an RMA number will not be pro...

Page 38: ...rdware compatibility or field issues as quickly as possible We strive to respond to support inquiries within a 24 hour period Email support ubnt com Phone 408 942 1153 9 a m 5 p m PST Skype Ubiquiti_S...

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