Chapter 1: Product description
Overview of the PTP 550 Series
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Overview of the PTP 550 Series
This section introduces the key features, typical uses, product variants and components of the
PTP 550 series.
Purpose
Cambium PTP 550 products are designed for Ethernet bridging over point-to-point links in the
unlicensed 5 GHz frequency band. Users must ensure that the PTP 550 Series complies with
local operating regulations.
The PTP 550 acts as a transparent bridge between two segments of the operator’s network. In
this sense, it can be treated as a virtual wired connection between two points. The PTP 550
Series forwards 802.3 Ethernet frames destined for the other part of the network and filters
frames it does not need to forward. The system is transparent to higher-level protocols such as
VLANs.
Key features
PTP 550 is a rugged high-capacity outdoor point-to point link
wireless device in the unlicensed 5 GHz frequency bands with a
maximum UDP throughput of 1.4 Gbps (when operating with
160 MHz maximum aggregate bandwidth). It is capable of
operating in line-of-sight (LOS) and near-LOS conditions. Its
maximum LOS range is 122 miles (200 km). PTP 550 is
available as an integrated unit with a dual-polarized 23 dBi flat-
plate antenna, and as a connectorized unit for use with a
separate dual-polarized antenna. One point-to-point link
consists of two PTP 550 devices.
PTP 550 supports asymmetric dual-channel operation, with
channel sizes of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz in each channel.
The maximum aggregate bandwidth is 160 MHz (two 80 MHz
channels). Each channel supports 2 x 2 MIMO operation with
polarization multiplexing or polarization diversity, resulting in a
form of 4 x 4 MIMO. Dual-channel operation use non-
contiguous channels, and the channels can be in the same
regulatory band or different regulatory bands. Channel
bandwidth can be selected independently in the two channels
and adaptive modulation also acts independently.
PTP 550 is based on highly-integrated wireless semiconductor components designed to meet
the IEEE 802.11ac standard, however the PTP 550 device has a proprietary air interface for the
main point-to-point link.
PTP 550 is powered by standard power-over-Ethernet to a 1000Base-T port. The unit
additionally has an SFP port for optional addition of a fiber or copper SFP module.
Management of the unit is conducted via the same interface as the bridged traffic (in-band
Management).
