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Cisco Aironet 1100 Series Access Point Installation and Configuration Guide
OL-2851-01
Chapter 7 Configuring Radio Settings
Configuring the Beacon Period and the DTIM
Configuring the Beacon Period and the DTIM
The beacon period is the amount of time between access point beacons in Kilomicroseconds. One Kµsec
equals 1,024 microseconds. The Data Beacon Rate, always a multiple of the beacon period, determines
how often the beacon contains a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM). The DTIM tells power-save
client devices that a packet is waiting for them.
For example, if the beacon period is set at 100, its default setting, and the data beacon rate is set at 2, its
default setting, then the access point sends a beacon containing a DTIM every 200 Kµsecs. One Kµsec
equals 1,024 microseconds.
The default beacon period is 100, and the default DTIM is 2. Beginning in privileged EXEC mode,
follow these steps to configure the beacon period and the DTIM:
Configure RTS Threshold and Retries
The RTS threshold determines the packet size at which the access point issues a request to send (RTS)
before sending the packet. A low RTS Threshold setting can be useful in areas where many client devices
are associating with the access point, or in areas where the clients are far apart and can detect only the
access point and not each other. You can enter a setting ranging from 0 to 2339 bytes.
Maximum RTS Retries is the maximum number of times the access point issues an RTS before stopping
the attempt to send the packet over the radio. Enter a value from 1 to 128.
The default RTS threshold is 2312, and the default maximum RTS retries setting is 32. Beginning in
privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure the RTS threshold and maximum RTS retries:
Use the
no
form of the command to reset the RTS settings to defaults.
Command
Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal
Enter global configuration mode.
Step 2
interface dot11radio 0
Enter interface configuration mode for the radio interface.
Step 3
beacon period
value
Set the beacon period. Enter a value in Kilomicroseconds.
Step 4
beacon dtim-period
value
Set the DTIM. Enter a value in Kilomicroseconds.
Step 5
end
Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6
copy running-config startup-config
(Optional) Save your entries in the configuration file.
Command
Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal
Enter global configuration mode.
Step 2
interface dot11radio 0
Enter interface configuration mode for the radio interface.
Step 3
rts
threshold
value
Set the RTS threshold. Enter an RTS threshold from 0 to 2339.
Step 4
rts
retries
value
Set the maximum RTS retries. Enter a setting from 1 to 128.
Step 5
end
Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6
copy running-config startup-config
(Optional) Save your entries in the configuration file.