Monitor Information
Link Test
This tab displays information on the quality of the wireless link to clients and other APs in the Wireless Distribution
System. During a Link Test, the Access Point and the selected device exchange a series of packets to test the strength
of the connection. The devices start by exchanging packets at the 11 Mbits/sec rate but fall back to the slower rates if
necessary.
NOTE
This feature is only available when using an HP ProCurve Wireless 802.11b AP Card 150wl. In addition, this
feature will only give information for ORiNOCO/Agere/Lucent based clients.
Follow these steps to perform a Link Test:
1. Open the
Remote Link Test
screen.
2.
Click
Explore
.
Result: A list of detected stations will appear. If the list does not appear automatically, click
Refresh
.
Figure 5-9
Remote Link Test Screen
3. Select a Station from the list by clicking the circle to the left of the Station’s entry.
4. Click
Link Test
to start the test.
Result: A new Link Test window opens and displays the following information for the Access Point (referred to as
the
Initiator Station
) and the wireless client (referred to as the
Remote Station
):
•
Station Name:
The Access Point’s System Name or the client’s Windows Networking name.
•
MAC Address:
The station’s MAC address.
•
SNR (dB):
The Signal to Noise ratio for the received signal. The displayed value is the running average since
the start of the test and is reported in decibels (dB). Higher numbers correspond to a stronger link. The bar
graph also displays the relative strength of the link (a green bar indicates a strong link, a yellow bar indicates a
fair link, and a red bar indicates a weak link).
•
Signal (dBm):
The strength of the received signal in dBm (decibels referenced to 1 milliwatt). The displayed
value is the running average since the start of the test and is reported as a negative number. Higher numbers
correspond to a stronger link. For example, -40 dBm corresponds to a stronger signal than -50 dBm. The bar
graph also displays the relative strength of the signal (a longer bar represents a stronger signal).
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