Configuring a Cisco Broadband Fixed Wireless Point-to-Multipoint Wireless System

Quick Start Guide
Configuring a Cisco Broadband Fixed Wireless Point-to-Multipoint Wireless System
1   Introduction
2   Preliminary Information
3   Headend Configuration
4   Subscriber Configuration
5   Verifying the Connection

Quick Start Guide

Configuring a Cisco Broadband Fixed Wireless Point-to-Multipoint Wireless System

1 Introduction

2 Preliminary Information

3 Headend Configuration

4 Subscriber Configuration

5 Verifying the Connection

1 Introduction

This quick start card describes how to initially configure a wireless modem card and subscriber unit in a Cisco broadband fixed wireless point-to-multipoint system. The components of the system are shown in Figure 1.

Note

Cisco recommends that appropriate RF planning, including interference characterization, be done before installing the equipment.

Figure 1 Point-to-Multipoint Components

Note

Use a straight-through cable between the power feed panel and the headend wireless modem card.

Note

Follow the detailed installation procedures in the headend and subscriber unit installation guides. Make sure that all outdoor connections are properly water-sealed.

2 Preliminary Information

Before configuring the multipoint wireless link, have available the following information:

Number of receive antennas (two for diversity)
Required transmit power
Downstream and upstream frequencies
Target receive power
IP address for the headend radio interface
Modulation profile settings (downstream and upstream)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server address

3 Headend Configuration

To perform the initial headend configuration, use the following steps:

Step 1 Create at least two modulation profiles, one for downstream and one for upstream. Use the following command in EXEC mode to determine the available modulation profile options:

UBR01# show radio capability  modulation-profile

Step 2 Note the parameters from the output of the above command and use the following command in global configuration mode to define the modulation profiles for upstream and downstream:

UBR01(config)# radio  modulation-profile 1..32 bandwidth  {6|3|1.5} throughput throughput in  Mbps multipath-robustness  {high|standard} burst-size medium

Step 3 Configure the following parameters in radio interface mode:

UBR01(config-if)# radio  receive-antenna {1|2}

UBR01(config-if)# radio  transmit-power transmit power in dBm

UBR01(config-if)# radio downstream  frequency frequency in KHz width 6

UBR01(config-if)# radio upstream  frequency frequency in KHz width 6

UBR01(config-if)# ip address  ipaddress subnet mask

UBR01(config-if)# radio upstream  {0|1|2|3} target-receive-power  power_level in dBm

Step 4 Apply the modulation profiles to downstream and upstream channels by using the following commands in radio interface mode:

UBR01(config-if)# radio downstream  subchannel 1...7 modulation profile  1...32

UBR01(config-if)# radio upstream  {0|1|2|3} subchannel 1...7 modulation profile  1...32

The subchannel field corresponds to the subchannel numbering scheme shown in Figure 2. The Center frequency and the width are inferred from this subchannel assignment.

Figure 2 Subchannel Numbering

Note

The width specified in the modulation profile must match the subchannel that the downstream or upstream is being assigned to.

Step 5 Create a Data-over-Cable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS) provisioning file using DOCSIS CPE Configurator and copy it to slot 0 of the headend router. DOCSIS CPE Configurator can be downloaded from:

http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cpe-conf

(Download V2.1.)

Step 6 Create a DHCP server. For a lab test environment, a DHCP server can be created in the headend router itself. To set the DHCP server, use the following set of commands in global configuration mode:

UBR01(config)# ip dhcp  excluded-address ip address of the  HE radio interface

UBR01(config)# tftp-server  slot0:DOCSIS Provisioning file name

UBR01(config)# ip dhcp pool pool name

UBR01(config)# network network  address subnet mask

UBR01(config)# bootfile DOCSIS  Provisioning file name

UBR01(config)# option 4 ip ip address

UBR01(config)# option 7 ip ip address

UBR01(config)# option 2 hex 0000.0000

UBR01(config)# lease  {[days|hours|minutes] | [infinite]}

Step 7 When all parameters have been configured, bring up the upstream and downstream channels. Use the following commands in radio interface mode:

UBR01(config-if)# no radio upstream {0|1|2|3} shutdown

UBR01(config-if)# no shut

The carrier light comes on.

4 Subscriber Configuration

To perform the initial subscriber configuration, use the following steps:

Step 1 Boot up the subscriber unit.

Step 2 Bring up the link using the no shut command in radio interface mode.

router(config-if)# no shut

The carrier light comes on.

5 Verifying the Connection

Verifying the link integrity is extremely important. Without sufficient fade margin (based on the RF plan), the link is susceptible to changes in the RF environment.

To verify the connection, use the following steps:

Step 1 Verify communication between the headend and subscriber by running a ping command from each site.

Step 2 Once both sites are verified, determine the Received Signal Power and Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) using the following subscriber unit histogram command in radio interface mode:

router(config-if)# radio histogram rf-rx-power-ant1

router(config-if)# radio histogram {sinr-ant1|sinr-ant2} duration 5 update 5

These histogram commands collect the data for 5 seconds and print the data on the screen after 5 seconds.

Step 3 At the headend, use the following commands in radio interface and EXEC modes:

UBR01(config-if)# radio histogram rf-rx-power-ant1 subscriber mac address duration 6000 update 10 sum true

UBR01(config-if)# radio histogram sinr-ant1 subscriber mac address duration 6000 update 10 sum true

UBR01(config-if)# end

UBR01# ping subscriber ip address

UBR01# show interface radio slot/port hist-data rf-rx-power-ant1 subscriber mac address

These histogram commands collect the data for 100 minutes and print the accumulated data on the screen every 10 seconds.

Please refer to the Cisco Broadband Fixed Wireless Site Planning Guide for acceptable values of Received Signal Power and SINR for the required bandwidth and throughput.

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