User's Manual
Table Of Contents
- Welcome to the Airespace Product Guide!
- OVERVIEWS
- About the Airespace System
- About the AireOS
- Single-Airespace Switch or Appliance Deployments
- Multiple-Airespace Switch and Appliance Deployments
- About AireOS Security
- About Airespace Wired Security
- About AireWave Director Software
- About the Master Airespace Switch or Appliance
- About the Primary Airespace Switch or Appliance
- About Client Roaming
- About External DHCP Servers
- About Airespace Mobility Groups
- About Airespace Wired Connections
- About Airespace WLANs
- About File Transfers
- About Power Over Ethernet
- About Airespace Switches and Appliances
- 4012 and 4024 Airespace Wireless Switch Models
- 4101 and 4102 Airespace WLAN Appliance Models
- Airespace Switch and Appliance Features
- Airespace Switch and Appliance Model Numbers
- Airespace Wireless Switch Direct Connect Mode
- Airespace Switches and Appliances in Appliance Mode
- Airespace Wireless Switch Hybrid Mode
- About the Distribution System Port
- About the Service (Management) Port
- About the Startup Wizard
- About Airespace Switch and Appliance Memory
- Airespace Switch and Appliance Failover Protection
- Switched Network Connection to the Airespace Switch or Appliance
- Enhanced Security Module
- About Airespace Access Points
- About Airespace AP Models
- About Airespace AP External and Internal Antennas
- About Airespace AP LEDs
- About Airespace AP Connectors
- About Airespace AP Power Requirements
- About Airespace AP External Power Converter
- About Airespace AP Mounting Options
- About Airespace AP Physical Security
- About Airespace AP Monitor Mode
- About Third-Party Access Points
- About Rogue Access Points
- About the Airespace Control System Software
- About the Airespace Web Browser Interface
- About the Airespace Command Line Interface
- About the Airespace System
- SOLUTIONS
10/10/03 AireWave Director Software
90-100584-004 Airespace Product Guide 11
About AireWave Director SoftwareAire Wave Director Software
Airespace, Inc. is the only company to offer the powerful, comprehensive, and dynamic AireWave
Director Software solution to the 802.11 market. The AireWave Director Software allows Airespace
Switches and Appliances to continually monitor their associated Airespace APs for the following
information:
• Traffic Load -- How much total bandwidth is used for transmitting and receiving traffic. This
allows WLAN managers to track network growth and plan network growth ahead of client
demand.
• Interference -- How much traffic is coming from other 802.11 sources.
• Noise -- How much non-802.11 noise is interfering with the currently-assigned channel.
• Coverage -- Received Signal Strength (RSSI) and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for all clients.
• Nearby APs.
Using the collected information, the AireWave Director Software can periodically reconfigure the 802.11
RF network within operator-defined limits for best efficiency. To do this, AireWave Director Software:
• Dynamically reassign channels to increase capacity and performance, both within the same
Airespace Switch or Appliance and across multiple Airespace Switches and Appliances.
• Adjust the transmit power to balance coverage and capacity, both within the same Airespace
Switch or Appliance and across multiple Airespace Switches and Appliances.
• Allows the operator to assign nearby Airespace APs into groups to streamline AireWave Director
Software algorithm processing.
• As new clients associate, they are load balanced across grouped Airespace APs reporting to
each Airespace Switch or Appliance. This is particularly important when many clients converge
in one spot (such as a conference room or auditorium), because AireWave Director Software
can automatically force some subscribers to associate with nearby APs, allowing higher
throughput for all clients.
• Automatically detect and configure new Airespace APs as they are added to the network. The
AireWave Director Software automatically adjusts nearby Airespace APs to accommodate the
increased coverage and capacity.
• Automatically detect and configure new Airespace Switches and Appliances as they are added
to the network. The AireWave Director Software automatically distributes associated Airespace
APs to maximize coverage and capacity.
• Detect and report coverage holes, where clients consistently connect to an Airespace AP at a
very low signal strength.
• Automatically define Airespace Switch and Appliance Groups within operator-defined Mobility
Groups.
The AireWave Director Software solution thus allows the operator to avoid the costs of laborious histor-
ical data interpretation and individual Access Point reconfiguration. The power control features of
AireWave Director Software ensure client satisfaction, and the coverage hole detection feature can alert
the operator to the need for an additional (or relocated) Airespace AP.
Note that the AireWave Director Software uses separate monitoring and control for each of the
deployed networks: 802.11a and 802.11b/802.11g. Also note that the AireWave Director Software is
automatically enabled, but can be customized or disabled for individual Airespace APs.
Finally, for operators requiring easy manual configuration, the AireOS can recommend the best radio
settings, and then assign them on operator command.