Users Guide

Table Of Contents
152 | Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) Dell PowerConnect ArubaOS 5.0 | [User Guide
Wireless Clients Report a Low Signal Level
If APs detect strong signals from other APs on the same channel, they may decrease their power levels
accordingly. Issue the CLI commands show ap arm rf-summary ap-name <ap-name> or show ap arm rf-
summary ip-addr <ap ip address> for all APs and check their current coverage index (cov-idx). If the AP’s
coverage index is at or higher than the configured coverage index value, then the APs have correctly chosen the
transmit power setting. To manually increase the minimum power level for the APs using a specific ARM profile,
define a higher minimum value with the command
rf arm-profile <profile> min-tx-power <dBm>.
If wireless clients still report that they see low signal levels for the APs, check that the AP’s antennas are correctly
connected to the AP and correctly placed according to the manufacturer’s installation guide.
Transmission Power Levels Change Too Often
Frequent changes in transmission power levels can indicate an unstable RF environment, but can also reflect
incorrect ARM or AP settings. To slow down the frequency at which the APs change their transmit power, set the
ARM Backoff Time to a higher value. If APs are using external antennas, check the Configuration > Wireless >
AP Installation > Provisioning window to make sure the APs are statically configured for the correct dBi gain,
antenna type, and antenna number. If only one external antenna is connected to its radio, you must select either
antenna number 1 or 2.
APs Detect Errors but Do Not Change Channels
First, ensure that ARM error checking is not disabled. The ARM Error Rate Threshold should be set to a
percentage higher than zero. The suggested configuration value for the ARM Error Rate Threshold is 30–50%.
APs Don’t Change Channels Due to Channel Noise
APs will only change channels due to interference if ARM noise checking is enabled. Check to verify that the
ARM Noise Threshold is set to a value higher than 0 dBm. The suggested setting for this threshold is 75 dBm.