User's Manual

Exalt Installation and Management Guide
ExtendAir
®
(TDD) Series Direct Mount
000000-001 7
2011-08-26
Outdoor-rated and shielded CAT5 cable, such as Beldon 1300A, with RJ-45 or RJ-48C connectors is
recommended for the Ethernet and/or TDM connections. For Ethernet connections, a maximum length
of 100 meters applies to the total length of the cabling between the radio terminal and the first
network-aware connection (such as a switch or router).
Initial Configuration and Back-to-Back Bench Test
Every Exalt digital microwave radio goes through extensive quality testing and performance
evaluation over the full operating temperature range prior to shipment. However, before installation, it
is strongly advised to perform several tests and tasks that are much more difficult to perform once the
radio link endpoints are distant from one another. A back-to-back bench test and pre-configuration will
provide confidence that the radio link is operational and properly configured prior to installation, so
that if troubleshooting is necessary, the radio hardware and configuration settings are eliminated from
the troubleshooting process. Verify the following in the back-to-back testing:
• Confirm that the radio system is generally operational
– Radios power-up with planned power and wiring solutions
– Radio firmware version matches on each terminal (and is ideally the latest version)
– Upgrade license key entry successful
– RF link connects in both directions
– Traffic passes across the link
– Configure connected equipment and cabling
– Test Ethernet (CAT5) cabling, and/or T1/E1 cabling, any auxiliary connector cabling and
configure all interfaces
– Configure IP settings for configuration and management
– Configure passwords and security modes
– Become familiar with the configuration and management interfaces through the Exalt GUI
interface
– Configure radio parameters
– Set transmitter output power to engineered or allowed level (see RF Output Power Setting
)
– Set operating center frequency
– Set link distance, occupied channel bandwidth, and frame length
• Make detailed radio performance measurements
– Measure transmitter output power
– Measure receiver threshold performance
– Confirm unfaded error-free performance
Some of these tasks may not be possible or practical within a bench test environment due to the nature
of the remote connectivity of peripheral equipment. However, it is good practice to perform as much as
possible in this environment to minimize field/installation time and troubleshooting efforts.
Detailed performance measurements are usually not required for pre-installation, but can be easily
performed at this stage and may be helpful for later troubleshooting efforts or for internal records.
During troubleshooting, there may often be a point at which a back-to-back bench test should be