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Sakid Ahmed
Moderator ePMP Optimization Parameters [ Edited ] OPTIONS

02-05-2015 01:32 PM - last edited on 08-06-2015 11:29 AM by

Cambium_Marty
Posts: 221
Registered: 10-03-2013
Abstract
Purpose of op miza on guide is to help improve and/or debug exis ng EPMP network performance from RF
perspec ve. EPMP AP and SM comes with default se ngs for all parameters. However to get good performance under
dierent condi ons, it is important to tweak default values to what will be suitable for deployment. This guide lists some
important parameters which are usually confusing and important to change as per requirements.
By: Dhaval Chaudhari
Fixed Mode Vs. Flexible Mode of Opera on:
User can select xed or exible mode of opera on on AP under Congura on >> Radio tab.

For Fixed mode of opera on, select either 75/25, 50/50 or 30/70. These three modes will allow radio to operate in
xed Downlink and Uplink ra o with or without GPS sync (Depends if GPS sync is enabled or not). In other words,
this ra o represents the dura on of transmit and receive cycle within TDD frame.
In Flexible mode of opera on, radio dynamically selects Downlink and Uplink resources every frame based on
trac demands. Flexible mode gives more throughput and lower latency. However radio operates in unsynchronized
mode as explained later in the document (NO GPS Sync)
If AP is in sector or in range of another AP, it is recommended to use GPS sync i.e. user should select one of three
Downlink/Uplink Ra os and should be congured same on all APs in cluster or nearby APs to avoid overlapping RF
transmissions resul ng in system interference.
Synchronized vs. Unsynchronized mode of opera on:
This feature is supported on GPS synchronized units only. GPS sync can be enabled by naviga ng to Congura on >>
Radio tab.

When AP is deployed in Cluster or in vicinity of other EPMP APs it is a good prac ce to use GPS sync to avoid self-
interference. To enable GPS sync select either GPS or CMM as a sync source as per availability. GPS synchroniza on
is supported in xed mode of opera on (xed TDD ra o) as explained above
In Flexible mode of opera on GPS synchroniza on is not supported and AP will switch to internal mode i.e. no GPS
sync.
When doing RF Planning for the deployment of collocated APs with channel reuse, it is recommended to use a
channel reuse pa ern as recommended in the ePMP ABAB frequency reuse deployment document
(h ps://support.cambiumnetworks.com/les/epmp/).
PTP mode of opera on:
User can select PTP only mode from AP radio page (under Congura on >> Radio) as shown in screenshot below.
For PTP link it is recommended to select this mode. For many countries regula ons are dierent for PTP and PMP
mode (E.g. Transmit power, EIRP).
 For PTP mode, it is recommended not to re-use frequencies that are being used on the nearby PMP clusters.
If there are no other ePMP sectors in nearby area, it is recommended to use exible mode. (Flexible mode provides
low latency and more throughput)
Subscriber Module Target Received Level: (TRL)
Each SMs transmi er output power is automa cally set by the AP. The AP monitors received power from each SM
and adjusts each SMs transmi er output power so that received power at the AP from the SM is not greater than
what is congured in SM Target Received Power Level. These automa c power adjustments ensure that the SM is
not transmi ng excessive energy (raising system noise level) and that the SM is able to achieve an op mal
modula on state (and maximum achievable throughput).
Nominally, target receive levels must be set lesser than -60 dBm in order to prevent interference from co-located co-
channel sectors.
This parameter is located on access point under Congura on >> Radio tab

In Fixed TDD ra o mode, since GPS synchroniza on is supported, minimizing self-interference is important. In this
scenario this parameter should be set to the lowest value possible so as to keep the SM Transmit power to a
minimum to lower the noise oor/self-interference but at the same me allow the SMs to transmit at the highest
possible MCS. For Co-located APs reusing same channels this is important parameter and should be set same on all
APs. Recommended and default value in such scenarios is -60dBm. (Low enough to prevent self-interference but
high enough to allow SM that can reach such target RSSI to operate at MCS15).
In exible mode, self-interference is s ll a challenge as the ePMP radio is not using GPS synchroniza on. However, it
is s ll good prac ce to keep the self-generated noise to a minimum noise oor so as not to cause interference with
other sectors on the same tower or nearby towers. This value should be approximately -50dBm.
Sensi vity for MCS15 is around -64dBm for 20MHz. Default value of TRL is -60dBm. This value may not be good
enough in noisy/interference environment. Set this to -50dBm in case of lower throughput than what is expected at
MCS15 OR wireless link is not opera ng at MCS15. Please note if lowering TRL value do not help set this back in
range from -50dBm to -60dBm. Do not set this value to -40dBm it will cause all SMs to transmit at higher power to
meet this value increasing noise oor for all nearby sectors.
Max Range
Max Range parameter can be congured from Congura on >> Radio tab

Enter a number of miles or kilometers for the furthest distance from which an SM is allowed to register to this AP.
Do not set the distance to any greater number of miles. A greater distance:
Does not increase the power of transmission from the AP.
Can reduce aggregate throughput.
Regardless of this distance, the SM must meet the minimum requirements for an acceptable link. The AP will reject
any SM network entry a empts from outside the congured maximum range. Default value is 3 miles.
This parameter is set based on farthest SM being deployed. Calculate distance of farthest subscriber module using
Link Planner or any other suitable tools. Set this value 1 to 2 miles higher than calculated number. Do not set this
parameter to max value as it will waste me allocated for data transmission when it is not needed.
Network Entry RSSI Threshold:
This parameter is located on Subscriber Module under Congura on >> Radio tab

This parameter represents the minimum Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) required at the SM for the SM to
a empt registra on with AP. Main purpose of this parameter is to prevent SM with poor link quality from registering
to an AP.
If all Subscriber Modules are expected to have good link budget of -60 to -70dBm and hence a good link quality,
leave this value to default.
If SMs being deployed are at long distance from AP where link budget is close to -75dBm to -80dBm, Network Entry
RSSI Threshold should be set to lower value. E.g. -85dBm.
However, it is recommended not to deploy SMs with low link quality (RSSI) as it may result in an unstable link.
Customer should explore op ons of adding another AP to improve coverage of such Subscriber Modules.
Network Entry SNR Threshold:
 This parameter is located on Subscriber Module under Congura on >> Radio tab

This parameter represents the minimum Signal to Noise Ra o (SNR) required at the SM for the SM to a empt
registra on with AP. Purpose of this parameter is to not allow SMs to register that are not in the APs sector. Main
purpose of this parameter is to prevent SM with low SNR from registering to an AP
If all Subscriber Modules are expected to have good SNR, leave this value to default.
If SMs being deployed are at long distance from AP where SNR is low, Set Network Entry Threshold to lower value
e.g. 10dB.
However, it is recommended not to deploy SMs with such a low SNR as it may result in an unstable link. Customer
should explore op ons of adding another AP to improve coverage of such Subscriber Modules.
Management Packet Rate:
This parameter can be congured from Congura on >> Radio tab

EPMP AP allows user to set MCS (modula on) of management packets. Default is MCS1.
User can set this value to MCS0 if deployment is in really noisy environment.
If event log is shows GPFs lost messages, user can switch MCS of management packets from default value to MCS0.
MCS0 will be more tolerant to noisy environment than MCS1 and can prevent SMs from losing session in noisy
environments.
Transmit power and antenna gain:
This parameter can be congured from Congura on >> Radio tab

Antenna gain value should be set based on the antenna being used.
Please note se ng antenna gain to value higher than actual antenna gain does not mean increase in total output
power. It may decrease radios actual transmit power to meet EIRP requirements for regulatory purposes.
Set transmit power to max value allowed for country code.
Automa c Channel Selec on (ACS):
User can Enable/Disable ACS feature on AP from Congura on >> Radio tab

Automa c channel selec on feature is recommended to use when user cannot nd any specic channel with low
noise/interference from spectrum scan.
When ACS is enabled, radio will scan en re band and look for channel with lowest interference level. ACS feature is
very useful when all channels have high energy OR user do not want to run a manual spectrum analysis and select
channel manually.
It is recommended not to use ACS feature for co-located APs i.e. when AP is in a cluster with perfectly planned RF
network (e.g. frequency re-use is enabled)

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