Channel Management - Cisco WAP551 Administration Manual

Single Point Setup

Channel Management

Channel Management
Cisco Small Business WAP551 and WAP561 Wireless-N Access Point
A MAC address is a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network.
• Idle—The amount of time this WLAN client has remained inactive.
A WLAN client is considered to be inactive when it is not receiving or transmitting data.
• Rate—The negotiated data rate. Actual transfer rates can vary depending on overhead.
The data transmission rate is measured in megabits per second (Mbps). The value
should fall within the range of the advertised rate set for the mode in use on the access
point. For example, 6 to 54 Mbps for 802.11a.
• Signal—The strength of the radio frequency (RF) signal the WLAN client receives from
the access point. The measure is known as Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI),
and is a value between 0 and 100.
• Rx Total—The number of total packets received by the WLAN client during the current
session.
• Tx Total—The number of total packets transmitted to the WLAN client during this
session.
• Error Rate—The percentage of time frames are dropped during transmission on this
access point.
To sort the information shown in the tables by a particular indicator, click the column label you
want to sort by. For example, if you want to see the table rows ordered by signal strength, click
the Signal column label.
The Channel Management page shows the current and planned channel assignments for WAP
devices in a Single Point Setup cluster.
When channel management is enabled, the WAP device automatically assigns radio channels
used by WAP devices in a Single Point Setup cluster. Automatic channel assignment reduces
mutual interference (or interference with other WAP devices outside of its cluster) and
maximizes Wi-Fi bandwidth to help maintain efficient communication over the wireless
network.
The automatic channel assignment feature is disabled by default. The state of channel
management (enabled or disabled) is propagated to the other devices in the Single Point Setup
cluster.
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