Planet Network Device WAP-5100 User Manual page 32

Step 2: Set the parameters for testing
The calculation of the antenna alignment is conducted by the following procedure:
Bridge A sends a packet to Bridge B
When Bridge B successfully receives the packet from Bridge A, it will automatically echo the packet
back.
When Bridge A receives the packet echoed back by Bridge B, it can calculate the throughput and
can present it as PPS (packets per second) and KBPS (kilobytes per second). The higher the
throughput is, the better alignment is achieved.
Since every installation is different (for example, the difference in distance, temperature, humidity,
and alignment angle) no standard reference can be given.
The user can specify the following parameters for each test:
Packet Length: Ranges from a minimum of 64 bytes to a maximum of 1514 bytes, as Ethernet
does. The larger the packet size is, the higher the error rate is likely to be.
Packet Count: The packet number to be sent during the test. The larger the packet count is, the
more time the test will take.
Peer Bridge: In a Point to Multi-Point application environment, all the wireless bridges configured
to communicate with each other are shown in the pull-down Peer Bridge box. A peer bridge has to
be specified by indicating its MAC address before starting the antenna alignment test. The selected
bridge must be set up to be able to communicate with the bridge initializing the alignment test.
Tips in setting the parameters:
- Rough alignment: When the bridges are first set up, the antennas of the bridges are not
yet aligned under an optimum condition. It is recommended to use a shorter size and a
smaller packet count to perform the test so that test results can be obtained quickly.
- Fine Alignment: Once the test reveals that the antenna is just about aligned, enter a longer
packet size and larger packet count for the fine alignment.
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