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Use the Radio Diagnostics page to test antenna alignment between
two devices and to examine the radio spectrum in which the device
operates. The antenna alignment test helps you find the best alignment
for the device’s antenna, and the carrier test helps you determine
which radio frequencies contain the most radio activity and noise
that could interfere with radio signals to and from the device.
Note The access point performs the carrier test for the
internal radio only; it does not perform the carrier test for the
radio module.
Antenna Alignment Test Timeout (sec)
From the pull-down menu, choose the number of seconds you want
the alignment test to run. Choose a test duration of 15, 30, 45,
or 60 seconds.
Antenna Alignment Test
The antenna alignment test measures signal quality between the
bridge/access point and other wireless networking devices. For best
results during the antenna alignment test, turn off all wireless
networking devices within range of the device except the device(s)
with which you are trying to align the antenna. Watch the constantly
updated display in the Alignment Test window as you adjust the antenna.
You can run the antenna alignment test only on bridges configured
with the following Role in Radio Network settings:
- Non-root bridge with clients
- Non-root bridge without clients
- Repeater access point
- Site survey client
To run the antenna alignment test on a root bridge or a root access
point, change the Role in Radio Network setting on the Express
Setup page.
The Antenna Alignment Test window appears when you click the Start
Antenna Alignment Test button, and the device begins to send
broadcast probe packets. Wireless networking devices with the same
SSID as the bridge send probe responses to the bridge, and the bridge
measures the quality of the signal between the devices.
Click Stop Test in the window or on the Bridge Diagnostics
page to stop the test.
The columns provide the following information:
- ID -- The sequence number of the
data sample. The most recent sample appears at the top of the
column.
- Name -- The system name of each device
in the alignment test.
- Address -- The MAC address of each
device in the alignment test.
- Signal Strength -- The signal strength
between the bridge and the device. The left side of the Strength
column displays the percentage of signal strength between the
bridge and the other device, and the right side of the column
displays signal strength in dBm.
- Signal Quality -- The quality of
the signal link between the bridge and the device.
Carrier Test
The carrier test measures the amount of radio activity on each
frequency available to the device. Use the carrier test to determine
the best frequency for the device to use. When you conduct a carrier
test, make sure all wireless networking devices within range of
the device are operating to make the test results reflect a realistic
radio environment.
When you click the Start Carrier Test button,
the radio scans the device’s available frequencies and displays
the radio activity in the Bridge Carrier Test window. The bridge
drops all associations with wireless networking devices during the
carrier test.
The bar graph on the left side of the window displays the percentage
used for each frequency; the highest current percentage used is
labeled on the top left of the graph. The device’s available frequencies
are listed vertically across the bottom of the graph, from 2412
to 2462 GHz. The device’s channel 1 is 2412 GHz, channel 2 is 2417
GHz, and so on up to channel 11, which is 2462 GHz. The bar graph
on the right side of the window displays the amount of noise on
each frequency in dBm.
Click Stop Test in the window or on the Bridge Diagnostics
page to stop the test.
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