CIsco 350 series bridges, required signal strength?

[daronwilson]

Having just installed two Cisco 350 wireless bridges, I must say they are nice units. The software is ... well... cisco like and very detailed, but very versatile. There is a signal strength program to run to aim the antennas, which is very nice. It shows a signal strength percentage, a signal level in dBm, and a signal quality. I can't find anywhere where it really shows me what the units need to communicate at what speed.

I installed and slowly backed down the transmit power of the units, checking the signal level each time. I would like to keep the power as low as necessary on the access point to avoid the chance for someone to hack in.

Anyway, is there a chart somewhere or somehting to show me what the radio needs to perform at whatever speeds?

thanks,
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[hoinvip]

Daron,

There is a calculation you can do for this. Let me know the specs of the antennas, distance between bridges, length of the cables used and your required speeds by email and I'll send you the details.

Regards,

Peter
peterh@global-net.co.uk

http://www.global-net.co.uk

 

[daronwilson]

If you are talking about the Cisco configuration software, I have it. What I am looking for is at what receive signal levels does the radio reduce speed? It would be handy to know for instance that if the signal drops to -60 that the radio drops throughput to 5 mbs.

My setup is one access point and eventually 6 bridges at various buildings. For security reasons I wish to reduce the power at the AP to as low as possible and still maintain 11 mbs. The remote bridges are all going to be 24 dbi dishes and I would also like to keep the power down on them as well.

Cisco built a wonderful little routine in there to determine signal strength, SNR and quality on the fly so you can tweak the antenna direction and peak the signal. So, I can adjust power levels and watch this display to let me know how I am doing. However, I can't find any info saying the radios specific needs before reducing throughput.

Thanks for the ideas!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com