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Copyright 2007 SpectraLink Corporation. All rights reserved

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Cisco 520 Wireless Express Mobility Controller

with 521 Wireless Express Access Points

Configuration and Deployment GuideSpectraLink's Voice Interoperability for Enterprise Wireless (VIEW) CertificationProgram is designed to ensure interoperability and high performance between NetLinkWireless Telephones and Wireless LAN infrastructure products. The products listedbelow have been thoroughly tested in SpectraLinks labs and have obtained VIEWCertification. This document details how to configure the Cisco 520 Wireless ExpressMobility Controller and 521 Wireless Express Access Points (APs) with NetLinkWireless Telephones.

Certified Product Summary

Manufacturer: CiscoSystems:www.cisco.com

Controller Access PointApproved products:

520 Wireless Express

Mobility Controller

521 Wireless Express AP

RF technology: 802.11b/g

Radio: 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g

Tested security : WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK

AP and controller software version tested: 4.1.154.23

Handset models tested: e340/h340/i640 8000 Series

Handset software tested: 89.134 122.010 or greater

Radio mode: 802.11b 802.11b 802.11g

Maximum telephone calls tested per AP: 10 10 12*

Network topology: Switched Ethernet (recommended)

Denotes products directly used in Certification Testing.

* Maximum calls tested during VIEW Certification. The certified product may actuallysupport a higher number of maximum calls for 802.11g radio modes.

Known Limitations

Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) must be disabled in order for NetLink WirelessTelephones to work properly.

Heavy multicast, broadcast or push-to-talk (PTT) traffic may impair voice quality. Voice and data must be separated onto separate service set identifiers (SSIDs) to

obtain the best voice performance.

http://www.cisco.com/http://www.cisco.com/http://www.cisco.com/http://www.cisco.com/

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Network Topology

The following configuration was tested during VIEW Certification.

It is important to note that this configuration is not necessarily applicable toall customer environments.

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Configuring a New Controller Starting from Factory Defaults

1. Initial provisioning of the controller is done via the command line interface (CLI).Connect a serial cable between the console port of the controller and the serial portof a PC.

2. Open a terminal program, such as Hyper Terminal, and configure the port settings to9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit.

3. Power-on the controller. Status of the controllers boot process will appear as thecontroller is powering up. Once the controller is running, it will prompt you to runthe Startup Wizard.

4. The Startup Wizard provides for an easy means to perform initial controller setupand provisioning. Refer to theQuick Start Guide: Cisco 526 Wireless ExpressMobility Controllerfound at Ciscos website. This document contains a detailedexplanation of using the Startup Wizard:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.html

5. Once the controller has been configured via the Startup Wizard, the remainingconfiguration can be configured through the switch-web interface using a Webbrowser (Cisco recommends using MS IE 6.0+).

Connecting to the Controller via a Browser

1. Connect to the controller by pointing your internet browser to the URL:https:// (where is the IP address of the managementinterface of the controller).

2. Click the Login prompt. The default User Name and Password is admin.3. Once logged in properly, a page similar to the one below displays.

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Installing Software

1. Make sure that the VIEW Certified version of software is installed on the controller.From the main menu, clickMonitor.

2. In the navigation pane, clickSummary. The heading labeled SoftwareVersionshowsthe current software version.3. Download the appropriate software for your model of controller from the Cisco

website.

4. Set up a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server running on a PC to downloadthe file to the controller.

5. Connect to the controller via a Web browser.6. From the main menu,clickCommands.7. In the navigation pane, clickDownloadFile.8. For FileType, select Code.9. For TFTPServer, type in theIP Address of the TFTP server.

10. Add the FilePath (this is the path in the TFTP servers root directory and not thesystem path where the TFTP server is located) and FileName of the firmware file todownload.

11. Click the Download button.12. Allow a few minutes for the download to complete.

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Controller Setup

The initial setup of the controller is shown below.

The setup instructions outlined in this document are for the configuration

shown in the diagram only. Your configuration may differ, and theappropriate adjustments must be made.

It is not necessary to configure each AP individually. The controller is capableof provisioning the APs.

1. From the main menu, clickController.2. Set the LWAPPTransportMode to Layer 3. (This setting is for proper

communication between the controller and the APs only. It does not enable L3roaming of wireless handsets).

3. Set the EthernetMulticastMode to Multicast and enter a multicast IP address that iscurrently not being used on your network for the MulticastGroupAddress.

4. Click the Apply button.5. ClickSave Configuration.

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Connecting APs

As the APs are connected to the network, they should automatically find the controllervia the LWAPP discovery algorithms. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol(DHCP) server will assign each AP an IP address.

You can configure a DHCP server to run on a remote PC for a smalldeployment. However, for large-scale deployments, an enterprise-gradeDHCP server must be used.

The ap-manager and management interfaces configuration should include the DHCPserver you have configured. Alternately, you can configure the DHCP server internallyon the controller to hand out leases to the connected clients. (Note: The controllersDHCP server does not lease addresses to the AP.) The instructions for doing so areincluded at the end of this document.

1. From the main menu, clickController.2. In the navigation pane, clickInterfaces. Verify that the proper IP addresses are

assigned to the interfaces.

3. Under Interface Name clickmanagement.

4. Under DHCP Information, enter the IP address of the Primary DHCP Server.5. Repeat this step for the ap-manager interface.6. Click the Apply button and save the changes.

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AP Configuration

1. Power-on and connect the APs to the network. Wait a few minutes for the APs tofind the controller.

2. Verify the APs are associated to the controller.3. From the main menu, clickMonitor.Configuration for NetLink Wireless Telephones running in 802.11b or 802.11gmode

1. From the main menu, clickWireless.2. In the navigation pane, under Access Points select Radios, then select 802.11b/g.

All the APs that are connected should be listed, showing their Operational Status asUP.

3. Select Configure from the drop-down list for the access point you wish to change.

Global settings for RF Channel Assignment and Tx Power LevelAssignmentwere not tested during VIEW Certification. For CustomTxPower and RFChannel settings please consult your facilitys RF site survey optimized forwireless voice traffic to determine correct power and channel settings foreach AP using only channels 1, 6 and 11.

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4. Set AdminStatus to Enable.5. Configure any other settings that might be relevant to your deployment as needed.6. Click the Apply button to save all changes.

7. Two sets of 802.11 radio configuration instructions follow. Use the instructions thatapply to the 802.11 configuration of the NetLink Wireless Telephones in yourfacility.

a. When using NetLink e340/h340/i640 or 8000 Series Wireless Telephonesconfigured for 802.11b & b/g mixed mode.

b. When using NetLink 8000 Series Wireless Telephones configured for802.11 g-only.

NetLink Wireless Telephones do not support dynamic power and will not

utilize the information element that is set when DTPC Support is enabled.Handset power should be configured to match the highest transmit power ofthe APs.

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When using NetLink e340/h340/i640 or 8000 Series Wireless Telephonesconfigured for 802.11b & b/g mixed mode

1. In the navigation pane under 802.11b/g, select Network.2. For 802.11b/g Network Status select the Enabled check box.3. If other 802.11g clients are present on the network, select the Enabledcheck box for

802.11g Supportand verify none of the OFDM rates are set as Mandatory.

4. For setting up the Data Rates, please consult your facilitys RF site survey, designedfor voice traffic, to determine if you have sufficient coverage to support all datarates. NetLink Wireless Telephones require the following minimum dBm reading tosupport the correspondingMandatory data rate setting in the access point.

802.11Radio Standard Minimum AvailableSignal Strength (RSSI) MaximumMandatory Data Rate-70 dBm 1 Mb/s

802.11b

-60 dBm 11 Mb/s

-63 dBm 6 Mb/s802.11g

-47 dBm 54 Mb/s

For additional details on RF deployment please see the DeployingEnterprise-Grade Wi-Fi Telephonydocument at:http://www.spectralink.com/resources/white_papers.jsp.

5. Use the default FragmentationThreshold (2346 bytes).6. Set the BeaconPeriod to 100.7. Set the DTIMInterval to 2 (to ensure the best PTT performance).8. Click the Apply button to save the settings.

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When using NetLink 8000 Series Wireless Telephones configured for802.11 g-only

1. In the navigation pane under 802.11b/g, select Network.2. For 802.11b/g Network Status and 802.11g Support, select the Enabled check box.3. For setting up the Data Rates, please consult your facilitys RF site survey, designed

for voice traffic, to determine if you have sufficient coverage to support all datarates. NetLink Wireless Telephones require the following minimum dBm reading tosupport the correspondingMandatory data rate setting in the access point.

802.11Radio Standard Minimum AvailableSignal Strength (RSSI) MaximumMandatory Data Rate-70 dBm 1 Mb/s

802.11b-60 dBm 11 Mb/s

-63 dBm 6 Mb/s802.11g

-47 dBm 54 Mb/s

For additional details on RF deployment please see the DeployingEnterprise-Grade Wi-Fi Telephonydocument at:http://www.spectralink.com/resources/white_papers.jsp.

4. Use the default FragmentationThreshold (2346 bytes).5. Set the BeaconPeriod to 100.6. Set the DTIMInterval to 2 (to ensure the best PTT performance).

NetLink Wireless Telephones do not support dynamic power and will not

utilize the information element that is set when DTPC Support is enabled.Handset power should be configured to match the highest transmit power ofthe APs.

7. Click the Apply button to save the settings.

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Setting up the SSID

It is required for voice and data to be on separate SSIDs to prioritize voice traffic. Thevoice SSID must be set to Platinum for Quality of Service and the data SSID must be setto Silver for QualityofService.

1. From the main menu, clickWLANs.2. In the WLANs screen, click the New. button.

3. Enter the Profile Name and SSID for a voice and data SSID.4. Click the Apply button.

5. Select the Profile Name for the voice SSID.6. Under the Generaltab, set the RadioPolicy to 802.11b/g only.7. Set WLANStatus to Enabled.

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8. Under the QoStab, set QualityofService to Platinum. (Note: This is the requiredsetting for voice traffic.)

9. Set WMMPolicy to Disabled. (Note: This is required for usage with NetLink WirelessTelephones.)

10. Under the Securitytab, select the desired security policy (either WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK) and enter all required options.

11. Click the Apply button to save all changes.

WEP was not tested during VIEW Certification. WEP is supported by boththe LAPs and the NetLink Wireless Telephones.

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Enabling SpectraLink Voice Priority (SVP) on the Controller and

Access Points

SpectraLink packets must be given priority in order to enable SVP on the controller.

1. Use a console cable to access the controller CLI. In admin mode enter configadvanced edca-parameters svp-voice. This command will enable QoS forSpectraLink packets.

2. To bring the priority change into effect, the radios on the APs will need to bedisabled and re-enabled. Accomplish this through the GUI configuration interface ofthe controller.

3. From the main menu clickWireless.4. In the navigation pane under 802.11b/g select Network.5. Disable the 802.11b/g Network Status and click the Applybutton.6. Re-enable the 802.11b/g Network Status and click the Apply button.7. To verify the QoS change has taken effect, use the console cable to connect to the

APs. Entershow controllers d0 to show the edca-parameters for the 802.11b/gradio. The output should display the following if the SVP edca-parameters areenabled:

Back: cw-min 4 cw-max 10 fixed-slot 7 admission-control Off txop 0

Best: cw-min 4 cw-max 6 fixed-slot 3 admission-control Off txop 0

Video: cw-min 3 cw-max 4 fixed-slot 3 admission-control Off txop 3008

Voice: cw-min 0 cw-max 3 fixed-slot 2 admission-control Off txop 1504

Further Assistance

1. An installation and configuration guide for the 520 Wireless Express MobilityController can be found on Ciscos website:http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.html

2. For other assistance, contact either Ciscos or SpectraLinks customer service at:www.cisco.comorhttp://www.spectralink.com/consumer/index.jsp

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/http://www.spectralink.com/consumer/index.jsphttp://www.spectralink.com/consumer/index.jsphttp://www.cisco.com/http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/526/quick/guide/526cqsg.html