Brian Vargyas Baltic Networks USA MUM USA Sept 11, … Intro with RouterOS.pdfMIKROTIK MUM USA 2014 3 Who Am I? • Owner of Baltic Networks, your Midwest distribution partner for

1

802.11ac Introduction

with Mikrotik RouterOS

Brian Vargyas – Baltic Networks USA

MUM USA – Sept 11, 2014

2MIKROTIK MUM USA 2014

Overview of this Presentation

• Brief Introduction

• Introduction to 802.11ac

• Benefits of “ac” over “n”

• Indoor vs Outdoor

• RouterOS 802.11ac Specifics

• RouterOS Configuration


Who Am I?

• Owner of Baltic Networks, your Midwest distribution partner for over 25 different manufacturers.

• Involved in the telecommunications industry since 1985. A ISP/WISP owner/operator for 12+ years.

• Dedicated to solving unique problems through innovation.


History of 802.11

• 802.11a/b/g (Peak Data Rates to 54Mbps)

• 802.11n (Peak Data Rates to 600Mbps)

• 802.11ac (Peak Data Rates of 6.93Gbps!)

• 8 Spatial Streams

• 256 QAM modulation

• 160 Mhz Bandwidth Channel Size

• Not Really Useful for Enterprise Deployments (Large Channel Sizes)


802.11ac Categories of Usage

• Wireless Displays

• In Home Distribution of HDTV

• Rapid Upload/Download of Large Files

• Point to Point Backhaul Traffic

• Campus and Large Venue Deployments

• Manufacturing Floor Automation


802.11ac and 5Ghz

• 5Ghz Band Operation Only

• 25 Non-Overlapping Channels (20Mhz)

• Introduces 80Mhz and 160Mhz Channel Sizes


2.4Ghz Stuck in 2013?

Not Enough Spectrum to Operate In!


Wider Bandwidth = Higher Rates

* Graphic © Qualcomm


Higher Order Modulation

* Graphic © Qualcomm


256-QAM

• Requires 802.11ac and client!

• Efficiency gain in modulation does not increase linearly

• Higher-order modulation adds complexity, which requires higher SNR

• Comes at a cost of distance……


Constellation Diagram

* Images from Ruckus Wireless


Larger Frame SizesThroughput does not equal data rate!

* Images from Ruckus Wireless


The Future - Wave 1 vs Wave 2• Today – Wave 1 (Today’s 802.11ac)

• 33% Gain

• Twice the Capacity

• 3 Spatial Streams

• 2015 – Wave 2 (In-Testing Chipsets)

• Wave 1 Features

• 160Mhz Channels

• 3+ Spatial Streams

• MU-MIMO


MU-MIMO

• Transmits Simultaneous Downlink Frames to Different Clients.

• Significant Capacity Enhancements with many single-stream devices.

• Requires 802.11ac MU-MIMO clients

• Benefits Indoor clients with 1x1

• Outdoor 2x2 operation, unknown benefits


Single User vs Multi-User MIMO


Dynamic Bandwidth Management

• 802.11ac Introduces this new concept

• Really good for channel sizes >20Mhz

• Allows some traffic, even in adjacent channel interference.

802.11ac Dynamic Mode

802.11n No Transmission


Minimum Receiver Sensitivity

• Loss of 7 dBm from 64-QAM to 256-QAM


Channel Planning

Note: Red Areas are Channels Not Permitted


Mikrotik 802.11ac Platforms

RB953GS-5HnT

+ R11e-5HacD

Atheros QCA9882

2 x 2 MIMO

RB922UAGS-5HPacD

Atheros QCA9882

2 x 2 MIMO

RB911G-5HPacD

Atheros QCA9882

2 x 2 MIMO

+


Outdoor Signal and Receive Sensitivity

Tx/Rx Sen 802.11nRB912

802.11acRB922

MCS 7 (64qam) 24dBm/-78dBm 27dBm/-77dBm

MCS 9 (256qam) N/A 22dBm/-72dBm

• From 802.11n -> 802.11ac

• Tx 24dBm to 22dBm = Loss of 2dBm

• From 802.11n -> 802.11ac

• Rx -78dBm to -72dBm = Loss of 6dBm

• Total Loss of TX and RX = 8dBm!

• About Difference of 2’ vs 3’ Dish


3x3 MIMO Hard in Outdoor Environment

• Really need polarity isolation of >30dBm

• Less then that will cause some self interference.

• Antenna designs beyond 2 x 2 are expensive

• Slant antenna designs with combined horizontal and vertical components have can less then 30dBm of isolation

H

VS


RouterOS NV2

• Unless compatibility is required with 3rd party devices, recommended to use NV2 protocol mode.

• NV2 is a TDMA mode that uses solves the 802.11 hidden node problem and will scale in a much busier network. Even PtP links will benefit from consistent latency.


.ac in RouterOS

• V6.16 Introduced 802.11ac (July-17th)

• V6.18 Provided Minor Fixes

• V6.19 Improvements to NV2 and 802.11ac

• Wireless-FP Package (Default on .ac systems)


CAPsMANager

• Provides unique way to manage hundreds of access points (CAPs) via a single system (MANager)

• Template Based

• Works at Layer 2 or Layer 3

• Dump client traffic at local CAP or tunnel to MANager

• VLAN Aware

• Requires wireless-fp package

• Perfect for managing new 802.11ac channels


Wireless AP Setting Change

• Big Changes in 802.11 Channel-Width

802.11n Device

802.11ac Device


Now 80Mhz Channels!

YA!


C vs E? Huh?

• C = Center Channel Frequency

• E = Extension Channels

• Options are: Ceee, eCee, eeCe, eeeC

e e C e


Fastpath It!

• Improve your wireless with new hardware queue feature!

• Changes the wireless interface to only use hardware queue, not software… Less CPU!

• Supported in V6.16+ wireless-fp


Configuration Examples


Access Point Configuration


Station Configuration


NV2 Settings – Link Encryption


Add Bridge And Allow Fast Path


Add Ports to Bridge Group


Set up Wireless Fast Path


Verify Link Connected


Tx/Rx Rate Information

Speed and

Channel Size

2S = 2 Streams

3S = 3 Streams

SGI = Short Guard

Interval


Summary Tips:• Keep Signal Levels in the -40’s to -50’s, Low

SNR helps keep modulation rates high

• Don’t overdrive the receiver

• Use lowest channel size the application calls for (Be a good bandwidth neighbor)

• Use fastpath feature to decrease system load

• Stick with high pole isolation antenna designs

• No more 8 mile CPE installs! 2-3 miles Max!


Questions?Live Demonstration

Documents

Brian Vargyas Baltic Networks USA MUM USA Sept 11, … Intro with RouterOS.pdfMIKROTIK MUM USA 2014 3 Who Am I? • Owner of Baltic Networks, your Midwest distribution partner for