Fortress Technologies BreadCrumb Wireless Network Physical Placement and Other Considerations

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Chapter 4. Deployment Considerations

In some cases, however, it is necessary to manually set the radios to speciﬁc channels as described below.

Channel Assignment for Single-Radio BreadCrumb Devices (ME and WE)

Single-radio BreadCrumb devices (models ME and WE) present a challenge for deployments in which those BreadCrumb devices are needed to provide critical links within a mesh. For these deployments, it is imperative that any BreadCrumb devices with which the ME or WE is to mesh have a channel in common with the ME or WE.

The upshot of this is that the ME/WE and its intended peers should have their radio channels set manually in order to ensure common channels.

Channel Assignment for Long-Range BreadCrumb Devices (XL, XLV, XLE)

Long-range BreadCrumb devices include additional circuitry that is permanently tuned to 802.11b channels 1 and 11. For these BreadCrumb devices, radio 1 must always be set to channel 1 and radio 2 must always be set to channel 11.

Physical Placement and Other Considerations

Commonly occurring environmental factors have a signiﬁcant impact on performance and behavior of the BreadCrumb Wireless Network. LOS (Line of Sight) obstructions, distance, weather, and device placement should all be considered when deploying a wireless network.

802.11b wireless operation degrades gracefully as distance increases between nodes or as interference becomes prominent. This manifests as a data rate reduction between nodes.

The goal in planning and deploying a BreadCrumb Wireless Network is to maximize both coverage and the data transfer rate between devices. These can be maximized by taking into consideration all of the contributing factors described in this section.

Line Of Sight

Unobstructed LOS is critical for optimal performance of the BCWN. Partial LOS obstructions results in noticeable network performance degradation. Total LOS obstruction can result in complete loss of network connectivity.

Elevating the device and external antenna will assist in providing better LOS. This can allow the radio waves to travel over possible obstructions. In an open area, at least two meters (six feet) of antenna elevation are recommended.

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Contents Rajant Corporation For the BreadCrumb Wireless Network ReleasePage Table of Contents Conﬁguration Examples Using BCAdminTroubleshooting List of Figures List of TablesUser Information PrefacePurpose and Scope Introduction What is a BreadCrumb?Example Mobility through MeshingMesh a Deﬁnition BreadCrumb Devices Mesh by Channel and EssidMeshing Example 1 Full Connectivity Upgrading to Version New Features Performance / Process ImprovementsIssues Resolved Known IssuesUpgrading to Version Installing / Upgrading BCAdminUpgrading BreadCrumb Firmware Version 3 Power Input Flash Update Procedure for Version 2 and Version 3 SystemsUpgrading to Version XLV XLE ModelsAvailable BreadCrumb Models BreadCrumb MEModels BreadCrumb WE External ConnectorsBreadCrumb SE BreadCrumb WE External ConnectorsBreadCrumb XL BreadCrumb SE External ConnectorsBreadCrumb XLV BreadCrumb XL External ConnectorBreadCrumb XLE BreadCrumb XLV External ConnectorsBreadCrumb XLE External Connectors front BreadCrumb Device Addresses Deployment ConsiderationsAddressing Channel AssignmentsDeployment Considerations Physical Placement and Other ConsiderationsLine Of Sight Distance Device power To Device power DistanceBest-Case Distances by Radio Power Altitude WeatherInterference Screen Layout Using BCAdminTopology Area Using BCAdminBreadCrumb Device Name Anatomy of the BreadCrumb BoxNumber of Clients Time Since Last UpdateAnatomy of the Client Box Number of Peers802.11b Channel Line Color Anatomy of a Connection LineBCAdmin Line Styles Legend Redundant Connection Example Info AreaLink Detail Tabs Conﬁguring Individual BreadCrumbsLocation General SettingsName TypeAirFortress Encryption AES-256 and Set Access ID Using BCAdmin ColorBattery Warning minutes Manual GPS Settings Latitude and LongitudeMesh Radio SettingsAccess Point ChannelEthernet Reachback SettingsReachback Interface NoneAutomatic Using BCAdmin RadioRadio 2 ad hoc ModeWEP Key Using BCAdmin Gateway IngressDisabled Alternate Gateway11. BreadCrumb Properties Forwarding Tab Forwarding SettingsExample Port Forwarding Conﬁguration for a Web Server SecurityKey Access Control Lists ACLsWEP Allow by default deny only forbidden devices Deny by default allow only permitted devicesRegistering AirFortress AES-256 Encryption with AirFortress14. Set Access ID Window Setting the Access IDEnabling/Disabling AirFortress Encryption Encrypting Wired TrafﬁcZeroizing the Access ID Harris SecNET11BreadCrumb inactivity threshold seconds BCAdmin PreferencesSecNet11 Key Filling Mapping with Fugawi Tracker Encrypted Point-to-Point Connecting Remote Wired LANsConﬁguration Examples Unencrypted Point-to-MultipointConﬁguration Examples Convoy with UAV-Based Camera for Forward ObservationEncrypting a Video Feed Conﬁguration Examples Sporadic Network Connectivity TroubleshootingBreadCrumb Wireless Network Individual BreadCrumbsBreadCrumb Device Cannot Connect to Bcwn Sporadic Network Connectivity IssuesBreadCrumb-BCWN Connectivity Issues BCAdminRestoring Default Settings Factory Reset TroubleshootingFactory Reset Button Joint Exercise Network Case Study Military Exercise in ThailandCase Study Military Exercise in Thailand BCAdmin screen during exercise showing BreadCrumb networkBalloon with Camera and BreadCrumb BreadCrumb / BreadCrumb Device BCAdminGlossary 802.11bPending peer MAC AddressPeer Reachback Table A-1. LED Status Indications Appendix A. Status Indicator LEDColor Blinking/Solid Status Table B-1 .11b Channel Frequency Table Appendix B. Radio Frequencies802.11b Channel Frequency GHz Appendix C. Customer Service