Avaya AP-8 User manual

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Publication Information
Copyright © 2004 Avaya, Inc. All rights reserved.
Part Number: 67810/1
Document Number: 21-300142, Release 2.4.10
Date: March 2004

Regulatory Information
See the Regulatory Flyer that came with your AP-8 unit or go to the CD-
ROM to view the information.
Warranty
Avaya Inc. provides a limited warranty on this product. Refer to your
sales agreement to establish the terms of the limited warranty. In addition,
Avaya’s standard warranty language as well as information regarding
support for this product, while under warranty, is available through the
following Web site: www.avaya.com/support
Notice
While reasonable efforts were made to ensure that the information in this
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assume no responsibility for any errors. Changes and corrections to the
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reissues.

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site: http://www.avaya.com/support. If you are:
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Then click the appropriate link for the type of support you need.
• Outside the United States, click the Escalation Management link.
Then click the International Services link that includes telephone
numbers for the international Centers of Excellence.
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Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 1
AP-8 User’s Guide Table of Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Introduction to Wireless Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Site Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Guidelines for Roaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
IEEE 802.11 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
802.11b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
802.11a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
802.11g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Management and Monitoring Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
HTTP/HTTPS Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Command Line Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
SNMP Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
AP-8 Hardware Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Dual Band Range Extender Antenna Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Product Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Hardware Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
ScanTool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-29
Download the Latest Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-41

2 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Setup your TFTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-41
Download Updates from a TFTP Server using the Web Interface 2-42
Download Updates from a TFTP Server using the CLI Interface 2-43
Additional Hardware Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-44
Installing the AP in a Plenum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-44
Power over Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-44
LED Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Related Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-48
3 Status Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Logging into the HTTP Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
System Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
4 Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Configuring the AP Using the HTTP/HTTPS Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Dynamic DNS Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
IP Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
DHCP Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Link Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Operational Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
TX Power Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Wireless Interface A (802.11a Radio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Multicast Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Wireless Interface B (802.11b/g Radio). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35
Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-41

Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 3
Wireless Distribution System (WDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-41
Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-46
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-46
IP Access Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48
Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-49
Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63
Ethernet Protocol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-64
Static MAC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-65
Advanced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-74
TCP/UDP Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-75
Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-77
Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-78
Alarm Host Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-90
Syslog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-90
Bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-94
Spanning Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-95
Storm Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-95
Intra BSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-96
Packet Forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-97
RADIUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-99
MAC Access Control by Means of RADIUS Authentication . . . 4-100
RADIUS Authentication with 802.1x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-105
RADIUS Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-108
Security Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-112
Authentication and Encryption Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-112
SSID, VLAN, and Security Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-124
VLAN Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-125
VLAN Workgroups and Traffic Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-128
Typical User VLAN Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-129
Configure Multiple SSID/VLAN/Security Mode Entries . . . . . . . 4-130

4 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Typical VLAN Management Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-138
MAC Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-139
Rogue Access Point Detection (RAD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-142
5 Monitor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Logging into the HTTP Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
ICMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
IP/ARP Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Learn Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
IAPP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
RADIUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Station Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Enabling and Viewing Station Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Refreshing Station Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
6 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Logging into the HTTP Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Introduction to File Transfer via TFTP or HTTP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
TFTP File Transfer Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
HTTP File Transfer Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Image Error Checking During File Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Update AP by Using TFTP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Update AP by Using HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Upload File by Using TFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Upload File by Using HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16
Reboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21

Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 5
Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22
Help Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24
7 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Troubleshooting Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Symptoms and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Connectivity Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Basic Software Setup and Configuration Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Client Connection Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
VLAN Operation Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Power over Ethernet (PoE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Recovery Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Reset to Factory Default Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Forced Reload Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17
Setting IP Address using Serial Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
Related Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
RADIUS Authentication Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
TFTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
A Command Line Interface (CLI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
In This Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
General Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Prerequisite Skills and Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Notation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Important Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3
Navigation and Special Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5
CLI Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Command Line Interface (CLI) Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Bootloader CLI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

6 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
CLI Command Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Operational CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Parameter Control Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-23
Using Tables & User Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-32
Working with Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-32
Using Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-34
Configuring the AP using CLI commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-35
Log into the AP using HyperTerminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-35
Log into the AP using Telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-36
Set Basic Configuration Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-37
Other Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-45
Configure the AP as a DHCP Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-46
Configure the DNS Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-47
Maintain Client Connections Using Link Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . A-48
Change Wireless Interface Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-48
Set Ethernet Speed and Transmission Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-50
Set Interface Management Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-51
Configure MAC Access Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-55
Set RADIUS Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-56
Set Rogue Access Point Detection (RAD) Parameters . . . . . . . . A-61
Set VLAN/SSID Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-62
CLI Monitoring Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-64
Parameter Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-65
System Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-69
Network Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-71
Interface Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-76
Management Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-87
Filtering Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-94
Alarms Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-101
Bridge Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-104

Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 7
Security Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-109
RADIUS Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-110
Rogue Access Point Detection (RAD) Parameters . . . . . . . . . . A-115
VLAN/SSID Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-115
Other Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-116
B ASCII Character Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
C Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
In This Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Software Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Number of Stations per BSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2
Management Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2
Advanced Bridging Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3
Medium Access Control (MAC) Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4
Security Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5
Network Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Advanced Wireless Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9
Hardware Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Physical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Electrical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Environmental Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Radio Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12
802.11a Channel Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-13
802.11b Channel Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-15
802.11g Channel Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-17
Wireless Communication Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-19
Dual Band Range Extender Antenna Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-24
Dual Band REA Electrical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-24

8 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Dual Band REA Environmental and Mechanical Specifications . C-24
D Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1
Before You Seek Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

1
Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 1-1
Introduction
In This Chapter
The following topics are covered in this section:
• Document Conventions
• Introduction to Wireless Networking
• IEEE 802.11 Specifications
• Management and Monitoring Capabilities
Document Conventions
• The term, AP, refers to an Access Point.
• The term, 802.11, is used to describe features that apply to the
802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g wireless standards.
• The AP-8 is a dual-radio AP that includes two radios: one 802.11b/g
radio and one 802.11a radio.
• Blue text indicates a link to a topic or Web address. If you are viewing
this documentation on your computer, click the blue text to jump to
the linked item.
NOTE:
A Note indicates important information that helps you make better
use of your computer.

Introduction to Wireless Networking
1-2 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
!CAUTION:
A Caution indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data
and tells you how to avoid the problem.
Introduction to Wireless Networking
An AP extends the capability of an existing Ethernet network to devices
on a wireless network. Wireless devices can
• connect to a single Access Point, or
• move between multiple Access Points located within the same
vicinity. As wireless clients move from one coverage cell to another,
the devices maintain network connectivity.

Introduction to Wireless Networking
Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 1-3
Site Survey
To determine the best location for an Access Point, Avaya recommends
conducting a Site Survey before placing the device in its final location. For
information about how to conduct a Site Survey, contact your local
reseller.
Before an Access Point can be configured for your specific networking
requirements, it must first be initialized. See Getting Started for details.
Figure 1-1. Typical wireless network access infrastructure

Introduction to Wireless Networking
1-4 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Once initialized, the network administrator can configure each unit
according to the network’s requirements. The AP functions as a wireless
network access point to data networks. An AP network provides:
• Seamless client roaming
• Easy installation and operation
• Over-the-air encryption of data
• High speed network links
Guidelines for Roaming
Wireless Standard Support
An AP can only communicate with client devices that support its wireless
standard. For example, an 802.11a client cannot communicate with an
802.11b AP and an 802.11b client cannot communicate with an 802.11a
AP. However, both 802.11b and 802.11g clients can communicate with
an 802.11b/g AP.

Introduction to Wireless Networking
Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 1-5
Network Names
• All Access Points must have the same Network Name to support
client roaming.
• All workstations with an 802.11 client adapter installed must use
either a Network Name of “any” or the same Network Name as the
Access Points that they will roam between. If an AP has Closed
System enabled, a client must have the same Network Name as the
Access Point to communicate (see Interfaces).
Security Settings
All Access Points and clients must have the same security settings to
communicate.
Cell Coverage
• The Access Points’ cells must overlap to ensure that there are no
gaps in coverage and to ensure that the roaming client will always
have a connection available.
• The coverage area for 802.11b or 802.11b/g radios is larger than the
coverage area of an 802.11a radio. The 802.11b and 802.11b/g
radios operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band; the 802.11a radio
operates in the 5 GHz band. Products that operate in the 2.4 GHz
band offer greater range than products that operate in the 5 GHz
band.

IEEE 802.11 Specifications
1-6 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Data Rates
An 802.11a or 802.11b/g radio operates at faster data rates than the
802.11b radio. 802.11a and 802.11g radios operate at speeds of up to 54
Mbits/sec; 802.11b radios operate at speeds of up to 11 Mbits/sec.
Channels
• All Access Points in the same vicinity should use a unique,
independent Channel. By default, the AP automatically scans for
available Channels during boot-up but you can also set the Channel
manually (see Interfaces for details).
• Access Points that use the same Channel should be installed as far
away from each other as possible to reduce potential interference.
IEEE 802.11 Specifications
In 1997, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
adopted the 802.11 standard for wireless devices operating in the 2.4
GHz frequency band. This standard includes provisions for three radio
technologies: direct sequence spread spectrum, frequency hopping
spread spectrum, and infrared. Devices that comply with the 802.11
standard operate at a data rate of either 1 or 2 Megabits per second
(Mbits/sec).

IEEE 802.11 Specifications
Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide 1-7
802.11b
In 1999, the IEEE modified the 802.11 standard to support direct
sequence devices that can operate at speeds of up to 11 Mbits/sec. The
IEEE ratified this standard as 802.11b. 802.11b devices are backwards
compatible with 2.4 GHz 802.11 direct sequence devices (that operate at
1 or 2 Mbits/sec). Available Frequency Channels vary by regulatory
domain and/or country. See 802.11b Channel Frequencies for details.
802.11a
Also in 1999, the IEEE modified the 802.11 standard to support devices
operating in the 5 GHz frequency band. This standard is referred to as
802.11a. 802.11a devices are not compatible with 2.4 GHz 802.11 or
802.11b devices. 802.11a radios use a radio technology called
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to achieve data
rates of up to 54 Mbits/sec. Available Frequency Channels vary by
regulatory domain and/or country. See 802.11a Channel Frequencies for
details.
802.11g
In 2003, the IEEE introduced the 802.11g standard. 802.11g devices
operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band using OFDM to achieve data rates
of up to 54 Mbits/sec. In addition, 802.11g devices are backwards
compatible with 802.11b devices. Available Frequency Channels vary by
regulatory domain and/or country. See 802.11g Channel Frequencies for
details.

Management and Monitoring Capabilities
1-8 Avaya Wireless AP-8 User’s Guide
Management and Monitoring Capabilities
There are three management and monitoring interfaces available to the
network administrator to configure and manage an AP on the network:
• HTTP/HTTPS Interface
• Command Line Interface
• SNMP Management
HTTP/HTTPS Interface
The HTTP Interface (also known as the Web browser Interface) provides
easy access to configuration settings and network statistics from any
computer on the network. You can access the Web or HTTP Interface:
• over your LAN (switch, hub, etc.),
• over the Internet, or
• with a “crossover” Ethernet cable connected directly to your
computer’s Ethernet Port.
HTTPS provides an HTTP connection over a Secure Socket Layer.
HTTPS is one of two available secure management options on the AP;
the other secure management option is SNMPv3. Enabling HTTPS allows
you to access the AP in a secure fashion using Secure Socket Layer
(SSL) over port 443. The AP supports SSLv3 with a 128-bit encryption
certificate maintained by the AP for secure communications between the
AP and the HTTP client. All communications are encrypted using the
server and the client-side certificate.