Motorola AP 7181 User manual

AP 7181 Access Point
Installation Guide
Version 1.0.0.A
March 12, 2010
68009287001

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Hardware Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Deployment Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3 Installation Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.4 Grounding Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.5 Minimum Installation Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.6 Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.7 Access Point Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.7.1 Site Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.7.2 Root Node Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.7.3 Non Root Node Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.7.4 Mounting Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.7.5 Device Deployment Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.8 Antenna Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.9 AP 7181 Power Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.9.1 Power Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Contents

2.10 Mounting an AP 7181 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.10.1 Pole Mounted Installations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.11 Installing an AP 7181 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.11.1 Required Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.11.2 AP 7181 Connections and Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.11.3 LED Status Indicator Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.11.4 Removing the AP 7181 Kit from the Shipping Carton 15
2.11.4 Staging the Device Prior to Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.12 Field Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.12.1 Bottom Mount Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.12.2 Top Mount Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.13 Remote Panel Antenna Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.13.1 Preparing the AP 7181 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.13.2 Installing the Remote Panel Antenna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.13.3 Installing the Blank Antenna Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1 Initially Connecting to the Access Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.1 Connecting to the Access Point Using the WAN Port. . 56
3.1.2 Connecting to the Access Point Using the LAN Port . . 57
3.2 Basic Device Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.2.1 Configuring Device Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.2.2 Configuring WLAN Security Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.2.3 Creating a Secure Recovery WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2.4 Testing Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.2.5 Creating a Mesh Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.3 Where to Go From Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

4 Regulatory Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1 Health and Safety Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1.1 Warnings for the Use of Wireless Devices . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1.2 Potentially Hazardous Atmospheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1.3 Reducing RF Exposure - Use Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.3 FCC Regulatory Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.3.1 RF Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.3.2 Intentional and Unintentional Radiators . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.3 Canada Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5 Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

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Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their
respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Introduction 1
1Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide installation and setup procedures for Motorola’s
AP 7181 Access Point.
The AP 7181 is a wireless broadband data system that uses mesh networking technology to
support wide-area broadband data coverage. The system offers both 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n
and 5.x GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi client access with 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n and 5.x GHz 802.11a/
n meshing. The dual-band system supports industry standard client devices and features
easily deployed fixed infrastructure nodes.
The AP 7181 is also designed to meet the needs of large, distributed outdoor networks. The
network can be configured and managed for optimal performance using the Wireless
Manager (WM) network Management application.
The most current versions of this manual and other AP 7181 documentation can be found
at:
http://motorola.wirelessbroadbandsupport.com/support/mesh/library
1.1 Document Conventions
The following graphical alerts are used in this document to indicate notable situations:
NOTE Tips, hints, or special requirements that you should take note of.
CAUTION Care is required. Disregarding a caution can result in data loss
or equipment malfunction.
WARNING! Indicates a condition or procedure that could result in personal
injury or equipment damage.
!

AP 7181 Access Point: Installation Guide
2
2 Hardware Installation
An AP 7181 access point installation includes mounting the access point, connecting the
access point to the network, and applying power. Installation procedures vary for different
environments.
2.1 Precautions
Before installing an AP 7181 model access point verify the following:
• Become familiar with grounding requirements (see Grounding Requirements).
• Verify the environment has a continuous temperature range between -40° C to 55°
C.
AP 7181 devices must be installed by trained professionals familiar with RF planning and
regulatory limits defined by the regulatory bodies of the country where the devices are
being deployed. All common precautions for grounding and ESD (Electrostatic Discharge)
protection should be observed during deployment and installation. AP 7181 devices are
designed to be installed outdoors and must be installed such that no harmful interference
results from device operation.
• Installations must be performed by professionals who are properly trained and
certified.
• Avoid contact with overhead power lines.
CAUTION All device wiring must comply with the National Electric code
(NEC) or regulations and procedures defined by the regulatory
bodies of the country or region where the devices are being
deployed. All local building and structure codes must be
observed.
WARNING! Strictly observe the following Safety Precautions during the AP
7181 Installation Procedure.
!

Hardware Installation 3
• Take precautions to avoid injury from falling tools and equipment. Crews should
wear hardhats in and around the installation work site.
• Be aware of vehicular traffic in and around the installation work site.
• Do not hold any component containing a radio such that the antenna is very close
to or touching any exposed parts of the body, especially the face or eyes, while
transmitting.
• Do not operate a portable transmitter near unshielded blasting caps or in an
environment where explosives are present unless the transmitter is especially
certified for such use.
2.2 Deployment Guidelines
Observe the following recommended guidelines to help ensure a successful network
deployment:
• Mounting height for network devices should not exceed 30 to 35 feet. Mounting
height should vary to accomodate the topography of the deployment area, foliage,
and other obstructions.
• Devices can be deployed using either the Bottom Mount Installation or the Top
Mount Installation procedure.
• Point-to-Point (PTP (Slave)) or Point-to-Multipoint (PMP (SM)) nodes providing
backhaul should be oriented to point away from AP 7181 antenna panels.
• Custom stand-off brackets should be used as required to provide adequate pole
separation in an an effort to minimize reflective received power.
• LoS guidelines should be given special consideration whenever devices will not be
installed in a straight line, such as deploying devices on alterating sides of a
roadway.
• Ensure that all Root nodes are deployed with line of site to the wireless backhaul
cluster points.
NOTE For more detailed deployment considerations for backhaul, refer
to the Mesh AP 7181 System Planner.

AP 7181 Access Point: Installation Guide
4
2.3 Installation Methodology
Consideration of the order in which units are installed when deploying an AP 7181 wireless
network can work to ensure a more stable and functional network. The PTP backhaul layer
should be deployed first. Next deploy all nodes for the PMP Access Point distribution layer.
Next deploy Root nodes along with PMP Subscriber Modules (SMs) such that backhaul
and network connectivity can be verified or corrected. Finally, deploy all Mesh Point
wireless nodes in order of the least to most hops (1 hop nodes first, followed by 2 hop nodes,
etc.).
2.4 Grounding Requirements
To avoid damage to the equipment, become familiar with Motorola Policy R56 before
installing AP 7181 units. Refer to Standards and Guidelines For Communication Sites,
Version B. Both the hardcopy manual (Part Number 68P81089E50-B) and the CD version
(Part Number 9880384V83) can be ordered from Motorola.
Section 7.6.4 Broadband - Wireless Access Point Network from the Standards and
Guidelines For Communication Sites applies directly to AP 7181 deployments:
SPD (Surge Protection Device) considerations for broadband shall include the use of SPDs
to protect pole-mounted access points and ground-based cabinet architecture. It is
important to install proper SPD applications on both ends of Ethernet, Power-Over
Ethernet (POE), Giga-Ethernet (GigE) and AC cable runs. SPDs shall be located within
the node or cabinet, or as close to the entrance as possible, and properly installed into load
centers, control panels and utility power cabinets. While RF protection is a consideration,
it shall only be required when antennas are connected to the node with coaxial cables
greater than 610 mm (2 ft.) in length.
When grounding a unit installed on a wooden pole, a ground conductor and rod is required.
This requirement should be factored into the project deployment costs, particularly if the
equipment must be installed by a utility company.
CAUTION It is required that all root and portal nodes be adequately
grounded. In addition, all root nodes and portals using the
Ethernet port or attached devices (e.g. a camera) must not only
be grounded, but they should also include surge suppression
for network reliability. This is particularly important for
network configurations with a public safety component.
!