SonicWALL sonicpoint ACI User manual

SonicWall™SonicPointACi
GettingStartedGuide
RegulatoryModelNumber:APL27‐0B1

Copyright©2017SonicWallInc.Allrightsreserved.
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TheinformationinthisdocumentisprovidedinconnectionwithSonicWallInc.and/oritsaffiliates’products.Nolicense,expressorimplied,byestoppelorotherwise,toanyintellectual
propertyrightisgrantedbythisdocumentorinconnectionwiththesaleofSonicWallproducts.EXCEPTASSETFORTHINTHETERMSANDCONDITIONSASSPECIFIEDINTHELICENSE
AGREEMENTFORTHISPRODUCT,SONICWALLAND/ORITSAFFILIATESASSUMENOLIABILITYWHATSOEVERANDDISCLAIMSANYEXPRESS,IMPLIEDORSTATUTORYWARR ANT Y
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EVENTSHALLSONICWALLAND/ORITSAFFILIATESBELIABLEFORANYDIRECT,INDIRECT,CONSEQUENTIAL,PUNITIVE,SPECIALORINCIDENTALDAMAGES(INCLUDING,WITHOUT
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SONICWALLAND/ORITSAFFILIATESHAVEBEENADVISEDOFTHEPOSSIBILITYOFSUCHDAMAGES.SonicWalland/oritsaffiliatesmakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswithrespect
totheaccuracyorcompletenessofthecontentsofthisdocumentandreservestherighttomakechangestospecificationsandproductdescriptionsatanytimewithoutnotice.SonicWall
Inc.and/oritsaffiliatesdonotmakeanycommitmenttoupdatetheinformationcontainedinthisdocument.
Formoreinformation,visithttps://www.sonicwall.com/legal/.
SonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
Updated‐January2017
232‐003410‐50RevA
Legend
WARNING:AWARNINGiconindicatesapotentialforpropertydamage,personalinjury,ordeath.
CAUTION:ACAUTIONiconindicatespotentialdamagetohardwareorlossofdataifinstructionsarenotfollowed.
IMPORTANT,NOTE,TIP,MOBILE,orVIDEO:Aninformationiconindicatessupportinginformation.

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 3
1
Introduction
Inthisguide
ThisGettingStartedGuideprovidesinstructionsforbasicinstallationandconfigurationoftheSonicWall™SonicPointACiwireless
accesspointinsingle‐unitormulti‐unitwirelessdeployments.
Chapter1Topics
Introductiononpage3•Wirelessoverviewonpage5
Chapter2Topics
InitialSetuponpage9•Checkpackagecontentsonpage9
•Deploymentrequirementsonpage10
•SonicPointACiavailableports/statusLEDsonpage11
•ConnectingEthernetcablesonpage13
•Wirelessaccesspointplacementconsiderationsonpage14
•MountingtheSonicPointACionpage16

4SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
Chapter3Topics
ConfiguringSonicOSforwirelessaccessonpage21 •ConfiguringSonicOSforSonicPointACionpage21
•VerifyingSonicPointoperationonpage25
•Troubleshootingtipsonpage26
Chapter4Topics
Supportandproductregistrationonpage27 •Registrationandsupportonpage27
•Onlinesupportandtrainingonpage28
Chapter5Topics
Productsafetyandregulatoryinformationonpage29 •Mountingtheapplianceonpage30
•VerwarnungWeiterehinweisezurmontageonpage31
•EUandEFTAonpage32
•Declarationofconformityonpage33

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 5
Wirelessoverview
TheSonicPointACiispartofthenextevolutionarygenerationinwirelessaccesspointsaftertheSonicWallSonicPointNandNDR.
TheSonicPointACiprovidesphysicallayerenhancementsforhigherthroughputwithamaximumdatarateof1.3Gbps.Toachieve
this,theSonicPointACiuses:
•Widerchannels—80MHz‐widechannelsforthe802.11acradiomodule,whilecontinuingtosupport20/40MHzchannels.
Thisallowsfordynamicperpacketnegotiationofchannelwidthssothatwhenthereisinterference,theSonicPointcan
temporarilyfallbackto40or20MHzchannels.
•Morespatialstreams—3X3multiple‐inputandmultiple‐output,(MIMO)forthe802.11acradiomodule,wherethecapacity
ofaradiolinkismultipliedusingmultipathpropagation.

6SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
SonicWallwirelessfirewalling
WhenawirelessdeviceusesaSonicWallSonicPointACi
wirelessaccesspointtocommunicatewithawirelessdevice
onanothersubnetoronacompletelydifferentnetwork,traffic
betweenthedevicesisforcedtotraversetheSonicWall
networksecurityappliance.Thistraversalenablessecurity
servicestobeenforcedbySonicOS.
Standardpracticeforwirelessfirewalling(whereonewireless
clientiscommunicatingwithanother)bypassesmanyofthe
criticalsecurityservices.Thefollowingillustrationshowsthe
standardpracticeforwirelessfirewalling.
Standardwirelessfirewalling
Manysecurityproductsonthemarketsharethispotential
vulnerabilitywhentwousersconnectedbyacommonhubor
wirelessaccesspointwishtoexchangedata.
SonicWalladdressesthissecurityshortcomingbymanaging
theSonicPointaccesspointsfromthenetworksecurity
appliance.Thisallowscompletecontrolofthewirelessspace,
includingzoneenforcementofsecurityservicesandcomplete
firewallingcapabilities.
Securewirelessfirewalling
WLAN Zone Security Services
?
Content Filtering Service
Client Anti-Virus Enforcement
Gateway Anti-Virus
Gateway Anti-Spyware
Intrusion Prevention Service
Other Security Appliance
WLAN Zone Security Services
SonicWall
appliance
SonicWall
SonicPoint
Content Filtering Service
Client Anti-Virus Enforcement
Gateway Anti-Virus
Gateway Anti-Spyware
Intrusion Prevention Service
l
l
nt

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 7
Frequencybandsandchannels
Therearecurrentlyfivewidelyadoptedstandardsfor802.11wirelessnetworktypes:a,b,g,n,andac.802.11nand802.11acare
thenewestandhighestcapacitystandards,butolderclientdevicesmaynotbeabletoutilizethenewerstandards.
Differentfrequencybandsprovidevaryingsignalstrengthandqualityoverdifferentdistanceranges.Signalsinthe2.4GHzrange
tendtopassthroughphysicalbarriersbetterandcarryfartherthanthoseinthe5GHzrange,buttheydonotprovideashigha
datarate.Signalsinthe5GHzrangeprovidefasterdataratesforbetterthroughput,butthesignalattenuatesfasterandisbest
suitedforopenspaces.
Wirelessstandards
802.11(x) Frequencystandard Maximumdatarate
802.11a 5GHz 54Mbps
802.11b 2.4GHz 11Mbps
802.11g 2.4GHz 54Mbps
802.11n 2.4GHzand5GHz 450Mbps
802.11ac 5GHz+multichannel+multipath 1.3Gbps
Strengthsandweaknessesof5GHzand2.4GHzsignals
5GHz 2.4GHz
Strength Higherspeed,morechannels LongerRange,strongersignalpenetration
Weakness Limitedpenetrationofwalls,clientcompatibility Moresourcesofinterference

8SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
RefertoRadiofrequencybarriersandRFinterferenceonpage15fordetailedinformationaboutRFbarriersandinterference.
Toallowmultipleseparatewirelessnetworksinasharedandconfinedspace,theRFmediumisdividedintochannels.Fordevices
inthe5GHzrange(802.11a/n/ac),thismeansthepossibilityofupto23discretechannels.
Fordevicesusingthe2.4GHzrange(802.11b/g/n),thewirelessspaceislimitedtoamaximumof14overlappingchannels.Asa
resultoftheseoverlappingchannels,2.4GHztechnologyprovidesonlyatotalofthreediscretechannels.
802.11comparisonchart
802.11signalcharacteristics
802.11a 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n 802.11ac
#ofChannelsinUSA2311111121
#ofChannelsinEU 23 13 13 13 16
#ofChannelsinJapan1514141419
FrequencyBand 5GHz 2.4GHz 2.4GHz 2.4/5GHz 5GHz
Max.DataRate 54Mbps 11Mbps 54Mbps 450Mbps(For
3X3MIMO)
1.3Gbps(ForQAM‐
64,MIMO3X3,and
80MHzchannels)
Radius(Range) 90ft/25m 120ft/35m 120ft/35m 300ft/90m 120ft/35m
NOTE:Although802.11b/g/nstandardsprovidebetween11and14channels,onlythreeofthosechannelsarefullydiscrete
(non‐overlapping)channels.

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 9
2
InitialSetup
Thissectionprovidesabasicchecklistofmaterials,hardwareinformation,anddescribeshowtoconnectandconfigurephysical
aspectsoftheSonicWallSonicPointACiincludingcablingandmounting.
•Checkpackagecontentsonpage9
•Deploymentrequirementsonpage10
•SonicPointACiavailableports/statusLEDsonpage11
•ConnectingEthernetcablesonpage13
•Wirelessaccesspointplacementconsiderationsonpage14
•MountingtheSonicPointACionpage16
Checkpackagecontents
Beforecontinuing,ensurethatyourSonicPointACipackagecontainsthefollowingmaterials:

10 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
Anyitemsmissing?
Ifanyoftheitemscorrespondingtoyourproductaremissing
fromthepackage,contactTechnicalSupportat:https://
support.sonicwall.com/contact‐support
Alistingofthemostcurrentsupportdocumentsareavailable
onlineat:
https://support.SonicWall.com/SonicWall‐SonicPoint‐series/
ace/release‐notes‐guides
Deploymentrequirements
SonicOSfirmware
•SonicWallSonicPointACiaccesspointsarecentrally
managedbySonicWallnetworksecurityappliances
runningthefollowingversionsofSonicOS:
•SonicOS5.9.1.6orahigher5.9release
•SonicOS6.2.5.1orhigher
PoweroverEthernet
•An802.3atcompliantPoEinjectororPoE‐capable
switchcapableofproviding25wattsofpowertoeach
SonicPointACiisrequired.
Internetconnectivity
•AnactiveInternetconnectionisrequiredforyour
firewalltodownloadthelatestSonicPointfirmware.
GigabitEthernetconnectivity
•802.11acwirelesshardwarerequiresmorebandwidth
thanasingle(orevendual)10/100Ethernetconnection
canhandle.GigabitEthernetconnectivitybetweenthe
WLANandtheLANisrequiredtotakefulladvantageof
802.11acspeed.
SeeProductsafetyandregulatoryinformationonpage29.
SonicPointACiApplianceChecklist
SonicWallSonicPointACiAppliance
MountingKit(CeilingBrackets,AnchorandScrewKit)
GettingStartedGuide

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 11
SonicPointACiavailableports/statusLEDs
Availableports
LAN1/PoEport.
ProvidesEthernetand
PoweroverEthernet(PoE)
connections.
LAN2port.
ProvidesanadditionalEthernetconnection.Referto
theSonicOSAdministrationGuideforusecases.
Consoleport.
Providesamanagementconnection
usingCLI>DB9cable(forcommand
linemanagementonly).

12 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
StatusLEDs
LED(lan2)
‐On(solidyelloworgreen,Ethernetlink)
‐Blinkingyellow(1GEthernetactivity)
‐Blinkinggreen(10/100MEthernet
LED(lan1)
‐On(solidyelloworgreen,Ethernetlink)
‐Blinkingyellow(1GEthernetactivity)
‐Blinkinggreen(10/100MEthernetactivity)
LED(5G)
‐On(solidgreen,5GHzradiolink)
‐Blinkinggreen(5GHzradioactivity)
LED(2.4G)
‐On(solidgreen,2.4GHzradiolink)
‐Blinking(2.4GHzradioactivity)
LED(Tool)
‐On(solidyellow,error)
‐Blinking(safemode)
LED(Power)
‐On(solidblue,power)
‐Blinking(booting/FWupgrade)

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 13
ConnectingEthernetcables
TheSonicPointACicanbecabledwithCAT5,CAT5e,orCAT6
Ethernetcabling.
TheSonicPointACiispoweredusingPoweroverEthernet
(PoE).ASonicWall802.3atcompliantPoElineinjector(sold
separately),oran802.3atcompliantswitchisrequiredto
powereachSonicPointACi.
ToconnectPoEtoyourSonicPointACi
1UsinganEthernetcable,connecttheData inporton
theSonicWallPoEInjectortoanexistingWLANzone
interfaceortoanunusedinterfacetobeconfigured
laterinSonicOS.
2UsingasecondEthernetcable,connecttheDataand
PoweroutportontheSonicWallPoEinjectortothe
LAN1/PoEportonyourSonicPointACi.
3PlugthepowercordoftheSonicWallPoEinjectorinto
anappropriatepoweroutlet.
4WaitfortheLAN1LEDontheSonicPointACito
illuminategreen.Thisindicatesanactiveconnection.
SeeProductsafetyandregulatoryinformationonpage29.
CAUTION:An802.3atcompliantPoEinjectororPoE‐
capableswitchcapableofproviding25wattsofpower
toeachSonicPointACiisrequired.
Tomaintain25wattsofpowertotheSonicPointACi,
themaximumlengthofCAT5ecablefromthe802.3at
PoEinjectortotheSonicPointACiis30meters.
Local Network (LAN)
X1 WAN
X0 LAN
Internet
X2 WLAN
PoE Injector
or PoE Switch
Wireless Clients

14 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
Wirelessaccesspoint
placementconsiderations
PhysicalplacementoftheSonicPointACiwirelessaccesspoint
hasameasurableeffectonwhocanandcannotaccessyour
wirelesssignal.
AccesspointsshouldbekeptclearofRadioFrequency(RF)
interferencesources.RFbarrierscanbecircumventedby
deployingmultipleaccesspoints.
Asitesurveywillhelpfindtheoptimumwirelessaccesspoint
placement,butyoucanfindusablelocationswithoutit.
Considerationsinclude:
•Numberofaccesspointsversususerdensity–Iftoo
manyusersareservicedbyasingleaccesspoint,
maximumtransferratesarereachedandthataccess
pointmaybecomeabottleneckforthewholesystem.
• Bandwidth–Howmuchdataismovingupstreamand
downstreamforagiventypeofuser?
•Ethernetcabling–Whereareyourunningthepowered
Ethernet(PoE)cabletoandhowareyousecuringthat
cable?IsyourPoEswitch802.3atcompliantandableto
powerallaccesspointswith25wattseach?
Tomaintain25wattsofpowertotheSonicPointACi,
themaximumlengthofCAT5ecablefromthe802.3at
PoEinjectortotheSonicPointACiis30meters.
•Hubs/Switches–Yourwirelessdeploymenthastotie
backintoyournetworksecurityapplianceandLAN
resources.Considerwhereyourkeynetworkingdevices
aredeployedandhowtheywillconnectefficientlywith
yourwirelessappliances.Whatspeedisneededfor
yourEthernetconnectiontoaccommodatethenumber
ofaccesspointsyouareinstalling?AGigabitEthernet
interfaceisrecommendedwhenconnectinga
SonicPointACitoyourSonicWallnetworksecurity
appliance.
•Legacyclients‐Olderlaptopsandmobiledevicesmay
notsupport802.11ac.Althoughclientswith802.11a/g/
bhardwarearesupportedbytheSonicWallSonicPoint
ACi,thepresenceoftheselegacyclientswithinrangeof
yourwirelessnetworkcouldaffecttheconnection
speedofyour802.11acclients.
Forexample,an802.11bdeviceauthenticatedtothe
SonicPointACicouldlimitallclientsconnectedtothat
radioto802.11bdatarates.

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 15
Radiofrequencybarriers
DetermininghowtocircumventRFbarrierscanbea
challengingpartoftheplacementprocess,butRFbarrierscan
alsobeusedbeneficiallyinanattempttoblocksignalswhere
youdonotwantcoverage.The5GHzfrequencyismore
sensitivetoRFbarriers.Awallthatallowsa2.4GHzwireless
networktooperatecouldblocka5GHzone.
RFinterference
RFinterferencefromhome,office,andmedicalequipmentisa
commonchallengeinwirelessdeployments.
WhenconsideringRFinterferencesources,rememberthat
mostcell/wirelessphonesandBluetoothdevicesonlyutilize
the2.4GHzfrequency.Assuch,theyshouldnotcause
significantinterferencewithwirelessnetworksoperatingin
the5GHzfrequency.
CommonRFbarriertypes
BarrierType RFSignalBlocking
Openair VeryLow
Glass,wood,drywall,cubepartitions Low
Floorsandouterwalls,aquariums
(brick/marble/granite/water)
Medium
Concrete,securityglass,wiremesh,
stackedbooks/paper
High
Metalpartitions,desks,reinforced
concrete
VeryHigh
CommonsourcesofRFinterference
Interference
Source PossibleRange BandsAffected
2.4GHzphones 100feet 2.4GHz
(802.11b/g/n)
Bluetoothdevices 30feet 2.4GHz
(802.11b/g/n)
Microwaveoven 10‐20feet 2.4and5GHz,
dependingon
shielding
Scientificand
medical
equipment
Shortdistance,
varies
2.4and5GHz,
dependingon
shielding

16 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
MountingtheSonicPointACi
YoucanmountyourSonicWallSonicPointACitoawallor
ceiling,oryoucansimplysetitonaflatsurface.
ForsafetytipswhenmountingtheSonicPointACi,seeProduct
safetyandregulatoryinformationonpage29.
Mountingusingceilingbrackets
Themountingkitincludesalargebracket,twosmallbrackets,
anchorscrews,andscrews.
Largeceilingbracket
Smallceilingbrackets
TheundersideoftheSonicPointACihastwoinsertionpoints
forthescrews.Youcanusetheseinsertionpointstoattach
eitherthelargebracketorthetwosmallbracketstothe
SonicPointACi.
Holesforscrews

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 17
TomounttheSonicPointACitoacrossbarbetween
ceilingpanelsusingthelargebracket
1Usetheincludedscrewstoattachthelargebracketto
theundersideoftheSonicPoint.
2 SupportingtheSonicPointinonehand,positionthe
edgeclipsofthebracketovertheedgeoftheceiling
crossbarandrotatetheSonicPointcounterclockwise(to
theleftwhenlookingupatit)untilthebracketis
securelyattachedtothecrossbar.
ToremovetheSonicPointACifromtheceilingcrossbar,
rotateitclockwise(totherightwhenlookingupatit)
untilthebracketdetachesfromthecrossbar.
Fastenthelargeceiling
bracket

18 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide
TomounttheSonicPointACitoacrossbarbetween
ceilingpanelsusingthesmallceilingbrackets:
1Usetheincludedscrewstoattachthesmallbracketsto
theundersideoftheSonicPoint,makingsureboth
bracketsareparallel.
2 SupportingtheSonicPointinonehand,cliptheedgeof
eachbracketovertheedgeoftheceilingcrossbaras
showninthefollowingimage.MakesuretheSonicPoint
issecurelyattachedtothecrossbarbeforereleasingthe
device.
Ceiling crossbar
Mounting brackets
SonicPoint unit

SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide 19
Mountingusinganchorscrews
TomounttheSonicPointACiusingtheanchorscrews
1Onthemountingsurface,markthelocationtomake
twoscrewholes.Themarksshouldbehorizontally
paralleltoeachother.
2Screwtheanchorscrewsintotheceilingtileordrywall
totheirfulldepth.
3Insertthescrewsintotheanchors,andscrewthemin
deepenoughtoleaveminimalspacebetweenthe
screwheadsandthewallsurface.
4 SupportingtheSonicPointinyourhands,securelyfit
theundersideslotsoftheSonicPointontothescrew
heads.

20 SonicWallSonicPointACiGettingStartedGuide