SonicWALL SonicPoint N2 User manual

SonicWall™SonicPointN2
GettingStartedGuide
RegulatoryModelNumber:APL26‐0B3

Copyright©2017SonicWallInc.Allrightsreserved.
SonicWallisatrademarkorregisteredtrademarkofSonicWallInc.and/oritsaffiliatesintheU.S.A.and/orothercountries.Allothertrademarksandregistered
trademarksarepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners
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
RELATINGTOITSPRODUCTSINCLUDING,BUTNOTLIMITEDTO,THEIMPLIEDWARRANTYOFMERCHANTABILITY,FITNESSFORAPAR TI CU L AR PURPOSE,ORNON‐INFRINGEMENT.INNO
EVENTSHALLSONICWALLAND/ORITSAFFILIATESBELIABLEFORANYDIRECT,INDIRECT,CONSEQUENTIAL,PUNITIVE,SPECIALORINCIDENTALDAMAGES(INCLUDING,WITHOUT
LIMITATION,DAMAGESFORLOSSOFPROFITS,BUSINESSINTERRUPTIONORLOSSOFINFORMATION)ARISINGOUTOFTHEUSEORINABILITYTOUSETHISDOCUMENT,EVENIF
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N2GettingStartedGuide
Updated‐January2017
232‐003412‐50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N2GettingStartedGuide 3
1
Introduction
Inthisguide
ThisGettingStartedGuideprovidesinstructionsforbasicinstallationandconfigurationoftheSonicWall™SonicPointN2wireless
accesspointinsingle‐unitormulti‐unitwirelessdeployments.
Chapter1Topics
Introductiononpage3•Wirelessoverviewonpage5

4SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
Chapter2Topics
InitialSetuponpage9•Checkpackagecontentsonpage9
•Deploymentrequirementsonpage10
•SonicPointN2availableports/statusLEDsonpage11
•Installingantennasonpage13
•ConnectingEthernetcablesonpage13
•Wirelessaccesspointplacementconsiderationsonpage15
•MountingtheSonicPointN2onpage17
Chapter3Topics
ConfiguringSonicOSforwirelessaccessonpage21 •ConfiguringSonicOSforSonicPointN2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

SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide 5
Wirelessoverview
TheSonicPointN2ispartofthenextevolutionarygenerationinwirelessaccesspointsaftertheSonicWallSonicPointNandNDR.
TheSonicPointN2providesphysicallayerenhancementsforhigherthroughputwithamaximumdatarateof450Mbps.Toachieve
this,theSonicPointN2uses:
•Moreantennas—threeantennasforthe5GHzradio,andthreemoreforthe2.4GHzradio
•Widerchannels—40MHz‐widechannelsforthe802.11nradiomodule
•Morespatialstreams—3X3multiple‐inputandmultiple‐output,(MIMO)forthe802.11nradiomodule,wherethecapacity
ofaradiolinkismultipliedusingmultipathpropagation.
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

6SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
SonicWallwirelessfirewalling
WhenawirelessdeviceusesaSonicWallSonicPointN2
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
cW
al
l
P
oi
nt

SonicWallSonicPointN2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N2GettingStartedGuide
RefertoRadiofrequencybarriersandRFinterferenceonpage16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N2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N2includingantennas,cabling,andmounting.
•Checkpackagecontentsonpage9
•Deploymentrequirementsonpage10
•SonicPointN2availableports/statusLEDsonpage11
•Installingantennasonpage13
•ConnectingEthernetcablesonpage13
•Wirelessaccesspointplacementconsiderationsonpage15
•MountingtheSonicPointN2onpage17
Checkpackagecontents
Beforecontinuing,ensurethatyourSonicPointN2packagecontainsthefollowingmaterials:

10 SonicWallSonicPointN2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N2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N2isrequired.
Internetconnectivity
•AnactiveInternetconnectionisrequiredforyour
firewalltodownloadthelatestSonicPointfirmware.
GigabitEthernetconnectivity
•802.11n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
802.11nspeed.
SeeProductsafetyandregulatoryinformationonpage29.
SonicPointN2ApplianceChecklist
SonicWallSonicPointN2Appliance
Antennas(6)
MountingKit(CeilingBrackets,AnchorandScrewKit)
GettingStartedGuide

SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide 11
SonicPointN2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N2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N2GettingStartedGuide 13
Installingantennas
ToinstalltheantennasonyourSonicPointN2
1 Removeallsixantennasfromtheirbagsandplaceone
oneachconnector.Matchthefittingswiththeantenna
style.Therearethreeofeachtype.
2Carefullyfinger‐tightenthefittings.
3Adjusttheantennasforoptimalreception.
Foroptimalwirelesscoverageinmostcases,theSonicPointN2
antennasshouldbeorientedvertically.Thecirculardesignof
theSonicPointaidesincreatingastrongmulti‐directional
wirelesssignalpattern.Inmostcases,leavingtheantennas
straightup(asshownintheillustration)providesthebest
overallcoverage.
ConnectingEthernetcables
TheSonicPointN2canbecabledwithCAT5,CAT5e,orCAT6
Ethernetcabling.
TIP:Theremaybea“dead”zonedirectlyunderneath
theSonicPointN2whenitismountedontheceilingwith
theantennasorientedvertically.Youcanmitigatethisby
slightlyanglingtheantennas.
CAUTION:TheSonicPointN2usesdipoleantennaswith
5.5dBiat5GHzand3.5dBiat2.4GHz.Onlyantennas
providedbySonicWallareauthorizedforusewiththe
SonicPointN2.Beawareoftheregulationsinyour
regionbeforeusingotherantennas.

14 SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
TheSonicPointN2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N2.
ToconnectPoEtoyourSonicPointN2
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N2.
3PlugthepowercordoftheSonicWallPoEinjectorinto
anappropriatepoweroutlet.
4WaitfortheLAN1LEDontheSonicPointN2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N2isrequired.
Tomaintain25wattsofpowertotheSonicPointN2,
themaximumlengthofCAT5ecablefromthe802.3at
PoEinjectortotheSonicPointN2is30meters.
Local Network (LAN)
X1 WAN
X0 LAN
Internet
X2 WLAN
PoE Injector
or PoE Switch
Wireless Clients

SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide 15
Wirelessaccesspoint
placementconsiderations
PhysicalplacementoftheSonicPointN2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N2,the
maximumlengthofCAT5ecablefromthe802.3atPoE
injectortotheSonicPointN2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N2toyourSonicWallnetworksecurity
appliance.
•Legacyclients–Olderlaptopsandmobiledevicesmay
notsupport802.11n.Althoughclientswith802.11a/g/
bhardwarearesupportedbytheSonicWallSonicPoint
N2,thepresenceoftheselegacyclientswithinrangeof
yourwirelessnetworkcouldaffecttheconnection
speedofyour802.11nclients.
Forexample,an802.11bdeviceauthenticatedtothe
SonicPointN2couldlimitallclientsconnectedtothat
radioto802.11bdatarates.

16 SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
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may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

SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide 17
MountingtheSonicPointN2
YoucanmountyourSonicWallSonicPointN2toawallor
ceiling,oryoucansimplysetitonaflatsurface.
ForsafetytipswhenmountingtheSonicPointN2,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N2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N2.
Holesforscrews

18 SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
TomounttheSonicPointN2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N2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withscrews.

SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide 19
TomounttheSonicPointN2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

20 SonicWallSonicPointN2GettingStartedGuide
Mountingusinganchorscrews
TomounttheSonicPointN2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.