Category Archives: Wireless
Siklu Case study 80 GHZ Indianapolis Indiana
Some photos from a Siklu 80GHZ deployment in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. This was deployed by On-Ramp Indiana (https://www.ori.net). The problem being solved is moving video files around a network in order to get it to smart screens and projectors. This is a very urban area and wireless was pretty much the only option to get from building to building.
Siklu 80GHZ was on the shortlist due to the distances involved. Another consideration was the footprint of the equipment. The equipment had to be as low profile as possible.
Another needed aspect of this network was the ability to move traffic around at layer 2. Not all traffic is IP based in this type of network.
Equipment used
Ether Haul 1200FX
https://www.siklu.com/product/etherhaul-kilo-series/
Some technical Details
As you can see traffic is reasonably consistent in the 80-100 meg range. We needed a solution that did not slow down due to interference. A possible 10’s of thousands of visitors to this attraction in a weekend, reliability and performance were critical. When this was installed we did not know about COVID, but this is an attraction people can enjoy from their cars and social distancing. This use added to the visibility of this attraction, thus making the reliability even more crucial.
Articles about the finished product
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/monument-circle-get-new-light-show-time-holidays/531-ef1819ca-5f27-4886-9283-17e481c33f39
On-Ramp Indiana Contacts www.ori.net 317.774.2100
WISPs: IPv6 is the answer to some of your issues
Many Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs), especially newer startups, struggle with nat issues and having enough public Ip addresses to go around. Invariably, you start running into double nat issues pretty quickly. Then you get the dreaded gamer call:
Many times they don’t know why they are even calling. They just know the magic box is saying this is bad. This is related to how many layers of nat between your edge and them. Many times you are natting at the edge, then you are natting at the customer router. If you have multiple customers behind the same nat at the edge this compounds it even more.
So what is the fix? Give the customer public addresses. But IPv4 is hard to get! I didn’t say IPV4 I said public addresses. IPv6 is a public address. When given the choice between v4 and v6 most modern streaming and gaming platforms will prefer v6. Xbox has supported a protocol called Teredo for a long time. You can learn all about Teredo in this PDF. Basically, it is a tunnel in which the Xbox speaks ipv6 over the tunnel. The ISP does not have to support v6, which does away with the above-mentioned nat issues.
Great! I don’t have to worry about IPv6, Microsoft has it taken care of for me. There are two problems with this statement. Problem number one. There are more companies out there than Microsoft. Sony Playstation Online, Apple gaming, and Steam are just a few. Second, you have overhead of tunnels. In the world of who can pull the joystick quicker, milliseconds count. You don’t want them wasted in tunnel overhead. Plus, v6 is beneficial for other service such as Netflix.
Any other service that runs into port issues behind nat can be solved with Ipv6, This can be voip, cameras, and other type services. This is providing the product or service supports v6 addresses.
So what is an ISP to do?
Awhile back I put together a resource guide for ISPs. You can find it at https://blog.j2sw.com/networking/ipv6/ipv6-planning-and-implementation-resources-for-the-xisp/
PTP Backhaul Complete link kit #1
I have been asked a few times on what I would pick for a PTP link. here is what I would recommend as option #1. You can use the RF Elements link planner to judge how far you can go. If you want to dive deeper you can use the Cambium LinkPlanner, which is a download. This is an unlicensed 5GH link. if you want some real-world data on this link you can visit https://blog.j2sw.com/xisp/the-addition-of-rf-elements-horns-to-a-ptp550-link/
2x Cambium PTP 550
https://www.ispsupplies.com/Cambium-Networks-C050055H001A
PTP 550 Data Sheet
2x RF Elements Ultrahorn
https://www.ispsupplies.com/RF-Elements-UH-CC-5-24
Ultrahorn Data Sheet
4x LMR Jumpers
https://www.ispsupplies.com/NM-NM-L4-36
8x Cold Shrink
https://www.ispsupplies.com/COLDSHRINK-12MDN
There are several other distributors to buy from as well. I choose ISP supplies because they refer business to me and do not have a consulting program that competes with my services.
RF elements Asymmetrical horn antenna
Some pictures of the RF elements A Symmetrical horn and it’s components.
Horvath Communications offers free tower co-lo
In an effort to alleviate the ramifications of COVID-19, Horvath Towers V will be offering free tower co-location to rural broadband service providers for a period of six months.
“With so many families working and learning from home,” company President Jackie Horvath told Inside Towers, “the demand for wireless internet access has sky-rocketed. As such, we would like to partner with rural internet service providers to allow co-location on our tower assets on a temporary basis.”
Applications will be accepted between now and May 1. All inquiries are to be sent to ehorvath@horvathcommunications.com. As part of this program, the broadband provider will be responsible for the cost of installation and the equipment. The installation team must provide proper insurance before climbing the tower.
https://www.horvathcommunications.com/ has a map with a site list
AirFiber 4.10 is out
Important notes
- Please update far end of a link before the near end
- Please refresh browser cache when logging into a v4.1.0 unit for the first time
- UNMS cannot upgrade airFiber firmware loaded with pre-beta8 firmware (i.e. -beta7, etc.)
- If you are upgrading from pre-v4.0 software, your password (after upgrade) will be the first 8 characters of your pre v4.0 password. If you chose to downgrade, please ensure that your password is no longer than 8 characters or you will be locked out of your unit.
Features
- Added additional modulation rates (3x, 5x, 7x, 9x, 11x)
- Improved throughput capacity (improved modulation performance)
- Added support for UNMS
- Added telemetry reporting (optional)
- Changes to support Apple SSL certificate location rules
- Updated default https certificates validity for 18 years
- Added Paraguay and Swaziland country codes
- Telnet Server port number now displayed on Services tab when using default number (23)
- Added alert box when Receive Target Power is enabled
- Build number now shown in system tab
- Firmware version now displayed with product ID (i.e AF11 vs AF09)
- Assorted web changes to colors, initial login screens, updated EULA
Improvements
- Manual browser refresh not required when upgrading FROM 4.1.0
- Updated SNMP MIB
Bugfixes
- Detect and recover from OTA management traffic lockup
- Detect and recover from user traffic lockup
- Fixed issue where capacity graph showed 2x capacity when there was no GPS signal at the timing master
- Fixed issue where GPS process would use 100% of the CPU
- Fixed issue where RF link would repeatedly reset if Ethernet port was disabled
- Addressed issue with moving (jittery) labels around signal strength graph
- Corrected conducted power reading when using Receive Target Power
- Fixed issue with Carrier Drop Operation where unit would not come back if Block Data After Pulse was enabled
- Fixed issue where disabling Management VLAN after upgrade from pre v4.0 could corrupt networking configuration
- Fixed SNMP reporting of frequency (SNMP now reports frequencies in MHz)
- Fixed Static IP gateway address usage (was ignored if configured with v4.0.x)
- Fixed GUI issue where deleting link name and pasting in a replacement would not work
Known issues
- If you are upgrading from pre-v4.0 software, your password (after upgrade) will be the first 8 characters of your pre v4.0 password. If you chose to downgrade, please ensure that your password is no longer than 8 characters or you will be locked out of your unit.
Compliance Test for LTU and AC gear
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Unlock with PatreonUnderground boxes for wireless deployments
This content is for Patreon subscribers of the j2 blog. Please consider becoming a Patreon subscriber for as little as $1 a month. This helps to provide higher quality content, more podcasts, and other goodies on this blog.
Twin Horn bracket for ePMP3000 from RF Elements
https://rfelements.com/products/brackets/twin-horn-bracket/thb/
Twin Horn Bracket (THB) makes installation of dual horn setup easy and fast. THB is designed for installation of two Gen2 Symmetrical Horns in identical azimuth and elevation setup, specifically in dual N connector or dual TPA-SMA setup.
