diff --git a/arednGettingStarted/_images/setup-options-with-auto-distance.png b/arednGettingStarted/_images/setup-options-with-auto-distance.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a7709f1 Binary files /dev/null and b/arednGettingStarted/_images/setup-options-with-auto-distance.png differ diff --git a/arednGettingStarted/advanced_config.rst b/arednGettingStarted/advanced_config.rst index cb15f2e..261c784 100644 --- a/arednGettingStarted/advanced_config.rst +++ b/arednGettingStarted/advanced_config.rst @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ Basic Setup You have already configured many of the basic settings, but there are several additional features that will be explained below. -.. image:: _images/07-setup-options.png +.. image:: _images/setup-options-with-auto-distance.png :alt: Setup Options :align: center @@ -41,15 +41,27 @@ Mesh RF Column The **Active Settings** can be adjusted and applied without saving changes or rebooting your node. However, they will return to their original values after a reboot unless you click *Save Changes*. A node may decrease its output power as it increases its data rate in order to maintain a linear spectrum. -The *Distance* setting adjusts the RF retry timer to define how long the transmitter will wait for an acknowledgement from a neighbor station. If the distance parameter is too short, the transmitter will send duplicate data packets before an acknowledgement has time to return. If the distance parameter is too long, the transmitter will wait extra time before considering the data lost and retransmitting the packets. The *Distance* setting is only applicable to nodes that can communicate directly over RF. +**Distance Setting** + The *Distance* setting is only applicable to nodes that can communicate directly over RF. This setting adjusts the RF retry timer to define how long the transmitter will wait for an acknowledgement from a neighbor station. If the distance parameter is too short, the transmitter will send duplicate data packets before an acknowledgement has time to be received. If the distance parameter is too long, the transmitter will wait extra time before considering the data lost and retransmitting the packets. + + The maximum distance settings the ath9k wireless driver allows depends on the channel width: + + * 20 MHz: 46666 meters + * 10 MHz: 103030 meters + * 5 MHz: 215757 meters + + **Auto-Distance**: A value of zero will cause the radio to automatically determine the RF retry timer by measuring the actual time it takes acknowledgement packets to be received. The timer is set using an Exponential Weighted Moving Average (EWMA). The auto-distance setting is best used on high quality point-to-point links between backbone or relay nodes. Fifty percent performance increases have been observed on those links compared to using a static distance setting. + + Since the node must calculate the best value based on actual data flow, it will require both time and adequate data traffic to arrive at the optimal setting. The node may not be able to arrive at the optimal values if a link is not being used to send a significant amount of data, because it starts at the max value and then drops down to the optimal setting. Over time the auto-distance setting should stabilize around the best value. + + However, the auto-distance setting does not work well when link quality is marginal or when there are many nodes sharing the channel. In this scenario the round-trip packet timing has a very wide range of values, so the timeout value becomes inflated and inconsistent. Static settings should be used in this situation. + +**Enable/Disable Mesh Radio** + You can disable your node's radio interface by deselecting the *Enable* checkbox, saving your changes, and rebooting the node. With the Mesh RF interface disabled the *Active Settings* no longer apply and will disappear. Since your node now has an unused RF interface, you will notice that a new section appears which allows you to use the node's radio as an FCC Part 15 *LAN Access Point*. You can enable or disable the LAN AP using the *Enable* checkbox. See the details below for configuring the LAN Access Point. .. image:: _images/07a-lanAP-on.png :alt: LAN AP Settings - :align: left - -You can disable your node's radio interface by deselecting the *Enable* checkbox, saving your changes, and rebooting the node. With the Mesh RF interface disabled the *Active Settings* no longer apply and will disappear. Since your node now has an unused RF interface, you will notice that a new section appears which allows you to use the node's radio as an FCC Part 15 *LAN Access Point*. You can enable or disable the LAN AP using the *Enable* checkbox. See the details below for configuring the LAN Access Point. - ----------- + :align: center LAN Column ^^^^^^^^^^ @@ -66,7 +78,7 @@ The other LAN Mode is ``NAT``, and in this mode the LAN is isolated from the mes By default each node runs a :abbr:`DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol)` server for its LAN interface, which lets the node assign IP addresses automatically for devices connected to the node's local area network. The last octet of the start/end range for host IP addresses is shown in the LAN column. If you choose to disable the DHCP server, you must manually configure the host IP addresses to be within the LAN network range. There should be only one DHCP server for each IP address scope or range, so you may need to disable your node's DHCP server if there is already another device providing DHCP services on your node's local area network. Click this link for additional information on `Dynamic Host Control Protocol `_. -If you enabled the *LAN Access Point* feature, edit the access point's SSID, channel, encryption method, and password. Click *Save Changes* to write your information to the node's configuration, and a node reboot will also be required. Now wireless devices can connect to your node through this new WiFi AP, and their DHCP IP address will be assigned by the node's DHCP server. If your node hardware has two radios, for example the *Mikrotik hAP ac lite* with both 2.4 and 5.8 GHz radios in a single unit, the *LAN Access Point* section will always be visible whether or not your *Mesh RF* interface is enabled. +If you enabled the *LAN Access Point* feature mentioned previously, edit the access point's SSID, channel, encryption method, and password. Click *Save Changes* to write your information to the node's configuration, and a node reboot will also be required. Now wireless devices can connect to your node through this new WiFi AP, and their DHCP IP address will be assigned by the node's DHCP server. If your node hardware has two radios, for example the *Mikrotik hAP ac lite* with both 2.4 and 5.8 GHz radios in a single unit, the *LAN Access Point* section will always be visible whether or not your *Mesh RF* interface is enabled. WAN Column ^^^^^^^^^^