Redline Communications AN-100ux Review

Author: Benjamin Luck – Synworks Development Group

Synworks DG Website http://www.synworks.info/

Email: contact@synworks.info
 Contents

1.0 Introduction

2.0 The Equipment

2.1 WiMAX Base Station IDU
2.2 WiMAX Base Station ODU
2.3 The Subscriber Units

3.0 Setting up the Base Station for Deployment and Testing

3.1 Getting Connected to the Unit
3.2 Base Station IDU Basic Configuration
3.3 Base Station IDU Wireless Interface Configuration
3.4 Base Station Wireless Service Configuration

4.0 Subscriber ODU/IDU Configuration

4.1 Upgrading the unit
4.2 Manual Set-up Method
4.3 Script Setup Method
4.4 Subscriber Alignment

5.0 Product Support

6.0 The Conclusion

7.0 Product Review Rating

8.0 Contacts for the Product

1.0 Introduction
I am excited this week, as I have been testing and reviewing the Redline Communications AN-
100ux WiMAX basestation and subscriber units. The Redline Communications company is the
leading supplier of the world’s most advanced, performance-driven, scalable, and reliable fixed
and mobile wireless broadband access and backhaul WiMAX solutions.

The Redline Communications AN-100ux unit is their new WiMAX product for point to multipoint
last mile delivery, which is part of Redline's RedMAX™ family of products. The AN-100ux uses
OFDM radios, with TDD and FDD (AN-100U) ability using 3.5 MHz and 7 MHz channels.

While using TDD with 7MHz channels, ethernet throughputs of up to 24Mbps can be archived. The
AN-100ux is available in 3.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz radio band configurations, has over the air DES
encryption ability and is fully 802.16d certified. For more information, click here for the Redline
AN-100ux data sheet located at the Redline Communications website.

2.0 The Equipment

Now it is time to open up the box and have a look at the equipment within. Couple of cable boxes,
lighting arrestor, an Base Station IDU kit, an Base Station ODU kit and power supplies. Also we
had a couple of client side IDU and ODU units with all the bits required.

2.1 WiMAX Base Station IDU

The IDU is rack mountable, with separate NMS and Data payload ethernet ports. Also the unit has
dual power supplies at 240VAC and/or 48VDC for redundancy. There is a syncing port on the IDU
that can be used for multiply sectors and radios at a single tower site.
2.2 WiMAX Base Station ODU
The ODU is very simple to connect and only requires two coaxial cables to hook into the IDU and
the antenna. The connectors on the ODU are female N-type ports to both the IDU and the Antenna.
All power and data to the ODU is carried by the coaxial cable.

2.3 The Subscriber Units

Redline Communications WiMAX Indoor Subscriber unit
The unit comes with power supply, cables, mounting brackets. The manual included is very general,
but enough information for a customer to install the unit (Post configuration at the workshop).

A LED display located on the top of the unit show signal strength, ethernet status and power status.

Redline Communications WiMAX Outdoor Subscriber units

The unit comes with power supply, cables, mounting brackets. The manual included is very general,
but enough information for a customer to install the unit (Post configuration at the workshop).

Signal strength can be determined by a buzzer unit. Ethernet status and power status are located on
the POE injector. The unit can come with either an integrated antenna or a connectorised antenna.

3.0 Setting up the Base Station for Deployment and Testing

3.1 Getting Connected to the Unit
Access to the AN-100ux base station interface can either be done by the web interface or by telnet
(Console).

On the both the client IDU and ODU units, all configuration has to be accessed by the telnet
console.
To get the unit ready for configuration, hooked it up to our laptop, with the IP address set to
192.168.101.10 and the netmask set to 255.255.255.0.

Then powered up the unit and after a few seconds, a link on the ethernet status appeared. To connect
to the web interface, enter the IP 192.168.101.3 into the address bar of your web browser. The
default username and password will be the word "admin".

3.2 Base Station IDU Basic Configuration

Once connected to the unit, start by setting up the NMS and data payload interfaces on the IDU.
First configuring the Ethernet Interface under the Interface Configuration sub menu.

In this web page, I statically set the duplex and speed and for the time being, set the management
port and data port to be the some.

Once that is done, proceed to set-up the IP configuration of the IDU. This includes the syslog and
NTP service set-up. Its a good idea to set-up syslog and NTP services as this is very useful for any
trouble shooting.

Also, depending on your installation, the management VLAN and client units DHCP set-up is done
in this menu section.

3.3 Base Station IDU Wireless Interface Configuration

Selecting the wireless interface under the Interface Configuration sub menu, will bring up the
require screen. Under the RF Parameters heading, you will need to set the RF DL Channel to your
licensed channel and TX Output Power.

The SS Tx Power Control Enable and the Auto Rx Gain Enable should be enabled, allowing the
Client units to auto power level.
Under the PHY Parameters, for our set-up, I am setting the Channel Size to 7Mhz and the Guard
Interval to 1/16.

The Mac Parameters I have set the Frame Duration to 10ms and the DL Ratio to 50% (for
symmetrical data). The Adaptive TDD and Uplink Subchannelization selections should be enabled
for best performance. No Synchronisation Mode is required, since I am only using one BS unit. The
Cell Range should be set to your planned coverage area radius from the tower in kilometres.

Once this is all configured, you will need to click save and then reboot the unit.

3.4 Base Station Wireless Service Configuration

Now for the tricky part. First, have to set-up some basic wireless accounts under the Service
Classes menu, which is under the Service Configuration sub menu. I create a service class by giving
it a name, the speed of the service (in bps), Priority and a Scheduling Type. More QOS options can
be set under different Scheduling Type selections.
For our test, I am setting up service called "2MB Business BE", with a Max Sustained Rate of
2000000 (2Mbps), priority at 0 and Scheduling Type set to bestEffort.

Now I need to configure the Subscribers section. This is were I put the client subscriber information
for access control. I have a few units to test, so we have to add each unit's MAC address into the
system.

For the configuration, we add the subscriber MAC, then the subscriber name, set the Max Host
Number to one (I only have one client interface on the ethernet side of the client subscriber) and
Auto Learning to enable.

Now I need to configure the Service Flows section. This joins the subscriber's unit information to a
particular a Service Class. Allowing for a client to get a particular QOS.

You will need an entry for the upstream data and downstream data per subscriber unit that is to be
connected. This is were the SFID are created and will be important later on for traffic ACL and
QOS.

For our test, I have set our subscriber unit to 2Mbps symmetrical, with the CS Specification set to
802.3 ethernet. You will need two separate entires for the up and down stream, otherwise data will
only move one way.

For the final part of the set-up, I need to configure the Classifiers section. This allows us to specify
what traffic is allowed across the wireless unit. You will need to specify at least two per subscriber,
for upstream and downstream data.

For our set-up, I look at the downstream SFID from the Service Flow section. This is set to SFID 1.
I need to setup a classifier with the DestMacAddr ticked and set to out laptop's MAC of
00:08:02:49:d6:2b and the DestMacMask set to ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff (Only my MAC address). Then just
click the add button and the classifier should appear.

Then I need to setup the upstream data, so I select SFID 2. I need to setup a classifer with the
SourceMacAddr ticked and set to out laptop's MAC of 00:08:02:49:d6:2b and the SourceMacMask
set to ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff (Only my MAC address). Then just click the add button and the classifer should
appear.

Just a warning, do not set-up a catch-all SFID, as this will override any other SFID's in the set-up.
I.E., a SourceMacMask of 00:00:00:00:00.

The only thing left is to select the Manage section under the Service Configuration sub menu. Once
the page comes up, you will need to click save on the Save Service Configuration option. This will
permanently save your configuration into flash.

Now the base station should be ready for deployment and test with our IDU and ODU subscriber
equipment.
4.0 Subscriber ODU/IDU Configuration
Configuration is by telnet to a the units default IP address of 192.168.101.2. A few things need to be
set in the WiMAX subscriber IDU/ODU before deployment. Needing to set the base station,
channel size, frequency scan range, TX power, and the IP address for remote administration. The
next section deals with upgrading and configuring the client side units.

4.1 Upgrading the unit

To make sure I get a good result, I need to make sure the firmware is upgraded to the latest feature
release. I are upgrading to the new version 2 firmware which has the sub-channelisation feature.
Below is a capture of the upgrade process. You will need an FTP server with the username set to
"target", the password set to "secret" and the image copied into the FTP server directory before the
upgrade process.

Obleena ~ # telnet 192.168.101.2

Trying 192.168.101.2...
Connected to 192.168.101.2.
Escape character is '^]'.
Login:admin
Password:

SUI#>
SUI#> softwareUpgrade
SUI(softwareUpgr ->)#> loadimage 192.168.101.10 SUI-U1-001-02-XX-XXX.bin

Opening FTP connection.....Done

Downloading image
........................................
Done

Erasing program partition..........Done

Programming update..........Done
Erasing setup partition.Done.
Writing setup partition.Done.
Erasing boot block.Done
Programming boot block.Done
Flash programming complete.
SUI(softwareUpgr ->)#> exit
SUI#> reboot
!! This is going to lose connection !!
Are you sure to continue to REBOOT? (press 'Y' to confirm)
Broadcast message from admin

!! The device is about to reboot, you will lose connection now !!

Please try to login again later. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Start rebooting ...
Connection closed by foreign host.

4.2 Manual Set-up Method

For the test, I configured the unit to a 7Mhz channel TX power to auto and locked down the channel
scanning to our frequency. Then set the preferred base station MAC and IP address. Configuration
was simple for someone that has had experience with wireless networking equipment. Pretty much
a wireless bridge with a lot of features.

Obleena ~ # telnet 192.168.101.2

Trying 192.168.101.2...
Connected to 192.168.101.2.
Escape character is '^]'.
Login:admin
Password:

SUI#>
SUI#> bsIdTable
SUI(bsIdTable ->)#> add BsId 00:09:02:XX:XX:XX Priority 1
SUI(bsIdTable ->)#> exit
SUI#> phyConfig set Bandwidth 7000
SUI#> phyConfig set CyclicPrefix 16
SUI#> rfConfig set MaxTxPower 24 (20 for SUO)
SUI#> rfConfig set HiRfFreq1 348XXXX
SUI#> rfConfig set LoRfFreq1 348XXXX
SUI#> rfConfig set Nomadic 0
SUI#> user password admin
Enter new password:
Confirm new password:

WARNING: you have to either logout or reboot from CLI once before any changes made to user
accounts could be saved into non-volatile memory!

SUI#>
SUI#> ipAddress set Address 192.168.101.5 Mask 255.255.255.0 Yes
Broadcast message from admin

!! IP address of the device has been changed, you will lose connection now !!
We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please try to login again with the new address: 192.168.101.5
Connection closed by foreign host.

4.3 Script Setup Method

A nice feature is the ability to download a configuration file to ease the setup of the the subscriber
unit. Just using an off the self FTP server, configuration is made easy. The default password and
username are the same as the firmware upgrade method. With the username as 'target' and password
as 'secret'.

Obleena ~ # telnet 192.168.101.2

Trying 192.168.101.2...
Connected to 192.168.101.2.
Escape character is '^]'.
Login:admin
Password:

SUO#>
SUO#> softwareConfig restore 192.168.101.10 config.bin

Opening FTP connection.....Done

Downloading configuration
.
Done

Updating configuration
Done
SUO#> Reboot
!! This is going to lose connection !!
Are you sure to continue to REBOOT? (press 'Y' to confirm)

4.4 Subscriber Alignment

For alignment, the easiest option is to select the alignment buzzer in the console of the SUI or SUO.
This produces a high pitched tweet that gets louder as you get the alignment closer. Remember to
turn the tweeter back off after alignment. Also, the command “show rfConfig” will give you the
RSSI values of the signal. Also the command “monitor rfconfig” will give you futher information.

Login:admin
Password:

admin, welcome to the SS CLI.

(turn buzzer on)

SUO#> boardConfig set Buzzer 1

(turn buzzer off)

SUO#> boardConfig set Buzzer 0

SUO#> show rfConfig

Structure ---

Transmit Receive
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
FixedPower:..............0.00 dBm Gain:....................0.00 dB
ActualPower:.............0.00 dBm RfRssi:...............-999.99 dBm
Lock:..................yes(1) Lock:..................yes(1)
FixedGain:...........false(0) Agc:...............enabled(1)
Frequency Others
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
LoRfFreq1:............XXXXXXX kHz RfTemp:................XXX Celsius
HiRfFreq1:............XXXXXXX kHz MaxRngRetries:.............30
Priority1:..................7 StickinessTimer:...........30 sec
LoRfFreq2:..................0 kHz MaxTxPower:.............20.00 dBm
HiRfFreq2:..................0 kHz Nomadic:..........Disabled(0)

5.0 Product Support

Redline Communications support and sales for the AN-100ux product is done by their various
regional headquarters and product distribution partners. Through their RedCare™ Support program,
Redline offers various base services.
• RedCare Warranty
• RedCare Protection Services
• RedCare Deployment Services
Their technical and sales staff are helpful and quick to resolve any issues and handle any
requirement requests.
There is a lack of public forums and blogs on the product, but that is not to say that makes good
product support.

6.0 The Conclusion

The AN-100ux lives up to being a true 802.16 WiMAX system, with a rich feature set and good
reliability.
The auto TX power levelling and licensed bands in 3.5Ghz give excellent reliability. I have see test
services in operation on an AN-100, with an uptime of over 6 months (When it was first installed).
It would have been nice to have a web interface on the SUI and SUO, as this would make it easier
for some support staff to navigate. Though, the web interface on the Base Station unit is quiet nice
to work with.
Redline Communication's product support is good, with competent technicians and sales staff
giving worth while service.

Pros:
• Some nice redundancy and GPS syncing options.
• The coax cable allows the ODU to be used on a tall tower installation.
• QOS and account features are rich.
• True 802.16d WiMAX.
• Interoperate with other brand WiMAX Clients.
Cons:
• You need a bit of networking knowledge to operate this unit. But I see most WiMAX
systems are very similar due to their rich feature set.
• Requires rack space as well as tower space.
• You most probably will require licensed spectrum for this product.

7.0 Product Review Rating

This is a rating from BJL Research in-house and field testing. With a rating out of 5 stars.

Reliability:

Ease of Setup:

Performance:

8.0 Contacts for the Product

Name: Redline Communications
Company Profile: Redline Communications is a leading provider of advanced broadband wireless
access and backhaul solutions. Redline's RedMAX™ WiMAX Forum Certified™ systems and
RedCONNEX™ family of broadband wireless infrastructure products enable carriers, service
providers and other network operators to cost-effectively deliver advanced fixed and mobile
wireless broadband services to business and residential subscribers.
Website: http://www.redlinecommunications.com