Configures URWB network settings and parameters using the wireless controller interface. This process enables centralized management and deployment of ultra-reliable wireless backhaul profiles for optimized connectivity in mission-critical environments.
Create URWB network profile (GUI)
A URWB Network Profile is a configuration framework designed to enable the setup of an Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) network for APs. This profile allows APs to form a wireless mesh network with enhanced reliability, performance, and security.
Complete these steps to configure URWB network profile:
Procedure
| 1. | Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > URWB Network Profile. |
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| 2. | Click Add. The Add URWB Network Profile page is displayed. |
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| 3. | In the General tab, complete the following: |
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| 4. | Click the Mobility tab and select one of the following Mobility Roles:
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| 5. | To edit the MPO attributes, click the MPO tab.
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| 6. | Complete the following details in the Advanced tab:
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| 7. | Select the Multicast option from the drop-down list. |
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| 8. | Check the High Availability Enabled check box to enable the redundancy support for devices in the same class (coordinator, vehicle devices, and point-to-multi-point base). |
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| 9. | Click Apply to Device. |
The URWB network profile is created.
Configure URWB network profile (CLI)
Configure the URWB network key in the URWB pofile. The URWB profile is a wireless profile type that contains the URWB configuration parameters. All the APs with the same site-tag are configured with the URWB configurations defined in the URWB profile.
Complete the following steps to create a URWB network profile and configure the URWB network key:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | (Optional) Configure a strong password evaluation for the network key. Example:
If you enable strong network key, it means that the network key must contain at least one uppercase, lowercase alphabets, and digits. |
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| 4. | Configure a network key for secure communication between the URWB nodes. Example:
Here, 0 indicates that you must enter an unencrypted network key; and 8 indicates an AES encrypted network key.
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| 5. | Enable the URWB profile in the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. Example:
To disable the URWB profile, use the shutdown command. |
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| 6. | Exit the sub-mode. Example:
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The URWB network profile is created and the network key is configured in the wireless profile.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# strong-network-key
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# network-key network-key-type 0 <network-key>
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# no shutdown
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# exit
Configure URWB mobility backhaul check (CLI)
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure URWB mobility role. Example:
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| 4. | Configure URWB mobility backhaul-check when coordinator is unreachable Example:
This command configures the handoff and handoff-inhibition when coordinator is unreachable. The relay-switch configuration switches to Infrastructure Wireless Relay mode if the coordinator is unreachable. Use the no form of this command to disable URWB mobility backhaul-check with coordinator-down |
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| 5. | Configure URWB mobility backhaul-check when Ethernet ports are down. Example:
This command configures the handoff and handoff-inhibition when when all Ethernet ports are disconnected. The relay-switch configuration switches to Infrastructure Wireless Relay mode if all Ethernet ports are down. Use the no form of this command to disable URWB mobility backhaul-check when Ethernet ports are down. |
The URWB mobility role and backhaul check is configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mobility role {base| base-relay | client}
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mobility backhaul-check coordinator-down {handoff-inhibition | relay-switch}
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mobility backhaul-check eth-down {handoff-inhibition|relay-switch}
URWB Backhaul Check
The Backhaul Check feature monitors the connectivity status of infrastructure (base/base_relay) units' wired Ethernet ports and/or mesh-end connectivity. When backhaul connectivity is lost, the feature prevents mobile units from handing off to that infrastructure unit. This process ensures that traffic is not routed to a 'dead end' in the network.
Purpose
In a Fluidity/URWB network, infrastructure units (track-side radios) provide wireless coverage to mobile units (vehicle radios). These infrastructure units typically connect to the wired network via Ethernet. If an infrastructure unit loses its wired backhaul connection, it becomes a 'black hole.' Mobile units could connect to it wirelessly, but their traffic would have no path to the network.
Standard (Ethernet Port) Backhaul Check vs. Mesh-End Backhaul Check
This feature supports two operational modes: Standard Backhaul Check and Mesh-End Backhaul Check.
Standard Backhaul Check
What it monitors: The physical Ethernet port status on the infrastructure unit itself.
Use case: The infrastructure unit has a direct wired Ethernet connection to the backbone network. If that cable or port fails, the unit has no backhaul.
Mesh-End Backhaul Check
What it monitors: The logical reachability to the mesh-end (coordinator) via the wired AutoTAP probing mechanism — essentially checking if a pseudowire path to the coordinator still exists.
Use case: The infrastructure unit does NOT have a direct Ethernet connection to the backbone. Instead it reaches the network through a chain of other infrastructure units (e.g., a base-relay daisy chain). Even if its own Ethernet port is operational or does not exist, the path to the coordinator or mesh-end may be broken further upstream.
Configure URWB mobility MPO parameters (CLI)
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Enable URWB mobility multipath operation (MPO). Example:
This command enables MPO Receive Only or MPO Bidirectional. |
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| 4. | Configure URWB mobility MPO traffic CoS. Example:
Here, the CoS value is between 0 to 7. |
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| 5. | Configure URWB mobility MPO maximum paths (maximum number of MPO links). Example:
Here, the number of links are between 1 to 4. |
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| 6. | Configure URWB mobility MPO RSSI. Example:
This command configures minimum RSSI to establish MPO redundant links. Here, the RSSI value is between 0 to 96. |
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| 7. | Configure URWB mobility MPO telemetry. Example:
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The URWB mobility MPO parameters are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mobility mpo enable rx-only
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mobility mpo path 4
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mobility mpo rssi 4
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mobility mpo telemetry
Configure URWB mobility scan parameters (CLI)
Before you begin
The mobility scan parameters are strictly connected to the channel list configuration. Together with this parameter, you must also configure the channel list for scanning. To configure the channel list, see the Configure URWB channel list (CLI) section.
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure URWB mobility scan. Example:
Use the no form of the command to disable isolation and periodic time for scanning. |
The URWB mobility scan parameters are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mobility scan {isolation scan-wait-time 0-65535| periodic scan-period 0-65535 | rssi-threshold threshold-value 0-96}
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# no mobility scan isolation
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# no mobility scan periodic
Configure URWB MPLS parameters (CLI)
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure MPLS Ethernet filter, filtering method. Example:
This command allows all ethertypes or uses the configured ethertypes allowed list.
Use the no form of the command to disable MPLS ether-filter filtering method. |
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| 4. | Configure Ethernet filter allow-list and add the Ethernet type value to the allow-list. Example:
Here, the value of the Ethernet type is from 0 to 65535.
Use the no form of the command to remove ether-type from URWB ether-filter. allow-list . |
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| 5. | Configure ethernet I frames forwarding. Example:
Here, the value of the Ethernet type is from 0 to 65535.
Use the no form of the command to disable ether-filter Ethernet-I frames. |
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| 6. | Configure high-availability. Example:
Use the no form of the command to disable high-availability. |
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| 7. | Configure high-availability time out for device failure detection. Example:
Here, the
timeout-value is the high-availability node failure detection timeout. The value is from 0 to 65535 ms.
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The URWB MPLS parameters are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mpls ether-filter ethertypes filtering allow-all
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mpls ether-filter ethertypes allow-list add 50
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mpls ether-filter ethernet-I
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mpls high-availability
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# mpls high-availability timeout 54
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] mpls high-availability
Configure multicast for URWB profile (CLI)
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a URWB profile. Example:
This command creates a URWB profile and enters into the wireless URWB profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure multicast settings. Example:
This command enables multicast rule to all devices or only to the coordinator device.
Use the no form of the command to disable multicast. |
The URWB multicast settings are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile urwb urwb-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# multicast coordinator-only
Device(config-wireless-urwb-profile)# [no] multicast
Create URWB radio profile (GUI)
The URWB wireless radio profile is used to configure a particular radio slot for the URWB backhaul operation. The URWB wireless radio profile, when applied to a radio interface on a device, is relevant only if the device is in the URWB mode.
To set up a backhaul link with URWB, configure the URWB radio profile to a radio interface. Follow these steps to create a URWB radio profile:
Procedure
| 1. | Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > RF/Radio. |
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| 2. | Click the Radio tab. |
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| 3. | Click Add. The Add Radio Profile window is displayed. |
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| 4. | In the Add Radio Profile window, click the General tab and enter the radio profile name. |
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| 5. | Click the URWB tab. |
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| 6. | From the URWB Radio Role drop-down list, choose one of the options:
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| 7. | From the Radio Band drop-down list, choose one of the radios:
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| 8. | From the Channel drop-down list, choose the appropriate channel. |
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| 9. | From the Channel width drop-down list, choose one of the channel widths:
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| 10. | In the Encryption section, choose a type of encryption from the AES drop-down list.
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| 11. | In the Fixed Point to Multi Point section, configure the following: |
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| 12. | Click Apply to Device to save the configuration. |
What to do next
Assign the URWB profiles to the wireless RF tag.
Create RF tags and assign profiles (GUI)
Complete these steps to create RF tags and assign profiles:
Procedure
| 1. | Choose , click the RF tab, and then click Add. The Add RF Tag page is displayed. |
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| 2. | In the Add RF Tag page, enter the name and description of the RF tag. |
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| 3. | Select the required 6 GHz Band RF Profile, 5 GHz Band RF Profile, and 2.4 GHz Band RF Profile to be associated with the RF tag. |
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| 4. | Select an appropriate URWB Network Profile for the RF tag. |
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| 5. | Choose the required 6 GHz Radio Profile, 5 GHz Radio Profile, and 2.4 GHz Radio Profile to be associated with the RF tag. |
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| 6. | Click Apply to Device to save the configuration. |
Create URWB radio profile (CLI)
Complete the following steps to configure the URWB radio profile:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode to start creating a URWB radio profile. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a wireless radio profile. Example:
This command creates a wireless radio profile and enters into the wireless profile radio configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure URWB channel radios in the 5-GHz or 6-GHz bands. Example:
The channel range is from 1 to 233. |
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| 4. | Configure URWB channel width. Example:
The valid channel widths are 160MHz, 20MHz, 40MHz, and 80MHz. |
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| 5. | Configure URWB role of the radio, as fixed, mobility, or point-to-multi-point. Example:
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| 6. | Exit the sub-mode. Example:
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The URWB radio profile is created.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile radio urwb-radio-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb channel 5ghz 120
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb cwidth 160MHz
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb role fixed
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# exit
Configure URWB point-to-multi-point parameters (CLI)
Complete the following steps to configure the URWB fixed point-to-multi-point (PTMP) parameters:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode to create a URWB radio profile. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a wireless radio profile. Example:
This command enters into the wireless profile radio configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure URWB PTMP cluster ID to identify a cluster formed of base(s) and client(s). Example:
The maximum length of the cluster ID is 64 characters long.
Cluster ID: When more than one point-to-multipoint cluster operates in the same location, each cluster can be logically separated from every other cluster by using a cluster ID value that is unique to that cluster. A Fixed client radio will only communicate wirelessly with a Fixed Base radio that shares the same cluster ID.
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| 4. | Enable URWB PTMP autoscan for radio slot. Example:
Use the no for of this command to disable URWB PTMP autoscan.
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| 5. | Set the URWB PTMP tower ID for radio slot. Example:
Use the
no for of this command to disable URWB PTMP tower ID.
Tower ID: To avoid connectivity issues when multiple towers are serving the same cluster, the tower-id parameter can be enabled on Base radios. All radios mounted on the same tower share the same tower ID. Even if two base radios see each other through a physical link and wirelessly, they know that they are on a different tower and will continue to advertise themselves. When a client is connected to one tower (Tower 1) and moves close to another one (Tower 2), it automatically connects to a new base on Tower 2. This gives a wider coverage area and continuous connectivity. The same tower design, with different tower IDs, can be replicated to provide more coverage zones. |
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| 6. | Configure URWB PTMP RSSI threshold for radio slot. Example:
Use the
no form of this command to disable URWB PTMP RSSI threshold.
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The URWB PTMP parameters are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile radio urwb-radio-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb ptmp cluster-id cluster-id
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# [no] urwb ptmp autoscan
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# [no] urwb ptmp tower-id tower-id
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# [no] urwb ptmp rssi-threshold threshold-value
Configure URWB encryption parameters (CLI)
Complete the following steps to configure the URWB encryption parameters:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode to create a URWB radio profile. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a wireless radio profile. Example:
This command creates a wireless radio profile and enters into the wireless profile radio configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure AES-based encryption policy with fixed key or rotating key. Example:
Use the none command to disable the AES-based encryption. |
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| 4. | Configure AES-based encryption rotating key timeout. Example:
Here, the timeout range is from 0 to 65535 seconds.
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The URWB encryption parameters are configured.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile radio urwb-radio-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb crypto policy {none | fixed-key | rotating-key}
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# urwb crypto rotating-key-timeout 120
Configure URWB channel list (CLI)
Complete the following steps to configure the URWB channel list for mobility scanning:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode to create a URWB radio profile. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name to create a wireless radio profile. Example:
This command creates a wireless radio profile and enters into the wireless profile radio configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Add channel or channel-width to URWB channel list for radio slot. Example:
Use the
no for of this command to remove channel or channel-width from the URWB channel list for radio slot.
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The URWB channel list is configured for mobility scanning.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile radio urwb-radio-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-radio-profile)# [no] urwb chan-list channel 100 cwidth 40MHz
Create RF tags and assign profiles (CLI)
Complete the following steps to map the radio profile to RF tag and radio slot:
Procedure
| 1. | Enter configuration mode to create wireless RF tags. Example:
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| 2. | Enter a profile name and create a wireless RF tag. Example:
This command configures the wireless RF tag and goes into the wireless RF tag profile configuration mode. |
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| 3. | Configure URWB profile. Example:
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| 4. | Configure the URWB radio profile to the RF tag. Example:
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| 5. | Exit the sub-mode. Example:
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The RF tags are created and assigned to the URWB profiles.
Example
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless tag rf rf-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-rf-tag)# urwb-profile urwb_profile
Device(config-wireless-rf-tag)# dot11 5ghz slot1 radio-profile urwb-radio-profile-name
Device(config-wireless-rf-tag)# exit
In the RF tag configuration, if you assign radio profiles on 2 radio slots in 5-GHz band ( dot11 5ghz slot# radio-profile profile-name . Following restrictions apply:
The channels configured are separated by 100 MHz.
The channels cannot be in the same UNII2 Ext channels.
What to do next
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Assign the URWB coordinator role to one of the APs.
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Configure URWB DFS parameters.
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Assign the URWB Fixed Base role to the selected APs.
Configure URWB parameters in the privileged EXEC mode
The URWB parameters in the EXEC mode are Fixed Base and Fixed Point-to-Multipoint.
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Fixed Base in a point-to-multipoint topology, is the radio selected by the clients to connect to. Clients only connect to Fixed Base radios.
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If Fixed Point-to-Multipoint is enabled, at least one AP has to be configured as a Fixed Base.
Configure URWB parameters per radio (GUI)
Complete the following steps to configure URWB parameters per radio:
Procedure
| 1. | Choose . |
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| 2. | Click the 5 GHz Radios section. |
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| 3. | Select an AP from the list of APs displayed. The edit page is displayed. |
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| 4. | In the URWB section, use the toggle button to enable or disable the Fixed Point to Multipoint Base [Config on WLC] parameter.
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| 5. | Click Update & Apply to Device. |
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| 6. | Click All Access Points and select the required AP. The Edit APpage is displayed. |
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| 7. | Click the URWB tab. |
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| 8. | In the URWB Coordinator [Config on WLC] section, check the Coordinator check box to configure the AP as a coordinator. This option tags a device to the coordinator role. Coordinators are the entry or exit points of the traffic to or from the infrastructure side. Reboot the AP to synchronize configurations. |
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| 9. | (Optional) Check the Wired-Only coordinator, and select either Fixed or Mobility. The URWB Coordinator [Config on AP] section displays the coordinator status on the AP. |
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| 10. | Click Update & Apply to Device to save the configuration. |
The URWB parameters are configured per radio.
Configure URWB parameters in the privileged EXEC mode (CLI)
Procedure
| 1. | Configure URWB PTMP parameters. Example:
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| 2. | Configure URWB DFS parameters. Example:
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| 3. | Configure URWB coordinator mode. Example:
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| 4. | Configure URWB coordinator radio-off mode. Example:
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The URWB parameters are configured in the privileged EXEC mode.
Example
Device# ap name Cisco-AP dot11 5ghz slot slot-number urwb ptmp base
Device# ap name Cisco-AP no dot11 5ghz slot slot-number urwb ptmp base
Device# ap name Cisco-AP dot11 5ghz slot slot-number urwb dfs {auto | primary | secondary}
Device# ap name Cisco-AP urwb mode coordinator
Device# ap name Cisco-AP no urwb mode coordinator
Device# ap name Cisco-AP urwb mode coordinator radio-off fixed
Verify URWB details
Verify URWB profile details
To display the profile details specific to a URWB profile, use the following command:
Device# show wireless profile urwb detailed urwb-profile
Verify details about specific wireless radio profile
To display details about specific wireless radio profile, including the URWB information, use the following command:
Device# show wireless profile radio detailed radio_profile_name
Verify URWB details for a specific AP
To display the URWB details for a specific AP, use the following command:
Device# show ap name ap_name urwb info
Verify the configuration status from a URWB AP
To display the configuration status from a URWB AP, use the following command:
Device# show ap urwb status
Verify URWB details for an AP in a radio band
To display the URWB details for an AP in a radio band, use the following command:
Device# show ap name Cisco-AP dot11 band slot slot-id urwb detail