Cisco Cisco Aironet 3500p Access Point White Paper
© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Spectrum Intelligence: The 3700 Really Is Smarter
Than the Competition
Than the Competition
The primary new feature of the new 802.11ac
amendment is support for an 80-MHz-wide channel.
The benefit of an 80-MHz channel is the potential to
double usable throughput in comparison to that of
802.11n using a 40-MHz channel.
amendment is support for an 80-MHz-wide channel.
The benefit of an 80-MHz channel is the potential to
double usable throughput in comparison to that of
802.11n using a 40-MHz channel.
Of course, a wider channel is also more susceptible
to interference. For example, 802.11ac devices “hear
more” than 802.11n devices, primarily due to the
wider channel support.
to interference. For example, 802.11ac devices “hear
more” than 802.11n devices, primarily due to the
wider channel support.
Figure 5 shows why there is more to building an
802.11ac access point than simply meeting the
standard. Not all 802.11ac access points perform
equally without interference. But more importantly,
not all 802.11ac access points perform well in the
presence of interference.
802.11ac access point than simply meeting the
standard. Not all 802.11ac access points perform
equally without interference. But more importantly,
not all 802.11ac access points perform well in the
presence of interference.
Figure 5.
802.11ac Throughput With and Without
5-GHz Interference on Secondary 40
Source: Miercom
Extensibility to New Technologies
The fundamental features and benefits provided by
Cisco CleanAir technology are directly extensible to
emerging Wi-Fi technologies. For example, when the
802.11ac module is installed and enabled in an Aironet
3600 Series access point, the CleanAir subsystem will
monitor the entire 80-MHz channel (that is, the 5-GHz
802.11n radio native to the Aironet 3600 monitors the
full channel bandwidth being used by the 802.11ac
module instead of monitoring only its own 40-MHz-wide
channel).
Furthermore, this same proven functionality is provided
in the new Aironet 3700 Series access points. As with
the Aironet 3600 plus 802.11ac module, the CleanAir
subsystem within the Aironet 3700 will report interferers
detected within the full 80-MHz channel in addition to
creating AQ reports for each of the four 20-MHz
channels that form the 80-MHz channel.
In summary, CleanAir continues to detect and report
upon interference sources and AQ despite the increased
channel bandwidth. Therefore, no degradation or
suboptimal performance results from the migration to
802.11ac. CleanAir support for monitoring the entire 80-
MHz channel provides superior 802.11ac network
quality management, helps improved visualization of
how the RF spectrum is being used, and enables
EDRRM for the full 80-MHz channel.
Conclusions
Because Wi-Fi operates in a shared unlicensed band, integrated spectrum intelligence and spectrum management
are a “must haves” to enable a high level of performance, security, and reliability in your Wi-Fi network. Spectrum
are a “must haves” to enable a high level of performance, security, and reliability in your Wi-Fi network. Spectrum
wireless applications.
Because the limited RF visibility capabilities of commercial Wi-Fi chipsets are not sufficient, Cisco has integrated
patented spectrum processing hardware and software specially designed for analyzing interference, and created a
true enterprise-class Wi-Fi chipset. With this underlying silicon capability, Cisco CleanAir technology classifies and
locates individual sources of interference and tells you how it impacts the performance or security of your network.
While SI can be acquired in the form of tools like Spectrum Expert that are useful in the predeployment phase, the
best option is to have SI technology integrated directly within the infrastructure. Cisco CleanAir technology provides
powerful spectrum management features such as 24/7 proactive monitoring of interference, spectrum security and
performance alerts, remote management, and interference device location. Most importantly, integrated SI enables
a new level of automated spectrum management that is able to understand and intelligently mitigate the impacts of
interference.