Firetide

HotView Reference Guide
Mesh Management Software for

HotViewProTM Firetide Wireless Mesh Systems
HotView Pro
Network Management
Workstation
Enterprise
Network
Backbone
Manual Revision 20070813-1f.

Applicable to HotView and HotView Pro versions 4.2.0.0, 4.3.0.0, and newer.
The contents of this User Guide are subject to change without notice.
Please refer to the Firetide web site, www.firetide.com, for current versions.
2005-2007 Firetide, Inc. All rights reserved.

Firetide, the Firetide logo, HotView, and Wireless Instant Networks .
are trademarks of Firetide, Inc.
Super Quick Start Guide
Firetide has spared no effort or expense in attempting to make this manual as useful as possible, and
we encourage you to read it. However, if its critical that you get a mesh up and running quickly, heres
what to do:
1. Unbox all of your HotPort nodes and set them on a table or bench. Plug them all in to AC
power.
2. Insert the HotView Pro CD into a Windows XP PC. HotView Pro works with Apples MacBook Pro,
using either Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, or Apples BootCamp, and XP.
3. Click the Install icon, and follow the on-screen steps. Accept all defaults. When you get to
the screen where you select which of three versions of HotView to install, select the first one,
HotView.
4. Finish the installation.

5. Open the Network Configuration control panel, and set your PC to have a fixed IP address on
the 192.168.224.x/24 subnet. Do not use 192.168.224.150; that is the default address of the
HotPort mesh.
6. Connect your PC to one of the HotPort nodes.
7. Launch HotView. There is a shortcut for it on your desktop.
8. Log into the mesh, using the password firetide.
9. Your screen should look something like this. If it doesnt, refer to the Troubleshooting section
of this manual.
There should be an icon on the screen for each node that you have set up. If not, consult Section V,
Troubleshooting, in this manual.
2 HotView Pro User Guide August 2007

How This Reference Guide is Organized
This manual is organized into these sections:
Super Quick Start (the page preceding this one.)
Understanding and Deploying Wireless Meshes
Mesh Node Command Reference
Access Point Command Reference
Mobility Command Reference
Plus two of the most useful sections:
How-to - Initial Installation
How to - Operations and Advance
Troubleshooting
In addition, there are several appendices which contain reference information.
If you are new to mesh networking, begin by reading the Understanding and Deploying Wireless
Meshes section. Use this to develop a plan for your deployment.
The How-to section will provide guidance on specific operations youll need to know to implement
your plan.
The Command Reference sections give detailed instructions and parameters for each command.
August 2007 Firetide Instant Mesh Networks 3

Contents
Chapter 1 Firetide Mesh Networking Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Overview of Mesh Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Firetide Mesh Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Series 6000 Mesh Nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
HotView Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
HotView Pro Exclusives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2 Planning Your Wireless Mesh Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Wireless Mesh Network Concepts and Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Planning Your Deployment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Wireless Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3 Planning Your Radio Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Site Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
RF Band Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Antenna Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Antenna Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Antenna Mounting Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fresnel Zones and Line-of-Sight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 4 Planning Complex Networks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Tuning Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 5. IP Addressing in Firetide Mesh Networks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Reserved Addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mesh IP Addresses and ARP Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Ping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mobility and IP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 6 Planning Your HotView Pro Software Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The HotView Pro Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Production Deployment and Test Deployments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Installation Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Server Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Key Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 7 Mesh and Node Menu Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
File Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Access Point Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Controller Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Certificate Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Configuration Tools Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Monitor Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Verify. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 8 Mesh and Node Right-Click Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mesh Right-Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mesh Summary Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Node Right-Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Node Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 9 Mesh Configuration Command Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Mesh Configuration - Network Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Mesh Configuration - Wireless Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
DFS - Dynamic Frequency Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Setting the Radio Channels - Series 3000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Changing Radio Security Settings - Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Mesh Configuration - User Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Mesh Configuration - Advanced Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Contents, continued
Chapter 10 Command Reference - Server Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Accessing Server Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Mesh Identity Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Stopping and Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Setting Up User Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
User Account Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Database Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Configuring SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Security and Certificates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Access Point Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 11 HotView Installation Step by Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
HotView Pro Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Chapter 12 Initial Software Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Scope of this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
New Installations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
General Setup Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
HotView Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
HotView Pro Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
IP Address Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 13 Initial Mesh Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Connecting to the Mesh - Test Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Possible Causes of Login or Connection Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Quick Mesh Check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Adding New Nodes to an Existing Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Mixed-Node Network Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Country Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Set Country Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Resolving Conflicting Country Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Changing Country Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Initial Mesh Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Basic Mesh Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Assigning the Mesh IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Setting the RF Channel, Radio Mode, and ESSID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Radio Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Radio Channel Selection Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
DFS - Dynamic Frequency Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Changing Radio Security Settings - Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 14 - Resetting a Firetide Product. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chapter 15 - Upgrading Your Mesh Network Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chapter 16 Splitting a Large Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Reasons for Splitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Chapter 17 Network Gateway Interconnects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Planning Your Gateway Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter 18 Managing Multiple Meshes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Reasons for Multiple Meshes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Overview of Mesh Bridging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Planning the Mesh Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Setting up the Mesh Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 19 Ethernet Direct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Contents, continued
Chapter 20 Creating VLANs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Understanding VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
About Tagging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Creating a New VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Editing and Deleting a VLAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
VLAN Trunking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter 21 Wireless Video Surveillance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Overview of Wireless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Link Elimination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Chapter 22 Analyzing Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Viewing Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Neighbor Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Radio Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Changing the Statistics Refresh Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Ethernet Port Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Inventory View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Performance View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Current Faults View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Displaying the Fault Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Severity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter 23 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Trouble-shooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Cant Connect to Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Can Connect, but not to all Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Poor Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 24 Managing Third-Party APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Access Point Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Chapter 25 Firetide HotPoint Access Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Mixed Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Basic Setup Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Understanding APs, AP Groups, VAPs, & VAP Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
IP Address Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
HotPoint Configuration - HotView & HotView Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Adding Standalone HotPoints to HotView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
AP Node Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Physical AP Radio Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
VAP Group Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
VAP Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
VAP Group Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Understanding Advanced Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
AP Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Advanced Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Country Code Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Chapter 26 Setting Up Your Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
First-Time Installation Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Upgrade Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Adding the New Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Controller Tunnel Endpoint on eth1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Completing the Tunnel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Enabling the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Controller Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Configuring Controller-to-Controller Tunnels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Contents, continued
Chapter 27 Adding Integrated HotPoint APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Configuring a Controller for Access Point Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Defining the Controller AP Operating Mode Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Configuring the Controller for Integrated Access Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Defining the HotPoint AP Tunnel Endpoint - Controller End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Defining the HotPoint AP Tunnel Endpoint - AP End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter 28 Standalone AP Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Defining the Network IP Interface (eth0). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Defining the Standalone AP Tunnel Endpoint (eth1) - Controller End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Appendix A - Default Radio Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Appendix B - 802.11 a/b/g Frequency Assignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Appendix C - ARP Command Man Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Appendix D - Ping Command Man Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Appendix E - Installing PostgreSQL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
PostgreSQL Installation Under Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
PostgreSQL Under Linux. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Appendix F - SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
SNMP Setup Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Appendix G - Web Access - Connecting via a Browse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Section I. Understanding and Deploying Wireless Meshes
The chapters in the section explain the range of Firetide Wireless Mesh product and how they can be
used to provide network access in all types of location, both indoor and out.
Chapter 1 describes the capabilities of Firetide equipment.
Chapter 2 explains the principles of wireless mesh technology, and will help you understand how to
plan and deploy your network for best results.
Chapter 3 discusses RF issues. Good RF performance is the key to a successful wireless mesh deploy-
ment.
Chapter 4 describes the advanced features of Firetides mesh technology, useful for complex collec-
tions of multiple meshes. This includes many of the features which distinguish Firetide from other
wireless products.
Chapter 5 explains IP addressing in the Firetide system. Firetide meshes are layer-2 devices, and are
fully IP transparent. But like any intelligent manageable network product, Firetide meshes do have IP
addresses for management purposes.
Chapter 6 covers the HotView Pro Client and Server software system itself. This product is an enter-
prise-class management platform, intended to be installed on a server system. This chapter explains
the things you should know to select and install the platform for best results.

Chapter 1 Firetide Mesh Networking Technology
Overview of Mesh Networks Fundamentally, a Firetide mesh network give you the convenience of a wired-Ethernet switch com-
bined with the deployment flexibility of wireless technology. A simple mesh network can be set up in
minutes, with little more effort than it takes to deploy an Ethernet switch. At the same time, Firetide
offers advanced features to enhance security, quality of service, and manageability.
HotPort networks operate indoors and out, in the 2.4, 4.9 (public safety), and 5 GHz bands. With its
self-healing capabilities and traffic-prioritization options, a HotPort mesh network readily satisfies the
demands of high-bandwidth/low-latency applications, such as video, voice, and data.
A HotPort Mesh Network provides Ethernet connectivity virtually anywhereindoors and outdoors
without a wired backbone. This design makes the mesh ideal for any location where network cabling is
too difficult or expensive to install, such as historic buildings, outdoor locations, temporary venues,
or office spaces that change frequently. A mesh network may be used as a primary network or as an
extension to an existing wired network. Even in locations where wiring may be abundant, wireless
technologies offer a way to extend network coverage and offer additional flexibility.
Firetide Mesh Components The Firetide family of wireless networking components, listed in Table 1, consists of three families of
products:
Series 6000 HotPort Mesh Nodes; available with dual radios.
Series 4000 HotPoint Access Points, or APs.
Series 3000 HotPort Mesh Nodes; all with single radios.
All Series are available in indoor and outdoor models.
In addition to the hardware, Firetide offers its HotView Network Management System for simple
meshes. For most applications, Firetide recommends its HotView Pro multi-mesh Network Manage-
ment System.
Series 6000 Mesh Nodes The HotPort 6000 Series are a new design from Firetide. With the Series 6000, Firetide has added
a number of enhancements to its line of wireless mesh nodes. These enhancements include greater
overall performance and improved mechanical design. Series 6000 nodes have more VLAN capability
as well. The most significant improvement, however, is the availability of dual radios.
Series 6000 nodes will interoperate with Series 3000 radios, but the combined mesh offers only the
feature set common to both mesh node types. Series 6000 meshes can be used to full capability along
with Series 3000 nodes via the use of Mesh Bridging.
HotPort 6100 Series indoor mesh nodes are available with dual radios, and are capable of simultane-
ous receive and transmit, that is, full-duplex operation. Alternately, the two radios can be bonded
into one high-speed channel for greater throughput.
HotPort 6200 Series outdoor mesh nodes offer all the features of the indoor nodes in a rugged,
weatherproof enclosure. The 6200 Series supports PoE as power-sourcing equipment, that is, it can
power other Ethernet devices.
Series 6000 nodes offer dual independent radios. Each radio is capable of independent operation
from the other radio, and one radio can be transmitting while the other radio is receiving. The mesh
will automatically analyze each RF link and assign channels to insure best overall operation. (Manual
control is possible.) Operation in this manner is called Auto-Channel Assignment, or Linear full-du-
plex mode.
Alternately, the two radios can be ganged together to operate as a single RF link and deliver approxi-
mately twice the data throughput. This is called Bonded mode.
In bonded mode, the two radios act in concert to send or receive data. Each of the two radios can
be assigned to any channel in either band, but logically they act as a single wireless link. Overall
mesh behavior is thus similar to Series 3000 nodes. The advantage of bonded mode is greater overall
throughput, especially in a fully meshed or nearly fully-meshed configuration.
In this mode, each radio can act independently, thus any given node can transmit and receive at the
same time. As the name suggests, this is most useful in mesh configurations which are linear.

Channel Assignments When Series 6000 nodes are operated in linear mode, they can be configured to automatically select
the best RF channel for each RF link in the mesh. Selection is made from a list of permitted channels
you specify. You may manually override selected settings if desired.
In addition to being able to automatically select the best RF channel for each link, Series 6000 nodes
can also automatically recover and re-allocate channels in the event of a significant change in RF
environment. This feature can be turned on or off.
Current and previous Firetide Mesh nodes are summarized in Table 1.
Access Points Firetide HotPoints provide an enterprise-class wireless access solution and can be used as full-func-
tion standalone access points, or as part of an integrated wireless mesh network. Available in indoor
and outdoor models, they include a high power, extended-range radio, multiple antenna options,
robust security features, and multiple SSID support.
Firetides modular AP design offers several benefits. Among them are:
A HotPoint can be connected to a mesh node to provide Wi-Fi access to any location, without the
need for backhaul cabling.
A HotPoint can connect directly to a conventional wired infrastructure.
Because the access points and mesh nodes are kept in separate enclosures, they can be indepen-
dently positioned for optimum RF connectivity.
A HotPoint can share a Firetide mesh node with other devices.
Table 1. Summary of Firetide Mesh Routers and Access Points
Model Use Band RF Output Power Typ Data Rate

Current Models
6101 Indoor Mesh Node 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz high 35 Mbps
6102 Indoor Mesh Node 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz high 35/70 Mbps
6201 Outdoor Mesh Node 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz high 35 Mbps
6202 Outdoor Mesh Node 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz high 35/70 Mbps
4500 Indoor Access Point 2.4 GHz high 54 Mbps
4600 Outdoor Access Point 2.4 GHz high 54 Mbps
Non-Current Models
3101 Indoor 2.4, 5 GHz standard 10 Mbps
3103 Indoor 2.4, 5 GHz standard 25 Mbps
3100/PS Indoor, Public Safety 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz standard 25 Mbps
3500-2401 Indoor 2.4 GHz high 10 Mbps
3500-5001 Indoor 5 GHz high 10 Mbps
3500-2403 Indoor 2.4 GHz high 25 Mbps
3500-5003 Indoor 5 GHz high 25 Mbps
3203 Outdoor 2.4, 5 GHz standard 25 Mbps
3200PS Outdoor, Public Safety 2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz standard 25 Mbps
3600-2400 Outdoor 2.4 GHz high 25 Mbps
3600-5000 Outdoor 5 GHz high 25 Mbps

HotView Controller The HotView Controller is a software platform enabling advanced wireless mesh backbone and Wi-Fi
access services. HotView Controller delivers high speed infrastructure mobility and seamless client
roaming.
HotView and HotView Pro Network HotView and HotView Pro mesh management software enables management of Firetide HotPort wire-
Management Systems less mesh networks. This manual covers both HotView and HotView Pro. In general, references to
HotView Pro commands apply to HotView as well. Specific exceptions are noted in the text.
HotView is a basic mesh management tool, suitable for small mesh deployments where advanced
features are not required. It enables access to standard mesh network functions and individual node
settings including security, VLAN, traffic prioritization, radio power controls, and network gateway
interconnects.
HotView Pro is a full-featured mesh management tool which support management of multiple meshes
across an entire enterprise. HotView Pro provides live monitoring and comprehensive management
for larger enterprise and service provider mesh networks. This software package delivers advanced
features and options including the simultaneous management of multiple mesh networks from a cen-
tral location. A mesh bridging feature provides interoperability between mesh networks enabling the
use of multiple spectrums and frequencies within a single integrated mesh environment. HotView Pro
also supports multiple management clients, optional wired interconnections between mesh nodes, a
management database, and optimization of external gateway bandwidth.
HotView Pro Exclusives HotView Pro offers a number of features suitable for enterprise-class deployments.
Gateway Servers - used to provide multiple redundant connections to the outside world.
Ethernet Direct - used to create a route-optimized mix of wireless and wired links.
Mesh Bridge - used to connect multiple meshes.
Broadcast Containment - used to define rules of propagation for Ethernet broadcast packets.
Static Routes - used to manually specify certain routes.
User-specifiable Ethernet link speed - used to manage overall bandwidth demand.
Load Balancing.
Broadcast Containment.
Web-based management access from any computer.
Simultaneous multiple mesh management of all enterprise meshes worldwide.
SNMP with enhanced security features for network management.
Support for error and statistics logging to an external database.

Chapter 2 Planning Your Wireless Mesh Deployment
Wireless Mesh Network Concepts The fundamental building block of a wireless network is the Mesh. A mesh is a collection of two or
and Principles more wireless nodes, combined with a protocol for moving packets. Real-world meshes use sophisti-
cated algorithms to develop and maintain paths across the mesh.
A mesh is a single entity. Paths are maintained and optimized across this entity, but internal details
are hidden from the outside world. In this regard, a mesh is like an Ethernet switch. Internally, the
device knows how to move packets from port to port, but this is not visible externally. Like an Ether-
net switch, multiple meshes may be ganged together.
Figure 1. Typical Wireless Ethernet Mesh
HotView Pro
Network Management
Workstation
Enterprise
Network
Backbone
Meshes operate below the IP layer; that is, they are IP-independent. Meshes do have a packet-routing
algorithm, just as a wired Ethernet switch does. Firetide mesh nodes optimize their routing algo-
rithms across the entire mesh, taking into account the relative speed and capacity of each path, but
not outside it.
Radio differs from wired connections in some key particulars. Any given radio is half-duplex, that is,
it cannot transmit and receive at exactly the same time on the same frequency. Two (or more) radios
cannot both use the same frequency at the same time.
The current generation of Firetide mesh products feature two radios in each node, which gives great
flexibility and adaptability in a wide range of applications.
Fundamentally, a Firetide mesh is an intelligent managed Ethernet switch, and supports the same
features and capabilities as managed switches from major vendors of wired networking equipment.
Wireless Mesh Applications A wireless mesh can be used almost any place a wired Ethernet switch can be used, and also in many
applications where wired networking would be impractical. For example:
Video surveillance with IP video cameras.
Difficult-to-cables structures, such as historic buildings, warehouses, or factories.
Temporary networks, such as at races or sporting events.
As a backhaul for campus and municipal wireless-access deployment.
In support of VoIP deployment, as a network-extension technology to support APs in stairwells and
other hard-to-cable places.

Planning Your Deployment There are a number of things to consider when planning a Firetide Mesh Network deployment. Among
them are:
How many sites do you want to cover?
How much area do you want to cover at each site?
What are the applications you want to support?
What types and priorities of traffic, such as voice, video, and data, must you carry?
What bandwidth do you require?
How mission-critical will the network be? What is the cost of partial or total downtime?
What are the security requirements?
Where can you connect to the enterprise wired backbone, or the public Internet (if applicable)?
Will the mesh be indoors, outdoors, or both?
Do you need to support wireless access for laptops?
Do you need to support wireless access for specialized wireless equipment? (E.g. wireless credit-
card transaction terminals.)
Do you need to support mobile nodes within the mesh, for example emergency vehicles?
Do you need to support roaming for wireless access clients, such as for VoIP?
Multiple Meshes A mesh is a collection of nodes which, collectively, are in mutual radio contact - that is, they are oper-
ating on the same RF channel and share certain other common characteristics. A mesh is equivalent
to an Ethernet switch. Each physical site in your deployment will be at least one mesh. In general, it
is not advisable to extend a single mesh over more than one site.
Meshes, like the Ethernet switches they are, can be stacked or interconnected to provide as large an
infrastructure as desired. The number of meshes is invisible to the traffic running over them, just as
the number of Ethernet switches in a wired infrastructure is not visible to traffic.
You can connect as many meshes as you want directly to your enterprise backbone network, exactly
the way you would connect smaller Ethernet switches to a larger backbone switch. Redundant connec-
tions are possible; these are described fully in Chapter 17, Network Gateway Interconnects.
You can also daisy-chain meshes, that is, connect one mesh via a second mesh. This is called a Mesh
Bridge, and is covered in Chapter 18.
In some cases, you may want to have more than one mesh per site. This is commonly done. One reason
is to increase overall throughput; by running different collections of nodes on different RF channels,
overall bandwidth is increased. In mixed indoor/outdoor applications, it is often desirable to operate
some nodes in the 2.4 GHz band and some at 5 GHz, to take advantage of the propagation character-
istics of each.
Connecting to the Wired Backbone While Firetide mesh networks are often used to create stand-alone networks, the most common use
of mesh networking is as an adjunct to a larger, wired network; usually one that is connected to the
Internet.
A Firetide mesh is a switch; like any switch you can simply connect one of its ports to your wired net-
work. This is the best approach for small meshes. For large meshes, however, you may wish to have
more than one connection. Simply connecting the mesh twice would create a loop, just as it would
with a switch. Therefore, Firetide offers Network Gateways.
Network Gateways allow you to configure multiple exit points from the wireless mesh to the wired
infrastructure. This increases performance as well as adding redundancy. Performance is increased
because there are multiple radio links to exit points, not just one. A Network Gateway consists of one
or more Gateway Servers and one or more Network Gateway Interfaces.

Types of Meshes Meshes can be categorized by the degree to which all nodes are fully in contact with all other nodes. A
fully-meshed mesh means that each and every node has a direct radio link to every other node. Thus a
packet never has to make more than one hop to cross the network. Full, 100% meshing is rare; how-
ever, it is common to get close to full-mesh behavior. A well-meshed cloud is one where many nodes
are in direct contact, and all nodes are within two hops of each other.
At the other extreme is a linear mesh - one where most, if not all, of the nodes can only communi-
cated directly with one or two other nodes. In such a topology, a packet will take several hops before
reaching its destination.
If possible, try to design you mesh so that any high-bandwidth users are within two or three hops of
their destination.
Understanding Linear Meshes Imagine a series of nodes arranged along a straight line. Each node is close enough to hear its imme-
diate neighbor nodes, but cannot hear nodes further up or down the line. A packet of data can move
from node 1 to node 2 to node 3 and onward, but because each node radio is half-duplex, throughput
is reduced. Considered a simplified case: Node 1 sends a packet to node 2, but then node 1 must re-
main silent while node 2 forwards the packet to node 3. Only after this second hop can node 1 send
the next packet. This phenomenon, called bandwidth damping, limits overall throughput, and it is
the reason Firetide developed its dual-radio Series 6000 nodes. Firetide provides a linear mode in
the Series 6000 which allows full-duplex radio operation, insuring good performance.
VLANs and QoS VLANs and QoS should be used whenever priority traffic is to be carried, to insure low-latency access.
Typically, priority traffic is video or VoIP, but it may be different in your application. In addition, Static
Routes, User-specified link speeds, and Broadcast Containment can be employed to insure adequate
bandwidth and latency for critical applications.
Wireless Considerations The Firetide wireless mesh behaves like an Ethernet switch. Are there any characteristics in which it
differs from a conventional wired infrastructure? The answer is yes. The bandwidth of the links within
the mesh is approximately 70 Mbps, in terms of effective throughput. (The theoretical raw signal-
ing rate is 108 Mbps, but this does not include the overhead of Ethernet CSMA/CD or other factors.)
Second, and more critically, the links are radio. Radio is a somewhat less predictable environment
for signal propagation than a wired infrastructure, but a well-engineering radio installation will give
reliable and trouble-free service.
In short, a good RF design will give you a good, reliable network.

Chapter 3 Planning Your Radio Environment
Reliable mesh operation begins with a good RF environment. Whether you are deploying indoors or
outdoors, a little thought and planning ahead of time will save a lot of effort later.
The most important element in planning your radio environment is the site survey. This is the process
that identifies all of the factors that will affect radio performance.
Site Survey A site survey is an engineering document. It consists of:
A plan or map of the site, showing buildings, foliage, and any other element of interest.
The results of an RF scan, to detect possible sources of interference.
Possible locations for node installation.
Distances between locations.
Height of locations.
AC power locations.
Wired infrastructure access locations.
Photographs along the line of site of all node locations where obstructions may be an issue.
Ideally, a pair of Firetide HotPort nodes, equipped with antennas and a power supply, to be used
for RF measurements.
The result of a good site survey is a Bill of Materials, telling you what equipment you will need to de-
ploy your network. From this you can develop a deployment schedule.
Carrying out a good site survey is not a time-consuming or expensive, and can save substantial cost
during the installation and troubleshooting process.
RF Band Comparison Firetide equipment operates in either (or both) of two bands, the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band.
Exact frequency allocations vary by country, but for planning purposes this is not critical. (Note: like-
wise, we include the 4.9 GHz US Public Safety band as part of 5 GHz.)
In general, the 2.4 GHz band has slightly better penetration through walls, windows, and foliage,
but this is a general rule, not an absolute. The 2.4 GHz band is crowded with users. Many wireless and
cordless devices use it, including cordless phones, 802.11b/g access points, and microwave ovens.
2.4 GHz signals tend to perform poorly over large bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds. 5 GHz is a
better choice for these conditions.
The 5 GHz band is generally more interference-free, and because many installation must also support
802.11b/g access points, it is often preferred for the HotPort mesh.
Antenna Types Antennas are available in two basic types, directional and omnidirectional. Omnidirectional antennas
radiate equally in all directions in the plane. Note that omni antennas are not truly omni in all direc-
tions; they do not radiate up or down relative to the antennas axis, and so do not do a good job of
covering, for example, floors in buildings above or below the location of the antenna. A typical omni
radiation pattern is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Typical Omnidirectional Antenna Radiation Pattern
A directional antenna is like a spotlight; it focusses the RF in a particular direction, making the signal
stronger (brighter) there but leaving other areas in darkness.

Antenna Polarization Radio waves, like light waves, are polarized. This means that the antenna oriented between the trans-
mitter and receiver should match. For omnidirectional antennas, this means that the shafts of all
antennas must be parallel, typically vertical.
Antenna Placement Antennas should be placed away from poles, walls, and other objects that interfere with radio. Gener-
ally speaking, keep the antenna at least 1.6 meters (about 5 feet) from other objects.
Antennas should also be placed away from each other. Separation distance varies with application. A
transmitting antenna will tend to interfere with a nearby receiving antenna even though the units are
on different channels. Ideally, the two radios should be operated on different bands (e.g. one at 2.4
GHz and one at 5 GHz).
Antenna Mounting Guidelines Once you determine which RF band to use, you can order spectrum-specific antennas. Indoor nodes
in office environments can used the plastic antennas that come with Firetide nodes. Out door nodes,
or any node mounted where there is exposure to humidity or dampness, should be equipped with
outdoor-rated antennas. The antennas supplied by Firetide are not weatherproof.
For outdoor nodes, many installers prefer to mount the HotPort node and its associated antennas to
a short bar, typically about 2 meters long. This entire bar assembly is them mounted horizontally to
the vertical mast of the main antenna structure.
For best results, the mounting location should be selected to enable maximum performance of the
antennas. Generally speaking, a higher antenna will have better overall range and coverage.
Large or heavy antennas must be mounted to a pole or other secure structure.
Shorter antenna cables give better performance. Plan your installation to minimize antenna cable
length. However, do not attempt to splice or shorten the antenna cable. If a longer coax cable is
required, the system requires a high-quality, low-loss 50 ohm cable.
If a longer coax cable is required, contact your local distributor to obtain a 50 ohm cable with the
correct connectors. Firetide recommends LMR400 cable as a minimum. Heliax is preferred.
Do not mount the antenna pole near power lines.
When mounting next to an access point, mount the access point lower on the pole and at least one
meter ( about 3 feet) from the antennas. You can also mount the access point on a horizontal bar to
achieve the required separation.
Figure 3 shows a good, but not perfect, installation.
Figure 3. Dual Antenna Installation for a HotPort Mesh Node and Integrated HotPoint Access Point
This installation is good because the HotPort Series 6000 Antennas are 1.6 meters apart. It could be
better, though. If one of the antennas were placed pointing straight down, there would be less inter-
action between them. Even better, the antennas could be placed in line, one directly above the other.
Such collinear deployment minimizes interference.

Path Reflections & Multipath Gigahertz-range radio waves reflect off most surfaces, including glass and water. This creates an ef-
fect called multipath. The receiver receives two signals, the direct one and a reflected signal, just
a few nanoseconds later in time. If the two signals happen to be in phase, the received signal is
strengthened, but if the two signals are out of phase, they cancel each other out.
In most real-world installations, multipath is a fact of life and cannot be avoided. However, it can
be easy to deal with - small changes on antenna position can shift the multipath from canceling to
reinforcing. Typically you only need to move the antenna half a wavelength. At 5 GHz, a wavelength is
6 cm, or about 2.4 inches. At 2.4 GHz it is about 12 cm, or 4.8 inches. Thus, if you have a node which
is receiving a signal far more weakly than
Path Obstructions The paths between nodes should be as free of obstructions as possible. Most materials either absorb
or reflect radio waves in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Concrete, masonry, trees, and people absorb RF
energy. Metal, water, and most commercial glass used in buildings tend to reflect RF energy. Both of
these phenomenon adversely affect your RF signal. Try to place antennas where these factors are min-
imized. This usually involved placing the antenna higher - more work, but usually worth the effort.
The line-of-sight path should be free of obstructions. As described on the next page, this RF path has
a finite diameter. You should allow for this when installing nodes in crowded areas.

Fresnel Zones and Radio waves at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz travel in straight lines; thus for best radio performance there
Line-of-Sight should be line-of-sight between nodes. More specifically, there should not be material which blocks
radio waves. The line-of-sight path does not resemble a laser beam, however, but rather a double-
cone shape; large in the center and a point at each end, as shown Figure 4. This conical shape is called
the Fresnel (fre-NEL) zone.
The Fresnel zone consists of multiple concentric double-ended cones. In theory, the cones extend to
infinity; for practical purposes usually only the inner two affect RF transmission. Obstacles in the first
Fresnel zone will create signals that will be 0 to 90 degrees out of phase with the primary signal. (Fig-
ure 4 shows just this first zone.) A rule of thumb used by many RF engineers is that this first Fresnel
zone must be at least 60% open, that is, free of obstacles.
In the second zone, objects will create signals which are 90 to 270 degrees out of phase; in other
words, very likely to cancel the primary signal. Thus, highly reflective objects in the second zone may
cause destructive interference.
Figure 4. Fresnel Zone Cone
r
d
Table 2. Fresnel Zone Formula

r in meters, d in kilometers, f in GHz r, d in feet, f in GHz
r = 17.3 Nd
4f
r = .5 Nd
f
Table 3 gives typical Fresnel zone sizes at 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz. Note that for distances typical in in-
door installations, Fresnel zone sizes are not usually a critical factor, but in outdoor applications it
can be more critical. For example, if the radio path is to go between two buildings, no third building
or other obstruction should be within the Fresnel zone of the chosen path.
Table 3. Fresnel Zone Size, Zone 1 / Zone 2
d (km) r @ 2.4 GHz r @ 5.2 GHz d (ft) r @ 2.4 GHz r @ 5.2 GHz
N=1 N=2 N=1 N=2 N=1 N=2 N=1 N=2
0.10 1.77 2.50 1.20 1.70 25 1.61 2.28 1.10 1.55
0.25 2.79 3.95 1.90 2.68 50 2.28 3.23 1.55 2.19
0.50 3.95 5.58 2.68 3.79 100 3.23 4.56 2.19 3.10
1 5.58 7.90 3.79 5.36 250 5.10 7.22 3.47 4.90
2.5 8.83 12.5 6.00 8.48 500 7.22 10.2 4.90 6.93
5 12.5 17.7 8.5 12.0 1000 10.2 14.4 6.93 9.80
10 17.7 25.0 12.0 17.0 2500 16.1 22.8 11.0 15.5
25 27.9 39.5 19.0 26.8 5000 22.8 32.3 15.5 21.9

Chapter 4 Planning Complex Networks
Firetide mesh routers will automatically create a mesh among themselves. However, in many cases
you may want to implement more complex network topologies and functions.
For HotView Pro planning purposes, a complex network is defined as any network that contains two
or more individual meshes, or uses a mixed wired/wireless backbone (known as Ethernet Direct). In
contrast, a simple wireless mesh is any collection of two or more HotPorts, sharing a frequency, and
connected only via radio links from end to end. (Note that this does not mean that every node has a
radio link to every other node, but rather that one or more radio hops connect every node.)
A single simple wireless mesh is equivalent to an Ethernet switch. It is layer 3-transparent, but it does
have an administrative IP address.
Multiple Meshes Multiple Meshes can be implemented simply by connecting each mesh to the enterprise wired back-
bone. HotView Pro will show a page (called a Mesh tab) for each mesh. You can have up to 99 meshes.
Each mesh must have a unique ESSID, unique Mesh ID, and unique IP address.
Mesh Bridge Multiple simple meshes can be bridged together with MeshBridge. These networks can be co-located,
or on opposite sides of the globe. The connection is an encrypted tunnel; any routable path may be
used to bridge networks. The use of multiple co-located meshes, each on a different frequency, is a
good way to provide increased throughput in high-demand environments.
A Mesh Bridge allows you to daisy-chain one mesh to another, so that every mesh does not need a
homerun connection to the enterprise backbone.
Mesh Bridging allows you to tie two dissimilar meshes together into a unified whole. The meshes can
be dissimilar because of geography, frequency assignment, or different mesh routing protocols. Mesh
bridging allows far-flung enterprises to deploy wireless nets with seamless, centralized management
and full security across all meshes. It can also be used in physically small but bandwidth-intensive
applications to increase overall bandwidth.
VLANs As in wired Ethernet systems, VLANs provide a way to segregate LAN traffic for security and Class of
Service. HotPort mesh routers support both tagged and untagged ports, and support VLANs on their
wired connections as well as across the wireless links. Each mesh can support up to 4094 VLANs, and
VLANs can be built across multiple meshes.
Class-of-Service (CoS) allows you to prioritize certain types of traffic. This is especially useful for VoIP applications and
video camera/security applications.

Tuning Tools Firetide offers a number of advanced tools to allow you to customize your net for your application,
and to tune its performance. These tools include:
Ethernet Direct Every Firetide mesh network provides a wireless backbone, but high-traffic environments often have
a mixed backbone, containing both wired and wireless elements. While such a mixed network behaves
and performs as an Ethernet switch, it has a slightly more complex management structure and IP
address scheme. Wired connection between radio-connected nodes must be declared via Ethernet
Direct in order to avoid packet loops.
Ethernet Direct allows you to use wired connections among HotPort nodes in the same mesh to in-
crease overall throughput. This is especially useful in networks where there is limited route diversity,
for example, a network where all the nodes are in a line.
MAC Address Filtering This allows you to permit (or deny) access to a set of devices based on MAC addresses. This is usually
used for security purposes.
Broadcast Containment This allows you to control the number of meshes over which broadcast packets will propagate.
Multi-Hop Optimization This is used in non-fully-meshed networks to increase throughput.
RSSI Control Radio Signal Strength is used to set the upper limit for the received signal strength that a node is
willing to accept. Links weaker than this number will be eliminated. In some radio environments (es-
pecially outdoors), a nodes received strength at other nodes can vary from node to node; RSSI can be
used to eliminate the weak links in such a scenario.
Distance Optimization This allows you to fine-tune network timing parameters for meshes with links longer that 0.5 km.
The Firetide wireless mesh uses CSMA/CD, just like wired Ethernet. CSMA/CD has tuning parameters
based on the time it takes a signal to propagate along the wire or path. The Firetide mesh allows you
to adjust this.
Multicast Management This allows you to create multicast paths for video and collaboration applications.
Static Routes In some cases, you may wish to manually tweak the meshs paths.
There are advantages to all of these technologies. You should review the individual sections carefully
before planning your overall network deployment.
If you are planning to install a complex network, you should develop an IP address plan before pro-
ceeding. In any case, make sure that the IP address system you deploy is routable and accessible
through firewalls on your network.

Chapter 5. IP Addressing in Firetide Mesh Networks
Firetide meshes are IP-independent, and will transport Ethernet packet using any IP addressing sys-
tem your enterprise might have. For management purposes, Firetide meshes do have IP addresses.
These addresses are independent of your enterprise IP scheme; a Firetide mesh will transport any IP
packet given to it. The Firetide IP addresses exist only for management purposes.
You may wish to reserve a block of addresses for use by Firetide network equipment.
Firetide IP addresses are needed for several reasons.
Each mesh has a unique IP address used for management. The default is 192.168.224.150, but it
can be any address that is reachable from the HotView NMS.
Meshes which have mesh-bridge connections to other meshes have IP addresses assigned to the
endpoints.
Each Firetide HotPoint Access Point has a unique IP address used for management.
Access Points usually have additional IP addresses defined for virtual APs and other functions.
The Firetide Controller will have two (or more) IP addresses as well.
Complete details on IP addresses for various Firetide products can be found in the sections specific to
those products.
Reserved Addresses Various Firetide products have default addresses on the 192.168.224.X/24 subnet. In general, you
may use any other addresses on this subnet for your host PC, router, or other equipment. Reserved
addresses are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Reserved IP Addresses
192.168.224.150 Default Mesh IP Address

192.168.224.10 Default HotView Controller IP Address
192.168.224.160 Default HotPoint AP IP Address
Mesh IP Addresses and ARP Tables No single node in a HotPort Mesh has an IP address; the management IP address for the mesh is
shared by all the nodes. Node MAC addresses, however, are specific to each node.
When you connect a PC (or other equipment) to a node, software in the network protocol stack will
associate the IP address with the MAC address of that node. This relationship is maintained in the Ad-
dress Resolution Protocol table, or ARP table.
If you move the PCs wired-Ethernet connect from one node in a mesh to another, you change the MAC
address but not the IP address. This causes erroneous, or stale, ARP entries.
ARP tables are used by Windows, Linux, and most other operating systems to track the MAC (Ethernet)
address associated with each IP address. If you are using a workstation to configure multiple HotPort
nodes individually, the workstation may lose connection to a node due to a stale ARP entry. To avoid
this, whenever you physically connect to a different node, flush the ARP cache with the following
command:
> arp -d *
Ping Your systems ping command is a very useful debug tool. If you experience a problem connecting to
any mesh, try pinging that meshs IP address.
> ping 192.168.224.150 (use your mesh IP address)
or
> ping 192.168.224.150 -t
for a persistent (continuous) ping.
Mobility and IP Firetides Controller, used to support mobility across meshes, automatically creates tunnels for mo-
bile nodes so that the IP address assigned to Ethernet devices attached to that node always appear on
the correct subnet. This is covered in more detail in Section VII, Managing Mobility.

Chapter 6 Planning Your HotView Pro Software Installation
The HotView Pro Architecture A Firetide mesh is a self-running entity; it does not require a network management system for mo-
ment-to-moment operation. Firetides two Network Management Systems, HotView and HotView Pro,
are used to configure the network and to track performance statistics. They are not performance-
critical. However, statistics are not accumulated if an NMS is not running, so in most cases you will
want to keep HotView Pro running.
HotView is a single-user application, and can be run from any PC. In general, you will want to install
HotView even if you are also installing HotView Pro. It is useful as a diagnostic and debug aid, as well
as for network operation. You may wish to install it on the laptops of everyone who will maintain
HotPort networks.
HotView Pro is a client-server application. In a production environment, the server runs continuously
and collects performance statistics. Users - one or more - connect to the server to monitor and man-
age the mesh.
It is possible to install both the client and server on the same machine, and this is often done for
initial configuration. The server application can be moved to a permanent home later.
A typical production deployment shown in Figure 5. The HotVew Server application runs 24/7 on the
server; clients log in as needed. Note that a single HotView Pro server can manage multiple meshes.
Clients can be connected via a wired or wireless network.
Figure 5. HotView Pro Server Architecture
HotView Pro
Server
Firetide HotView Pro
Mesh Client
Firetide
Mesh Wired
Network
Firetide
Mesh
HotView Pro Client
(possible, but not
recommended)
HotView Pro HotView Pro
Client Client
Firetide offers two client application choices; the stand-alone client, and a browser-based client. In
order to support browser operation, the server must have JBOSS and JDK installed. Both are provided
as part of the HotView Pro distribution. The installer will automatically configure JBOSS to use port
80 for HTTP, but this can be changed after installation, if desired. If you move it to a different port,
insure that the chosen port is open on any firewalls in the path.
HotView Pro uses PostgreSQL to provide persistent storage of configurations, logs and data. The da-
tabase is required for networks with more than one mesh, and strongly recommended for smaller net-
works. HotView Pro can be installed without the database, for testing and configuration, but Firetide
recommends you use PostgreSQL in all production deployments. Firetide also suggests you run the
database on the same machine as the HotView Pro server.

Production Deployment and Test In addition to your production network deployment, you will probably want a test-lab deployment,
Deployments where new nodes can be set up and configured, and problems can be easily resolved on the bench.
If you are installing Firetide mesh networking for the first time, Firetide recommends that you set up
all the nodes in a room, and install HotPort on a convenient test PC. Perform all of the initial configu-
ration steps, and test the mesh. Then deploy the nodes to their final locations.
Installation Accounts HotView Pro creates a .firetide directory in the home folder of the account under which it was in-
stalled. The license files, log files, and many other files are kept here.
If you log in as another user on the server machine and launch HotView Pro, it will create a new
.firetide directory in that accounts home folder. This is NOT usually what you want.
Therefore, when installing HotView Pro on your production server, create a user account especially for
HotView Pro. Do not run it under your ordinary personal user account.
Older Versions of HotView Pro You should not uninstall older versions of HotView when installing a new version. If you have existing
nodes that you plan to upgrade, you should keep the older version. You must upgrade existing nodes
to the new firmware using the older version of HotView.
HotView creates a subdirectory called .firetide in the users home directory. This contains user ids,
passwords, license keys, and other installation-specific data. Uninstalling HotView or HotView Pro
does NOT remove this directory. In most cases you want to keep it. However, if you need to perform a
completely clean installation, you should delete the entire directory.
Installation Scenarios Depending on whether you are deploying Firetides mesh networking for the first time, upgrading
an existing HotView v3.x network, or upgrading an older HotView network, there are several recom-
mended installation scenarios.
Upgrade an Existing 3.x Its easiest to configure the HotPorts before deployment. Set the ESSID, channel, password, and
Installation other parameters as with a new installation. To simplify this process, Firetide offers an import and
apply feature that allows you to save a meshs configuration in a file, then apply it to new nodes on
that mesh.
Firetide recommends that you upgrade the firmware on existing nodes to the most current mainte-
nance release.
Upgrade an Existing 2.7 From Release 3 forward, the new AutoMesh protocol is not backwards-compatible with the older rout-
Installation ing protocol. If you are deploying Firetide mesh routing for the first time, this is irrelevant. If you are
upgrading an existing network, you will need to plan your upgrade strategy. You have two options:
You can upgrade all existing nodes to the current release before deploying new nodes.
You can run a multiple-mesh network, with some meshes using Release 2.7 nodes and other meshes
using Release 3 nodes. The meshes will need to be connected via standard layer three (IP) routing
protocols.

Server Requirements The HotView Pro network management system (NMS) is intended to run 24/7 in a production environ-
ment, and should be installed on a server-class system. Firetide recommends the following minimum
hardware.
Table 5. HotView Pro Server System Requirements
Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD

Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.5 or later. This is available for downloading from
www.java.com
JBOSS (supplied as part of the Firetide distribution)
J2SE Developer Kit 5.0 or greater (supplied as part of the Firetide distribution)
PostgreSQL database engine
2.0 GHz, 100% Pentium 4-compatible processor or later
1 GB of RAM(*)
500 MB of hard disk drive space, plus room for database.
10/100 RJ-45 Ethernet network interface
(*) 512MB is sufficient for up to several meshes, depending on total size. Larger installations will see
better HotView Pro software performance with more RAM.
The client-side application is less demanding, and will run on almost any reasonably current system.
Table 6. HotView Pro Client Requirements
Direct client: Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD

Browser-based client: Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4
Browsers supported: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla, Safari
Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.5 or later. Available from www.java.com
1.0 GHz, Pentium 4- or M-compatible processor or faster
512 MB of RAM(*)
50 MB of hard disk drive space
10/100 RJ-45 Ethernet network interface, or 802.11b/g

Key Terms These terms are useful to an understanding of wireless mesh technology in general and Firetide prod-
ucts in particular.
Node - one of the elements of a mesh. It has one or more radios, and a CPU which implements the
packet-switching algorithm. Generally, nodes also offer wired-Ethernet ports as entry points to the
wireless mesh.
Link - a connection between two nodes within a single mesh. Also known as a path. Links are gen-
erally wireless RF connections, but can be wired connections in some cases. (See Ethernet Direct.)
The key point is that the connection is between two nodes within the same mesh; that is, within the
same mesh-routing domain.
Mesh Bridge - a wired connection between two distinct meshes. The meshes can be near each other,
or even physically overlapping if they are logically isolated. They can also be arbitrarily far apart.
Because a mesh bridge connection is between two meshes, it is not part of any mesh-routing algo-
rithm.
Ethernet Direct - a wired connection within one mesh. An Ethernet direct connection is visible to
the mesh routing algorithm, which considers its capacity and speed when routing packets within a
mesh. Thus, Ethernet Direct links increase the capacity of the mesh in which they are contained.
Network Management System (NMS) - another name for HotView or HotView Pro, the system for
configuring and monitoring network behavior. Note that the NMS is NOT required for network op-
eration; only for initial configuration
Head Node - the node on the mesh which is logically closest to the NMS. Typically this is the node
which is plugged into the enterprise backbone, and from there to the NMS system.
VLAN - a dedicated virtual Ethernet switch. Ethernet devices assigned to one VLAN are isolated
from devices assigned to another VLAN. This is often used to provide security, and in combination
with QoS, to provide traffic prioritization.
QoS/Class of Service - mechanism used to insure that time-critical traffic (e.g. VoIP) gets delivered
promptly
Integrated AP - A Firetide HotPoint Access Point that is connected to a Firetide mesh node.
Standalone AP - A Firetide HotPoint Access Point that is connected directly to the wired enterprise
LAN.
Third-party AP - an AP not made by Firetide. Firetide supports third-party APs, as well as other
Ethernet-compatible devices.
Mobile node - a Firetide mesh node installed in a vehicle or any other place where it moves relative
to the other nodes.
Roaming - the ability to support 802.11 clients as they move from access point to access point.
Half-duplex - many radio systems can either transmit or receive, but cannot do both at the same
time. Thus in a group of nodes all within radio range of each other, at any given time only one node
can be transmitting.
Full-duplex - some radio systems support simultaneous transmission and reception.

Section II HotPort Mesh Node Command Reference
The HotView Screen A typical HotView screen looks something like Screen 1. Command menus are along the top. Just
below are command icons, and below that is a series of tabs which selects from among the various
views. A second series of tabs appears near the bottom; this selects from a number of different views
of tabular data, such as node names, performance status, and other related information.
Screen 1. HotView Screen
Changing the Default View You can use commands under the Options menu to change the default view, as shown in Screen 2. Use
the Options menu to turn off the background image and turn on the Show Information Bar, on the
right. (Later youll leanr how to add your own background image.)
THe Show Information Bar is quite useful when you are first setting up your mesh. Some users prefer
to leave it off when working with large meshes. The same information is available by right-clicking on
a mesh node, but for now turn the panel on before proceeding.
Screen 2. HotView Screen with background off, status panel on
Accessing HotView Commands Menus are displayed along the top of the screen in the usual manner. Below that, icons offer another
way to access commonly used commands. The third method of accessing HotView Pro commands is by
right-clicking on a node, or on the mesh as a whole.

Node Status Icon The status information about individual nodes appears in a node status icon in the upper-right corner
of the screen. To display this status information, click on a node in the mesh diagram.
Types of Nodes Different types of nodes have different icons, as shown by these examples:
Series 3000 node
Series 6000 dual-radio indoor node
Series 6000 single-radio outdoor node
Some nodes have visual indication of Ethernet port status. Letter meanings are given in Table 7.
Table 7. Ethernet Port Status Information
Color Meaning
Green Port is enabled and connected at 100 Mbps.
Cyan Port is enabled and connected at 10 Mbps.
Yellow Identifies enabled but unconnected ports.
Gray Identifies ports that are disabled or not available.

Some nodes will have a small letter between the antennas. Letter meanings are given in Table 8. Note
that a node may have more than one letter.
Table 8. Node Letter-Code Information
ID Description
SW Indicates a software error. Yellow indicates a minor error; red indicates a major error.
X Indicates a radio error. Yellow indicates a minor error; red indicates a major error.
H Identifies the node as a head node. A head node is a node connected to a workstation
running the HotView Pro software. In a simple mesh, the Head Node is the one connected
to the HotView Pro server. In complex multi-mesh systems, the Head Node is the node
furthest upstream, i.e. the point on the mesh that leads to the server. Thus, a Mesh-
Bridge node or Gateway Server Node may be a Head Node. All nodes in a mesh take their
configuration from their Head Node.
B Identifies the node as supporting a Mesh Bridge connection to another mesh.
S Indicates the node is a Gateway Server Node.
A Indicated the node is supporting an Integrated Access Point

Chapter 7 Mesh and Node Menu Commands
File Menu The File menu offers the commands shown in Screen 3. Many of these commands can also be invoked
via the toolbar; where this is the case, the icon is shown next to the command description.
Screen 3. File Menu Commands
Configure Mesh The Configure Mesh command opens a dialog box with multiple tabs. In it, you can specifc the Mesh
ID, IP address, ESSID, and most other mesh-wide parameters. Refer to Chapter 9 for details
VLANs This command is used to configure VLANs. VLAN - Virtual LAN - allows you to subdivide your mesh.
A Firetide mesh is functionally equivalent to an Ethernet switch. By subdividing the switch, you can
isolate one group of ports from other ports. This is most commonly used allow one group of ports to
enjoy higher-priority service, but can also be used to enhance security. Refer to Chapter 20 for com-
plete details.
Gateway Groups A Firetide mesh can be simply plugged into the wired network backbone of your enterprise, but this
does not provide redundancy in the event the connected node is down. Gateways can be configured so
that there are multiple connections from the wireless mesh to the wired backbone, without creating
routing loops or other problems. Refer to Chapter 17 for details.
Multicast Groups Normally, multicast packets propagate throughout an Ethernet network. In some applications, it may
be desireable to limit their propagation to a specific mesh or group of meshes. This command can be
used to do accomplish this.
Mesh Bridge Groups A Mesh Bridge is a connection between two meshes. In some applications, you may want multiple
Mesh Bridge connections; these are called Mesh Bridge Groups. Refer to Chapter 18 for details.
MAC Filters MAC (Address) Filtering is used in certain high-security applications to limit physical connectivity to
the mesh. When this feature is used, only explicitly-permitted MAC addresses are permitted to transit
the mesh. Note that this is not completely foolproof; it is possible to spoof a MAC address, thus a de-
termined intruder may still be able to transit your mesh if given physical access to a node.
Ethernet Direct Connections An Ethernet Direct connection is a wired connection within a single mesh. Wireless links are fast,
but wired links are faster. In some cases, overall mesh throughput can be dramatically increased if a
heavily-loaded link is replaced with a wired connection. Refer to Chapter 19 for details.
Static Routes A Firetide Mesh automatically builds its own path table for moving packets across the mesh. Note that
because the mesh functions as an Ethernet switch, it operates below the IP layer and does not care
what IP addressing scheme is in use. In most cases, performance is best if the mesh selects in own
routes, but in some cases you may want to manually specify a route for some traffic.

Link Elimination Occasionally, two nodes will be an the extreme range for reliable radio reception, and thus their abil-
ity to communicate will vary. Because other paths exist within the mesh, it can be desirable to tell the
mesh to eliminate the marginal link, so that the mesh does not spend time attempting to use a link
which is going up and down. (This condition is called link flap.)
Apply Saved Mesh This command is related to the import/apply mesh configuration command used on individual nodes.
Configuration (Covered in a later section.) To import a mesh configuration 9from a node) is to save a copy of it as
(to the entire mesh) a file on the HotView Pro NMS. Once saved, that file can be applied to an individual node or an entire
mesh. This is commonly done as a backup and restoration maintenance tool.
Upgrade Software This command allows you to upgrade the firmware on the mesh nodes.
This command reboots the entire mesh. Mesh configuration settings are not affected. (A nodes mesh
Reboot Mesh configration settings can only be reset to factory defaults by performing a factory reset operation on
the mesh.)
Delete Down Nodes HotView Pro normally remembers meshes and nodes it has seen; this is useful for system maintenance
because it allows HotView Pro to issue a warning when a node or mesh is missing. if you remove a node
from the mesh, you can use the Delete Down Nodes command to remove the node from HotView Pro.
(Note: entire meshes can be removed by deleting them from the Mesh tab, in the Configure HotView
Server command.)
Delete Down Mobile Nodes As above, but it only deletes down mobile nodes.
Delete Down APs As above, but it only deleted down Firetide Access Points
Clear Access Points Cache Clears the Access Point cache.
Add Mesh Adds a new mesh to HotView Pro
Add Controller Adds a Controller to HotView Pro. Controllers manage roaming and mobility across multiple meshes.
Configure HotView Server Brings up the Configure HotView Server dialog, which contains multiple tabs. Note: this is thesame as
the Configure Server option available in the Integrated HotView Launcher.
Broadcast Group Configuration Configures a broadcast (packet) group. Greyed out, as shown, until configured via the File menu in
the Network View tab.
HotPort Users Configuration Allows you to manage user IDs of individual meshes.
Exit Quits the HotView or HotView Pro client application. It does NOT terminate the HotView Pro server
application.
Detailed Descriptions of how to use these commands can be found in the How-to section of this Refer-
ence Guide.

Display Control Commands In addition the the commands described above, there are toolbar icons which adjust the appearance
of the GUI. They are listed in Table 9
Table 9. Toolbar Icons
Icon Usage/Function
To zoom in on a selected region in the mesh diagram, click on this icon, click and
drag with the mouse across the mesh diagram to indicate the region of interest,
and then click the mouse button.
Zoom in by a 1.2 zoom factor
Zoom out by a factor of 0.8
Scroll to the right
Scroll to the left
Scroll up
Scroll down
Display the original, overall view

Access Point Menu The Access Point Menu is covered in Section VI, Access Points.
Controller Menu The Controller Menu is covered in Section VII, Mobility.
Certificate Menu You can configure your mesh such that nodes will only accept upgrades (firmware loads) from digital-
ly-signed sources. This provides a defense against hackers.
Configuration Tools Menu The Configuration Menu provides access to several multi-node mesh configuration commands.
Screen 4. Configuration Menu
Optimize Channel Assignment Series 6000 nodes have two radios. When configured in linear mode, the radio operate individually,
which increases overall throughput in most applications. HotView supports a mode wherein the nodes
will negotiate among themselves to determine channel assignments which give the best overall cov-
erage and throughput. You have control over the range of channels from which the nodes can select.
Multi-Node Radio Settings Tool Fixed frequencies can be applied to a subset of nodes if any node from this subset has an ethernet
direct connection to a non-subset node or if the second radio uses the default assignment. Use this
panel to assign channel settings to multiple nodes at one time. Use the node-specific Radio Set-
tings window to view existing settings
Multi-Node VLAN Settings This command can be used to assign certain VLAN properties to a group of nodes at one time. Refer to
the VLAN How-to section for details on setting up VLANs.
Mobile Node Scan List Scans and reports all mobile nodes currently visible on the mesh.

Monitor Menu The Monitor Menu is the primary point for access to performance and statistics commands of all types.
Theses commands are shown in Screen 5.
Screen 5. Monitor Menu
Graph Statistics Displays a graph of accumulated statistics. This will be greyed out, as shown, if no database has been
configured.
Set Statistics Refresh Interval Gathering statistics over a very large mesh increases the total traffic load. This command allows oyu
to specify how often statistics are collected from nodes and meshes. Its common practice to set a
fairly short interval when setting up a new mesh, so that problems can be identified, but then to
increase the interval once performance has been established.
View Faults Log Display the log of faults.
View AP Log Display the access point log.
View Rogue AP Lists Displays a list of any rogue APs that have been detected.
View HoSwitch Logs Displays the log of the HotSwitch, also known as the Controller. Refer to the section on Mobility for
details of Controller operation.
View Channel Assignment Results This displays the result of the auto-channel assignment command, and shows the radio channels as-
signed to each radio in each node.
Verify The Verify menu lets you perform a check on the consistency of settings across your mesh. While in an
ideal world, settings would never become non-consistent, it can happen. These commands allow you
to detect and correct the condition.
Screen 6. Verify Menu
Verify Mesh Configuration Verifies all settings across the selected mesh.
Verify VAP Group Configuration Verifies all settings across the selected virtual access point group. Note that Firetide HotPoint APs
support multiple virtual access points per physical unit. Since not all virtual APs need be imple-
mented on all physical access points, it makes more sense to conduct consistency checks at the virtual
level.

Options The options menu controls the appearance of the HotView Pro user interface.
Screen 7. Options Menu
Show All Links Normally on, this can be turned off when view large meshes, where the number of link lines can ob-
scure other information.
Show Links only for Selected Usually used when Show Al Links is disabled, so that links of interest appear.
HotPort
Hide all Links Hides all links.

Select a new Background Image These three commands can be used to place a background image (.gif) behind the mesh area of the
Default Background Image display. Typically this image represents a map or flooplan of the installation, so that nodes can be
Show Background Image located in their correct geographical locations.
Select HotPorts automatically on Normally off, thus an explicit click is required. Enabling this highlights thatnode, and more impor-
mouse-over tantly the links to that node, so that it stands out form the others.
Show Information Bar Shows the information panel on the right side of the screen. Normally off, but should be on when
setting up and troubleshooting a network.
Show Model Number Displays the model number (e.g. 6202) of the node, along with the name.
Show APs Shows access points connected to the mesh.
Hide Down APs Hides those access points which are down, but does NOT delete them. This will be greyed out, as
shown, if there are no downed nodes.
Show Standalone APs. Shows standalone access points - those which are connected directly to the wired backbone, rather
than connected via the mesh.

Options The Help Menu allows you to view the exact version, build, and license status of your HotView or
HotView Pro program. Online help is not available at this time, but there is an excellent reference
guide which explains all aspects of HotView Pro operation. A copy can be found on the CD, or it can be
obtained from Firetide.
Screen 8. Help Menu
Screen 9. The About Screen

Chapter 8 Mesh and Node Right-Click Commands
In additition to the menu commands, many of the most-commonly used mesh and node commands
are available by right-clicking. Node commands are accessed by right-clicking on the node; mesh
commands are accessed by right-click in the gray area, i.e. not on any particular node.
Mesh Right-Click Right-clicking a mesh, in Network View, brings up a menu with five command. As shown in Screen 10,
the Mesh Summary command displays a list of kjey mesh parameters. This is the same information
shown in the mehs tab at right.
Screen 10. Mesh Right-Click - Full Screen View
The available commands are shown in Screen 11.

Screen 11. Mesh Right-Click Commands
Jump to Mesh Tab This command switches the view to the (detailed) mesh view for that mesh. It is particularly useful
when you have a large number of meshes.
Release Write Access It is possible to configure a complex mesh with more than one HotView NMS. Normally, the first in-
stance of HotView to connect to the mesh owns the mesh and will block others form read (though
not write) access. This command can be used to release such a block.
Move Mesh This command allows you to physically shift the position of the mesh icon on the screen. It does not
in any way have anything to do with actually moving meshes or nodes.
Logout of Mesh Disconnects HotView Pro from that mesh.
Mesh Summary Displays a table of mesh information. See Screen 12.

Mesh Summary Information
Screen 12. Mesh Summary Data
Mesh ID Specifies the ID number assigned to the mesh.

Mesh Name Displays the meshs name.
IP Address/Mask/Gateway Displays the IP address/mask/gateway assigned to the mesh.
ESSID Displays the Extended Server Set Identifier defined for the mesh.
Radio Mode Displays the wireless radio mode defined for the mesh.
Radio Channel Displays the wireless radio channel defined for the mesh, and the actual channel on which the unit is
operating. In DFS areas, this may be different than the radio channel.
Transmit Data Rate Indicates the transmit data rate.
Wireless Security Displays the type of security in use on the radio links, or disabled if no security is in use.
End-to-End Security Displays theytype of security in use elsewhere in the mesh (e.g. an Ethernet Direct link), or disabled
if no security is in use.
Multi-hop Optimization Its use enhances performance in non-fully-meshed networks.
RSSI Threshold Limit at which a remote nodes signal is judged too weak to use.
Hysteresis Window The amount the signal must come up past the RSSI threshold.
Extended Range Indicates whether an Extended Range setting is in use.
Wireless CoS Shows whether Class-of-Service is enabled across wireless links.
Congestion Control Indicates whether the Congestion Control feature has been enabled.
Country Code The currently-set country code.

Node Right-Click In Mesh View, right-clicking on a node brings up the node commands, as shown in Screen 13. (Right-
clicking NOT on a node brings up the mesh commands, as shown in Screen 10.)
Screen 13. Node Right-Click - Full Screen View
The available commands are shown in Screen 14.

Screen 14. Node Right-Click Commands

Rename HotPort Allows you to name the HotPort. The factory default name for a HotPort node is based on the model
number. Use a descriptive name; you may also want to keep the last three digits of the serial number
as aprt of the name. This makes it easier for field service personnel to know that a given physical unit
is the one seen on screen.
Screen 15. Renaming a HotPort Node
HotPort Location Allows you to add a longer secondary identification string, typically a location. This string does not
appear in the main screen, but will appear in the tabular listing at the bottom of the string. Use this
option to enter any unique identifying information about the HotPort node, such as its location, a
contact persons phone number, and so on.
Screen 16. Adding Location Information
HotPort Type Allows you to specify whether the HotPort is a fixed or mobile HotPort. The Firetide Mesh network
auto-configures, and will automatically track nodes which move occasionally. However, by specify-
ing a node as mobile, the mesh will more quickly track rapid node movement, such as in a car or
airplane.
Port Configuration Allows you to set the wired-Ethernet port type for the physical ports on the node. You can set speed
and half vs full-duplex. Most importantly, you can disable ports, to help block unauthorized access.
Note: there are dozens of Ethernet chip-set vendors; as a result port auto-negotiation is not always a
perfectly reliable process. If you experience intermittant drop-outs, and you are sure of the speed of
the connected equipment, you may wish to disable auto-negotiation.
Screen 17. Port Configuration

Radio Settings Allows you to control certain node-specific radio settings. Note that most radio settings are mesh-
wide, and are found under the Configure Mesh command.
Screen 18. Per-Node Radio Settings
Antenna Selection and Power HotPort nodes can be configured with various external antennas. High gain, sector, Yagi, and panel
Levels antennas are available. You must ensure that your choice of antenna and power level is legal for use
in your country. In some cases, it may be necessary to reduce transmit power. It is the installers/op-
erators responsibility to adjust the output power to the correct level for the chosen antenna. These
levels vary for different frequency bands and countries. The following formula should be used to
determine the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) for a HotPort node:
EIRP (dBm) = Antenna Gain (dBi) RF Cable Loss (dB) + MAX TX Power
Where:
MAX TX Power is in dBm
RF cable loss is the loss in dB on the coax cable connecting the 3203 to the antenna
The standard 1.5 meter LMR400 RF cable supplied with certain HotPort nodes has 0.55 dB of loss
in the 2.4 GHz band. At 5.2 GHz, loss is 0.6 dB, rising to 1.1 dB at 5.8 GHz. If the calculated EIRP is
greater than the regulatory limit, than the operator must reduce the TX power by an equal or greater
amount in dB. This is accomplished by using the Change Transmit Power command. The TX power can
be adjusted on a node by node basis using HotView Pro. The TX power control is displayed in %. Use
Table 10 to determine the % to dB attenuation conversion.

Table 10. TX Power Attenuation
TX Power Level TX Attenuation

100% 0 dB
90% 2 dB
85% 3 dB
75% 5 dB
70% 6 dB
60% 8 dB
55% 9 dB
50% 10 dB
40% 12 dB
30% 14 dB
25% 15 dB
Antenna Diversity Some Firetide nodes offer antenna diversity; wherein each radio uses a single antenna for transmis-
sion, but two antennas for reception. Normally the choice of receiving antennas is automatic, but it
can be overridden. If you install a diversity-capable node with only one antenna, turn diversity off.
Note: your screen may vary depending on the HotPort model you are accessing.
Screen 19. Setting Antenna Diversity and TX Power

Node QoS Allows you to specify Quality of Service for that node. Note that Mesh QoS must first be enabled, using
the Configure Mesh command. You can assign priority settings either to specific Ethernet ports, or
based on 802.1p levels.This feature is useful for assigning priorities to ports associated with certain
applications. For example, if a certain port is used for Voice over IP or other traffic requiring a low
latency, you might want to assign the port a higher priority.
Quality-of-Service can be combined with VLANs to provide dedicated, prioritized bandwidth for VoIP
applications. For example, connect all VoIP equipment to a specific port (e.g., 2), and assign that port
a high priority; then configure a VLAN among these ports.
Screen 20
Two types of Node QoS are available. Standards-compliant 802.11p is supported. For attached equip-
ment which does not implement QoS (e.g. many cameras) QoS can be assigned per Ethernet port. In
this case all traffic arriving on that port has that QoS associated with it.
Setting QoS First, use the Mesh Configuration command to enable mesh-wide QoS. Then use the QoS command,
under Node Commands, to select the desired QoS configuration.
Screen 21. Basic QoS Settings

Statistics This displays a window with detailed statistics for the selected node, as shown in Screen . Note that this
panel offers more detail than the summary statistics normally shown at the bottom of the screen.
Screen 22. Statistics Window
Its a good idea to click the Refresh Statistics button when opening this window; the act of collecting
the data creates traffic to and from all nodes, which insure accurate statistics.
Further infomration on interpreting and applying the results can be found in the Optimizing Perfor-
mance section.

Reboot HotPort Reboots, the node, but does not alter settings.
Move HotPort Allows you to adjust the location of the icon on the screen.
Third Party Access Point Allows you to specify that a non-Firetide access point is connected to the node. Refer to the Access
Configuration Point section for details on how to configure a node for third-party access point support.
Configure this node as a Gateway Takes the node off the air and makes it a special management node for Gateways. Refer to the Hot-to
Server node section on Gateway Groups for details.
Refresh configuration for this Verfies that HotView and the node agree on the nodes configuration.
HotPort
Attempt to recover neighbor nodes As the name suggests, this command will cause the node to listen for, and attempt to contact, any
other Firetide node within radio range. When executed from a nearby node, this can often recover a
node which has fallen off the mesh due to interference or other transient problems.
Note: when a node is attempting to recover a neighbor node, it will stop other functioning; thus, you
should NOT run this command on a node which is carrying critical traffic.
Delete this HotPort Removes the (down) node from HotView.
Import Mesh Configuration Copies the complete mesh configuration database to a file, which you can store on the server or any
from this HotPort other PC.
Apply saved Mesh Applies a file produced by the above command to a node. Together, these tow commands are the
Configuration to this backup-and-restore procedure for the mesh. You can use them to configure a node to join a mesh
HotPort before that node is physically deployed to its location.

Node Summary The Node Summary gives details about the selected node.
Screen 23. Node Right-Click Summary Data - Series 3000 and Series 6000
HotPort Name Displays the name assigned to the node.

Serial Number Displays the nodes serial number.
MAC Address Displays the MAC address of the nodes built-in Ethernet switch.
Radio MAC Address Displays the MAC address for the nodes radio.
Model Number Displays the nodes model number.
Radio Type Indicates 802.11a, b, or g.
Active Antennas Setting Indicates whether antenna diversity is enabled, and if so which antenna is in use.
Transmit Power (dBm) Displays the radios current transmit power level setting (in dBm).
QoS Indicates the type of QoS enabled.
Node Status Indicates whether the node is up or down.
VLANs Shows the VLAN to which the node is assigned. If the node is not assigned to a VLAN, none is dis-
played.
Gateway Groups Shows the Gateway Group to which the node is assigned. If the node is not assigned to a Gateway
Group, none is displayed.
Multicast Groups Lists the names of multicast groups that the node belongs to.
Mesh Bridge Groups Lists the names of bridge groups that the node belongs to.
Channel Assignment Status (Series 6000 only) Shows the current status of the channel-assignment algorithm.

Chapter 9 Mesh Configuration Command Reference
The Mesh Configuration command opens a window with a number of tabs. Contained therein are most
of the commands you will need to configure individual meshes. This chapter provides a reference to
available commands and options.
Mesh Configuration - Network Tab The Network tab is where you determin how the mesh is identified to the wired world. This includes the
official Mesh ID, the meshs management IP address, and a name you can assign to make it easy for
administators to understand the meshs purpose or location. (This name is NOT the ESSID.)
Mesh ID You must assign a Mesh ID. This can be any value from 1 to 99. (Zero is reserved.) Each mesh MUST
have a unique ID.
Mesh Name You can assign a Mesh Name as well, for management purposes. Note that this is NOT the ESSID of the
mesh, but rather the name used for management and error-logging purposes.
Mesh ID To the outside world, the Firetide mesh is a virtual Ethernet switch with a single IP address for man-
agement. The default IP address is set to 192.168.224.150. You should change the IP address of the
mesh to another value. When you change the mesh IP address, be sure to set the HotView workstation
IP address to the same subnet.
Note: Changing the IP settings will cause the HotPort nodes to reboot. This will interrupt mesh opera-
tion for approximately one minute until the new settings are loaded into all of the HotPort nodes. You
will receive a warning message when the reboot begins. If you are changing the subnet, you can use
this time to reconfigure the IP settings on your PC, and restart HotView Pro.
Note: If one or more nodes are down when you change the mesh IP address, HotView will notify you of
this.
Screen 24. Assigning the Mesh Network Parameters

Mesh Configuration - Wireless Tab The Wireless tab allows you to specify the ESSID and the RF channel(s) and radio mode. Series 6000
nodes normally have two radios (there is a single-radio option) and you have a choice of operation
modes.
Setting the ESSID All HotPort nodes on the mesh share the same ESSID and radio channel. This makes it easy to manage
large mesh networks, or create multiple mesh networks in close proximity to one another as separate
domains. The default ESSID is HOTPORT_MESH. However, you should change this to avoid conflicts
with other networks or devices, and to enhance security. ESSIDs may have up to 32 alphnumeric char-
acters. Radio settings are selectable in the drop-down menus. You can encrypt the ESSID if desired.
Series 6000 nodes can be operated in either bonded mode or Auto-Channel Assigment (Linear Full-
Setting the Radio Channels - duplex) mode. Linear is often referred to as Auto-Channel Assignment (ACA), although you can
Series 6000 manually assign channels if you prefer.
In bonded mode, the two radios are slaved together to deliver an effective data rate of about 70
Mbps. The radios are not independent, and operate as half-duplex. This delivers good performance in
heavily-meshed applications. At any one instant, both radios are transmitting (or receiving) to one
other node. If one of the radio signals is blocked or interfered with, the link wil stay up, but at half
the speed.
In linear (ACA) mode, the radios operate independently. One radio can be transmitting while the
other is receiving. This delivers better throughput in sparsely-meshed, multi-hop applications.
For mobile applications, it does not matter greatly which mode you use. Mobile nodes operate at 35
Mbps, that is, they use one radio for data and the second radio to continuously scan for other non-
mobile nodes. Thus, the effective throughput to or from a mobile node is 35 Mbps, regardless of the
overall mesh speed. In a multi-hop mesh, you may see more performance in linear (ACA) mode than
in bonded mode.
Radio Channel Selection The 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g band used for wireless access offers only three non-overlapping channels, 1,
Guidelines 6, and 11. For best results, the Firetide mesh should not use the same radio channel number as any
wireless access points connected to or operating near the mesh. If your environment needs to sup-
port 802.11b/g clients and access points (or if it needs to operate where such equipment is in use),
its best leave as many of these channels open as possible. Thus you must run your Firetide mesh in
the 5 GHz band, or reserve two channels for 802.11b/g APs and assign the third to the Firetide mesh
network, or vice versa.
Series 6000 nodes have dual radios. You should run at least one of the radios in the 5 GHz band. The
second radio can be run in the 2.4 GHz band if channel space is available, or in the 5 GHz band.
Selecting Channels In bonded mode, you will be presented with a list of channels, and you can explicitly assign a channel
to each radio. In linear mode, you must first run the Auto-Channel Assignment algorithm. You can
then go to individual nodes and re-assign radios to other channels. Details on ACA are covered in the
following pages.
When configuring a Series 6000 mesh, the wireless tab will look like Screens 25 and 26.

Screen 25. Series 6000 Wireless Settings - Bonded Mode
Screen 26. Series 6000 Wireless Settings - Linear Mode

Mesh Channel Assignment Before the mesh begins its automatic channel-assignment algorithm, you can help it out by indica-
Optimization tion which nodes are the most performance critical. Typically these are the exit-point nodes. Use the
Optimization screen to specify these.
Screen 27. Specifying Mesh Optimization Goals
Before the algorithm begins execution, you will see the following warning message:
Screen 28. Advisory on Auto-Channel Assignment
Overriding Automatic Channel If necessary, you can override the automatic channel assignment for Series 6000 nodes. Right-click
Assignment on an individual node, and change the channel as required. Use caution when doing this; if you pick a
channel that has external interference, you may cause the node to go off the mesh.
Screen 29. Overriding Automatic Channel Assignments
Locking Channel Assignments After initial setup, if an individual Series 6000 node is lost to the mesh due to RF problems, the other
nodes will attempt to recover and and re-allocate channel assignments. In some cases this may not be
desirable. To prevent it, set the Channel Lock tick-box.

DFS - Dynamic Frequency Selection HotPort nodes support DFS in countries where it is required. DFS channels are indicated by a DFS
symbol next to the channel number. If a DFS channel is chosen, the HotPort nodes will listen for other
activity on the channel. If any node finds activity, the entire mesh will automatically switch to another
channel. The mesh will indicate this in three ways:
The Channel Display always shows the actual operating channel, not the chosen channel. (See
screen on previous page.)
In Mesh View, the HotPort node which detects activity will change in the node display, and a small
radar-dish icon will appear.
In Network View, the radar-dish icon will appear in the mesh cloud icon.
Note that Series 6000 nodes support a disable-DFS feature, refer to Screen 26 for an example.
Screen 30
Screen 31. DFS Alert in Mesh View

Setting the Radio Channels - Series 3000 channel assignment is straightforward. Pick one.
Series 3000
Screen 32. Setting the Radio

Changing Radio Security Settings - The Firetide mesh offers two levels of security. You can encrypt the radio links, and you can also en-
Encryption crypt end-to-end. Radio link encryption offers aa choice of WEP-64, WEP-128, or 256-ibt WPA2 (AES)
encryption, with Pre-Shared Keys. WPA2 specifies 256-bit AES for the encrption method, replacing
the RC-4 algorithm used in earlier security standards. End-to-end encryption choices include 128-bit
and 256-bit AES encryption. Use of either encryption does not slow throughput.
To set encryption, click on the File menu and select Configure Mesh. A dialog box appears. Enter the
required data. If you selected 104/128-bit encryption, enter 26 hexadecimal characters for the key;
if you selected 40/64-bit encryption, enter 10 hexadecimal characters.
Valid characters for all keys are hex digits, numerals 0 through 9 and letters a through f.
Note: For added security, the key you enter is replaced by asterisks on screen after you save it.
Screen 33. Specifying Radio Encryption

Mesh Configuration - User This screen serves two very different purposes depending on whether you are running HotView or
Accounts HotView Pro.
HotView Pro Definition In HotView Pro, this screen does NOT define human users. Rather, it defines the user ID that HotView
Pro uses to log into the mesh. If you want to change these settings, you must also change the mesh
settings under the Server Configuration command.
The initial setup allows only one user to log in at a time. After initial setup, you should define and
create the user accounts you need, assign privileges, and determine multiple login possibilities.
Each mesh requires a read-write user ID, which HotView Pro uses to change the mesh configuration,
and a read-only user ID, which HotView Pro uses to monitor the network. Remember, these are not in-
tended to be human users, rather, they represent the identity that HotView Pro must assume in order
to connect. Thus, if you change them, you must also use the Server Confuguration tool of HotView Pro
to tell HotView Pro what the correct users IDs are.
HotView Definition In ordinary HotView, this screen defines the user login. The default values are admin and firetide, but
you should change these.
Screen 34. User Account Definitions in Mesh Configuration

Mesh Configuration - Advanced Tab There are a number of mesh-wide settings grouped under the Advanced tab. They can be used to tune
certain aspects of RF performance and low-level MAC layer behavior. If you are using any of Firetides
Class-of-Service features, you will need to enable CoS here first.
Screen 35. Advanced Settings in Mesh Configuration
Multi-Hop Optimization The multi-hop optimization option increases the overall throughput of the mesh by reducing the
amount of contention between nodes that are separated by multiple hops. Normally this option
should be enabled since most mesh networks will have multiple hops between nodes.
You can disable this mode if you have a 100% fully-meshed network, where all modes connect directly
to every node with a single hop, but Firetide recommends against it in most cases. If it should happen
that an individual link went down and made the mesh not fully-meshed, this parameter would then be
mis-set.
RSSI Threshold The RSSI Threshold allows you to set the quality threshold for wireless links. Any links that drop below
the threshold will not be used for routing traffic. For the routing ability of the link to be restored, the
RSSI must achieve the Threshold setting PLUS the Hysteresis Window setting. For example if the RSSI
Threshold is -67 dBm and the Hysteresis Window is 3 dBm, routing over the link will not be restored
until its RSSI is -64 dBm (-67 dBm plus 3 dBm).
In general, you should set this to a threshold weaker than your weakest link, by several dB. Firetide
recommends that you not try to run leaks weaker than -72 dBm; thus the threshold should be at least
-75 dBm and 3 dB. However, in most cases your mesh should have normal RSSI values substantially
stronger that -72 dBm, thus you will likely have an RSSI threshold in the sixties or better.

Extended Range - Optimizing Just like conventional Ethernet, the Firetide mesh network adheres to careful timing rules regard-
Networks for Longer Distances ing when a node can, and cannot, talk. These rules minimize collisions and maximize throughput.
The default timing parameters set by Firetide provide optimum performance for most applications
where nodes are fairly close. However, networks which use high-gain directional antennas to connect
nodes over greater distances will benefit from having the timing parameters optimized for the longer
propagation time.
If your mesh has one or more links whose exceed approximately 800 meters, use one of the extended
range settings.
Wireless Class of Service Enables Wireless Class-of-Service prioritization. This must be enbabled in order to enable individual
CoS settings on individual nodes and VLANs. You must also assign class of service priorities to the
various types of Ethernet traffic. Refer to the section on advanced class of service setup.
Congestion Control Enables congestion control.
Reserved Multicast MAC Addresses Enables reservation of those MAC addresses specified as Multicast.

Chapter 10 Command Reference - Server Configuration
Accessing Server Settings The Server Configuration settings can be accessed either by using the Server Configuration applica-
tion, or if HotView Pro is running, via the Server Configuration command in the file menu.
Screen 36. HotView Pro Launcher Screen
Mesh Identity Configuration This screen is used to define basic Mesh identifiers.
Screen 37. Setting Mesh IP and ID
The IP address is used for management purposes only, but must be a routable address.
Each mesh has a Mesh ID. Mesh IDs must be from 1 to 254; 0 is reserved as a wild card value. If a mesh
ID of 0 is specified, HotView Pro will log into any mesh it discovers.
The mesh login information is the info used by HotView Pro to log into the nodes. The read-write
username MUST be admin; the read-only username MUST be guest. The default password is firetide;
this should be changed. (Human user accounts are configured via the User Configuration tab.)
The Pre-Load Mesh option tells HotView Pro to expect to find the mesh. If set, HotView Pro loads the
expected mesh configuration when starting, and looks for the nodes. It will flag missing nodes. If it is
not set, HotView Pro will find a mesh if it is at the default IP address of 192.168.224.150; otherwise it
will not find any meshes. In general, the Pre-Load Mesh option should be left on. You may wish to turn
it off only if you know a particular mesh is not available, i.e. it exists in a completely different part of
the enterprise.
Note: HotView Pro automatically remembers every mesh it discovers. If you are using HotView Pro to
test different mesh configurations or other experimental work, you should delete any such meshes
from HotView Pro after you are done, using this screen.

The HotView Service Manager tab can be used to stop and restart the HotView Server process. This is
Stopping and Starting
not normally needed; the server process should be left running.
NOTE: The Service Manager can stop and restart the server only if the Service Manager is running
on the same machine as the server. The Service Manager can stop the server even if the server
is running on a remote machine; however the server can only be restarted by a client running on
the same machine as the server.
Screen 38. Stopping and Starting the HotView Pro Server

Setting Up User Accounts User accounts for HotView Pro are created and managed using the HotView Server Configuration tool.
Its important to understand the difference between HotView Pro user accounts, which are for human
use; and HotPort mesh accounts, which are for machine use. HotPort mesh accounts are what Hot-
View Pro Server uses to access the meshes. HotView Pro accounts are what system administrators use
to access the HotView Pro Mesh Management software.
You can set up three types of access for HotView Pro users. Each users privileges are configurable
on a mesh-by-mesh basis, so that in complex networks local administrators can manage their own
mesh(es). They can see other meshes for diagnostic purposes but cannot modify the meshes.
READ_WRITE - allows the user to view and modify mesh settings.
READ_ONLY - allows the user to view the mesh settings only.
DENY_ACCESS - blocks all access to that mesh.
In addition, users can be granted or denied permission to administer the HotView Pro server itself.
User Account Recommendations If you plan to run a large network with multiple meshes, you should have three classes of accounts:
Server System Administrators (SSA): the smallest group; these accounts can manage HotView Pro
server itself, including the ability to create other user accounts. These accounts should be defined
to NOT have mesh access.
Production Mesh Administrators (PMA): these accounts have control over existing meshes.
New Mesh Administrators (NMA): these accounts are used when setting up new meshes prior to
deploying production traffic over them.
The reason for these categories is simple: any one mesh can only be under the control of one user ac-
count at any one time. When a given user logs on, he is normally given write access (i.e., control) to
all meshes for which that account is authorized.
Note that its recommended that SSAs not have mesh access. This allows an SSA to administer the
server without contending for mesh ownership. As a human user, you would use two different ac-
counts; one for SSA and one for PMA.
When one authorized user owns a mesh, another authorized user can request write access. The cur-
rent owner will be informed of the request, and it will be granted after one minute, if not explicitly
denied.
Table 11. Suggested HotView Pro User Accounts and Privileges.
Privilege SSA PMA NMA

Can admin HVP Server Yes No No
Can amin production meshes No Yes, as required No
Can admin new, under-deployment meshes No No Yes

Screen 39. Defining User Accounts in HotView Pro
Enter the users ID and password. (If the Username field is not clear, click the Clear button.) Select
ALLOW_ACCESS or DENY_ACCESS for Server Configuration. Note: The following special characters are
not allowed in passwords: & % , $ * @
The Default Access is the value that will be assigned to that user for any NEW meshes, that is, meshes
not already listed in the Mesh ID table. Select ALLOW_ACCESS or DENY_ACCESS; at least one user
should be set to ALLOW_ACCESS so that new meshes can be administered.
Next, select each individual Mesh ID from the table, and set the ALLOW_ACCESS or DENY_ACCESS val-
ue. Then click Save.
If you wish to edit a users settings, click on the users name, change the settings, and click Apply.
Click Save when you are done.

Database Configuration Database Configuration is used to tell the server how to find the database engine. The database en-
gine is PostgreSQL; installation procedures for obtaining and installing it are covered in Appendix B.
Either configure the database now, or uncheck the box. If you are performing an installation for initial
configuration only, you do not need to enable database use. However, Firetide requires its use for all
multiple mesh systems, and strongly recommends it for all systems.
Screen 40. Configuring an External Database

Configuring SNMP HotView Pro supports SNMP management. The feature is controlled and configured via the SNMP tab
of the Server Configurator tool.
Screen 41. Configuring SNMP

Security and Certificates HotView Pro now offers certificate-based security. You can restrict mesh membership by requiring a
digitally-signed certificate from any node that wishes to join. You can further restrict this to a defined
list of certificates, and further to require administrative approval of requests to join.
Firetide HotPort nodes are digitally signed at the factory, guaranteeing authenticity. Enterprise-
specific certificates are available. Contact Firetide for details.
Screen 42. Specifying Security Certificates

Access Point Groups AP Groups are in some ways analagous to meshes. This screen allows you to add, configure, and delete
AP groups.
Screen 43. Access Point Groups

Controllers If you are using Controllers, you can specify each units management IP address here.
Screen 44. Specifying Controllers

Section III How-to: Setting Up for the First Time
This section contains how-tos and examples for installing the HotView Pro software and bringing up
your first mesh.
Chapter 11 explains software installation step-by-step. This includes the registration process for Hot-
View Pro.
Chapter 12 explains what you need to do to configure your HotView Pro software after youve first
installed it.
Chapter 13 shows how to set up a basic mesh.
Be sure to read the planning section before setiing up a complex mesh. For your initial installation,
Firetide recommends that you set up all the nodes on a table or bench, and perform the initial con-
figuration before installing the nodes in field locations.

Chapter 11 HotView Installation Step by Step
HotView and HotView Pro both use the same installer, and the installation sequence is similar. Firetide
authorizes you to install HotView on as many machines as you wish; likewise, the HotView Pro client
can be installed on as many machines as desired. The HotView Pro Server is licensed to be installed on
a single machine only
It is often convenient to install the HotView Pro client and server on a single computer for initial stag-
ing purposes. A laptop is convenient for this. This allows you to perform initial configurations and
provides a troubleshooting platform. The temporary license allows you to run HotView Pro for 15 days
while you are getting familiar with the system and deciding on a suitable machine to host the HotView
Pro Server.
Installation Account HotView and HotView Pro keep a number of critical files in a directory in the home folder of the instal-
lation account. (The directory name is .firetide.) When installing HotView Pro Server, you should log
in as the account you want HotView Pro to run under. This should be an administrative account. All
system adminsitrators will need to log in under this account when setting up HotView Pro.
You may wish to create a user account especially for this purpose.
Un-installating The Firetide installation includes an un-install function. However, Firetide recommends that you
leave older version of HotView installed. The program does not use very much disk space, and older
version of HotView can be useful in troubleshooting nodes.
Java HotView and HotView Pro are written in Java, and require version 1.6. You probalby already have it on
the target machine, if not, you can download it, for free, from http://www.sun.com.
IP Addresses
Firetide HotPort nodes default to 192.168.224.150 when new or factory-reset. This address can be
changed. You will need a computer with an Ethernet interface on the 192.168.224.X/24 subnet. If this
is not convenient or possible with the HotView Pro Server platform, you may wish to install HotView
on another machine and use it to modify the IP address of new nodes.
Installation of HotView Pro for initial staging work consists of 6 steps.
1. Install the software from the CD-ROM included in the package, onto the computer you will use
for initial mesh configuration.
2. Enter the temporary license key (typically from the installation CD).
3. Set the computers IP address to the Firetide default subnet, 192.168.224.X/24. The HotPort
node defaults to 192.168.224.150.
4. Connect the workstation to the Firetide mesh.
5. Configure the mesh.
6. Change the mesh IP address to one that it reachable from the machine that will be the produc-
tion server.
Installation of HotView Pro for production consists of steps.
1. Install the software onto the computer which will be the production server.
2. Enter the temporary license key and submit the permanent licence request.
3. Configure the server for production.
4. Install the client on all computers which will need access to the server, or use the HTTP
browser option.

Install the Software from the CD Installation is browser-based. Under Windows, the initial splash screen should look ssomething like
Screen 45. Other operating system will have slightyl different views.
Screen 45. Installer Splash Screen
If the splash screen does not appear, navigate to the CD and execute the AutorunPro file, as shown in
Screen 46.
Screen 46. Installation CD Contents
Click on the Start Installer for Windows button (or other OS, as appropriate for your server. The in-
staller will lead you through a number of screens, shown on the next several pages.

Screen 47. Installation Language Choice
Screen 48. Installation Introduction
Screen 49. Language Choice Advisory

When you reach the license agreement screen, read the agreement, then click I accept the terms of
this license agreement button, and then click on the Next button to continue. A screen showing the
default location for the HotView Pro software is displayed.
Screen 50. Installation License
Screen 51 is where you choose what you want to install. To install just HotView, select the top icon;
it will turn blue. To install HotView Pro Client and Server, select the middle icon; it will tunr blue as
shown in the example. To install HotView Pro Client and Server with web (HTTP) access support, select
the bottom icon. This is the default.
Note that there is no option to install just the HotView client; if you wish to install the client on mul-
tiple machines to give them access to the server, select the middle icon.
Screen 51. Installation Choice

The installer will offer you a choice of installation locations for HotView. The default is in a version-
specific folder inside the Firetide folder in the Programs folder. You can change it; but if you do you
will need to manually un-install; the un-installer will not work.
Screen 52. Installation Path
You will now seen an installation summary.

Screen 53. Installation Summary
Installation proceeds. When it is complete, you will see Screen 54. The installer will also place short-
cuts on your desktip which point to HotView and HotView Pro.
Screen 54. Installation Complete

HotView Pro Registration HotView Pro has a license activation process. Each CD ships with a unique activation key; this acti-
vates the software for 15 days. During that time, you must contact Firetide to obtain a permanent
license. This is normally done easily and electronically. You must register the HotView Pro server in
order to use it. (HotView and the HotView client do not require registration.)
Licensing is specific to the machine and NIC card; if you need to move the HotView Pro server, you
will need to re-register it. Contact Firetide for details. Make sure you perform this installation on the
machine which will be the permanent server. You may wish to install HotView Pro temporarily on a
laptop or lab machine, and perform the permanent installation on a server-class machine at a later
date. If so, you should use the licensing tab to activate the installation via the activation key, but do
not request a permanent license until you have installed HotView Pro onto its permanent home.
Registration and Licensing is a 3-stage process:
1. Temporary registration, using the key supplied with your CD.
2. Application for Permanent License.
3. Acceptance of Permanent License.
To activate HotView Pro, navigate to the Licensing tab in the Server Configuration section. This can be
done in either of two ways:
Select the Server Configuration button at the bottom of the Launcher screen, as shown in Screen 55.
Single-click the icon, dont double-click it. (If you do, the program will attempt to launch itself twice,
which will produce an error message. If this happens, just click OK to the error messages.) If HotView
is already running, you can access Server Configuration from the File menu.
Screen 55. Server Configuration via Launcher and via File Menu

When Server Configuration starts, you may see a warning message about the database, as shown in
Screen 56. Ignore this; you have not configured the database. Click Yes.
Screen 56. Warning Regarding Database

You will then be presented with a login screen, as shown in Screen 57. Log in, using firetide as a pass-
word.
Screen 57. Server Manager Login
You may see a warning message (Screen 58) that the Server cannot be reached; this is because the
Server is not yet running. Ignore the warning; click Yes.
Screen 58. Server Cannot Be Found Warning
You will see the Server Configuration window; select the Licensing tab, as shown in Screen 59.
Screen 59. Licensing Tab in Server Configuration
Enter the activation key you were given. Note that this is case-sensitive. When you have finished, click
on the Firetide EULA button and read the license agreement. If you agree, click the Accept box. Then
click on the Activate License button.

The screen will change, as shown in Screen 60. You may now enter the information needed to obtain
a permanent license. You dont need to at this time; and you should NOT if this is a temporary instal-
lation. However, if the installation is on the machine that will become your permanent server, you
should proceed with permanent registration.
Screen 60. Permanent License Request Screen
Permanent License Activation To permanently register your copy of HotView Pro, enter the requested information in the Licensing
screen, as shown in Screen 60.
The permanent registration process is done by email. Be sure you entered a valid email address in the
Licensing screen; this is the address to which the permanent license will be sent.
Make sure your system is connected to the Internet (i.e., that you have NOT temporarily cabled it to
your collection of HotPort nodes), then click on the Request Permanent License button.
HotView Pro will automatically create a small text file which will be emailed to Firetide. Keep this file
in the directory where HotView Pro placed it; this is the .firetide directory; it is part of a two-part
license key. You should make a backup copy of it.
The Firetide licensing system collects certain machine and network-specific data from the mesh, but
does not collect any other personal data. The HotView Pro license process writes a small data record to
each node in the mesh; thus each node knows who its management system is, and will refuse to run
with another management system. A node can be moved from one management system to another by
performing a factory reset on the node.
After Firetide receives your license request, we will generate a permanent license and send it back to
you as an email attachment.
Use the server configuration application again to load this permanent license. Do this by clicking on
the Import Permanent License button; then navigate to where the file is. The file will automatically be
copied to your .firetide directory.


When you have successfully imported the permanent license, your screen should look something like
Screen 61. Note that it says licensed version at the top.
Screen 61. Licensing Screen - Completed Permanent License
If your management system is not able to send and receive email, transfer the request file (from the
.firetide directory) via a USB drive or other removable media to an email-capable system and send it
to licensing@firetide.com.

You should make a backup copy of your license request file and license file. You may need it to verify
that you are a licensed owner of the software.
You cannot un-install and re-install HotView Pro without re-licensing it, even on the same machine.
Should you need to re-install HotView Pro, contact licensing@firetide.com to obtain an updated
license.

Chapter 12 Initial Software Setup
Scope of this Manual This manual has been designed to cover all 3.x versions of HotView and HotView Pro, as well as Hot-
View 4.0 and HotView Pro 4.0. It is also applicable to all Series 3000 nodes, Series 6000 nodes, Series
4000 access points, and the Firetide Controller.
Screen shots vary slightly among different versions of HotView. In general these differences are not
significant to mesh operation. Where a feature is specific to a certain version of software, it is called
out as such in the manual (e.g. the Verify command). Similarly, where a feature is specific to certain
classes of hardware, this is also called out (e.g. Auto Channel Assignment for Series 6000 only). Last
but not least, certain functions are specific to HotView Pro only. These are also identified as such.
Installation HotView and HotView Pro create a .firetide sub-directory in the user directory. You may wish to log in
to your system under an administrative account before installing HotView Pro, since all admin-level
users of HotView Pro will need access privileges to this directory.
Double-click on the HotView.exe icon on the CD; the installer will launch. Follow the on-screen direc-
tions. A step-by-step review of the installation process is given in Chapter 11. For most installation,
you can simply accept the default settings and complete the installation.
Installation cannot be done remotely; you must be logged on to the machine on which the installa-
tion is to take place. However, once installation is complete, you can run the mesh from any client
which can reach the server.
New Installations If you are installing Firetide mesh networking for the first time, Firetide recommends that you set up
all the nodes in a room, and install HotView on a convenient test PC. Perform all of the initial configu-
ration steps, and test the mesh. Then deploy the nodes to their final locations.
General Setup Guidelines HotPort nodes ship with a default IP address, ESSID, RF channel, password, and other parameters.
Since you will want to change at least some of these, the most convenient method is to use a test PC
for this purpose, configure the nodes, and then deploy them. Almost any recent Windows or Linux
computer will work for this purpose.
Because of the many different country regulations regarding authorized frequencies and power lev-
els, HotPort nodes ship with the radios set to a very low power setting. The country code must be set
before full power (and range) can be achieved. For this reason, you may find it convenient to perform
the initial HotPort setup and configuration (called staging) with all of the nodes in the same room.
All of the nodes in a mesh will automatically configure themselves, but only if they are within radio
range.
HotView Setup Initial mesh configuration requires that you temporarily change the systems IP address to connect to
the default address of the HotPort nodes, 192.168.224.150. (Note: if it is not possible to change the
systems IP address, you can use HotView on another machine to connect to the mesh and change its
IP address.)
1. Refer to the documentation provided with your operating system for instructions on setting up
IP addresses and subnet masks.
2. Set up your workstation with the following network parameters:
IP address: 192.168.224.5 (or other available address; see Table 4)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Its time to launch the HotView software. Double click on the HotView launcher icon, then refer to the
Initial Mesh Configuration section of this manual.
HotView Pro Setup HotView Pro requires you to configure the server before using it to connect to a network. Use the
server configuration icon to launch the configuration tool. The HotView Server Configuration tool has
a screen with multiple tabs. There are several configuration steps which must be performed in order
to tell HotView Pro where things are.
Note: Once you have installed your permanent license, you cannot revert to use of the temporary
license. Also note that when running on the temporary license, you may factory-reset a node up to 50
times.
IP Address Configuration Initial mesh configuration requires that you temporarily change the servers IP address to connect to
the default address of the HotPort nodes, 192.168.224.150. (Note: if it is not possible to change the

servers IP address, you can use HotView on another machine to connect to the mesh and change its
IP address to one compatible with the server.)
1. Refer to the documentation provided with your operating system for instructions on setting up
IP addresses and subnet masks.
2. Set up your workstation with the following network parameters:
IP address: 192.168.224.3 (or other available address; see Table 4)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Chapter 13 Initial Mesh Setup
Connecting to the Mesh - Test You should test your mesh setup before deploying the equipment. You should begin your setup by
Configuration unpacking all of your HotPort mesh nodes and setting them on a table. Connect power to all of them.
When power is applied to a node, it will take approximately 60 seconds for the node to boot up. On
indoor nodes, the Status LED will become steady green at this point.
(Note: If you have a mix of new and previously-deployed nodes, use the reset procedure for each unit
to return it to its default settings.)
Exactly one HotPort node must have a wired connection to the management system in order to per-
form initial setup. Do not make multiple wired connections yet.
All Firetide HotPort nodes are capable of joint configuration; that is, a group of them will all acquire
the settings you specify. However, all the units must be able to hear each other in order for this to
work. Thus, all units must begin with the same settings.
Verify that nodes have meshed. On indoor nodes, the mesh LED will come on.
Figure 6. Basic HotView Test Mesh
wireless mesh
wired cloud
network
HotView
HotPort
indoor
node
HotPort
indoor HotPort
node outdoor
node
Before attempting to launch HotView or HotView Pro, confirm that your computer is configured with
an IP address on the 192.168.224.X/24 subnet.
Verify that you can reach the mesh by opening the Windows XP command prompt and pinging IP ad-
dress 192.168.224.150. If you do not get a response, fix this problem before proceeding.
If ping is successful, you can launch either HotView (shown below) or HotView Pro (shown on the next
page).
HotView Launch HotView, then do the following:
1. Enter the IP address of the mesh. The default is 192.168.224.150.
2. Log in. The initial user account is hv_admin, the initial password is firetide. (If you are upgrad-
ing from an earlier HotView release, the user account and password will be whatever you set
them to be in that release.)
3. Click on the Login button and wait for your system to connect to the mesh. This may take a few
seconds to several minutes.
4. Once connected, the workstation will display the mesh. If the nodes are new or have been re-
set to factory defaults, you will be prompted to set the country code. DO NOT do this yet; first
confirm that all nodes are visible.
Note: If you receive the message Login failed, read the next section for possible causes and sug-
gested remedies.

HotView Pro To launch the HotView Server, use the Quick Launch icon in the Launcher. Note, click it once. Dont
double-click; doing so will attempt to launch the Server application twice, which will generate an er-
ror message.
Screen 62
1. Enter the IP address of the computer you installed the server on. If it is on the local machine,
enter 127.0.0.1.
2. Log in. The initial user account is hv_admin, the initial password is firetide. (If you are upgrad-
ing from an earlier HotView release, the user account and password will be whatever you set
them to be in that release.)
3. Click on the Login button and wait for your system to connect to the mesh. This may take a few
seconds to several minutes.
4. Once connected, the workstation will display the mesh. If the nodes are new or have been re-
set to factory defaults, you will be prompted to set the country code. DO NOT do this yet; first
confirm that all nodes are visible.
Note: If you receive the message Login failed, read the next section for possible causes and sug-
gested remedies.
Figure 7. Basic HotView Pro Test Mesh
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Possible Causes of Login or Re-verify that you can ping 192.168.224.150. If you cant, fix this problem.
Connection Failure
The node has not properly reset. If at all possible, include at least one indoor node in your mesh, and use it as the head node
initially. Make sure its status LED is green. Then, reset the node (see Chapter 14 for details) and
after the status LED has come on again, ping the node. If that works, try logging in.
Only one HotView Pro user at a Another user may be logged in. A new or factory-reset node will automatically join an existing mesh if
time can log in to the mesh. one is in range. This is a good reason to NOT run your production mesh at the factory defualt settings.
New nodes will join it and you will be unable to log in.
The login information you entered Re-enter the login information and log in. Ensure that you are using lowercase characters. Hot-
is incorrect. View remembers user logins and mesh logins (see next item) in the .firetide directory of the
users file area. Thus, it will still expect the old user logins and passwords. If this information
has been lost, the .firetide directory should be deleted and the software should be re-installed.
The mesh network login information may have changed. As noted above, HotView will remember and
re-use login information from a previous installation. If you no longer have this information, you can
reset all of the HotPort nodes to their default factory settings and start again. Instructions for restor-
ing the default factory settings appear in the users guide supplied with your HotPort node, and in an
appendix to this manual.
Web Access isnt working. JBoss wasnt correctly installed, or has not been started on the server. Try connecting using the
HotView Pro client.

Quick Mesh Check After you log into the mesh, a split screen will appear. The upper portion shows a map of your site
layout. (Later sections of this manual will explain how to modify the background image or floor plan.)
The lower portion gives a tabular listing of the network inventory.
If you have brand-new nodes, or factory-reset nodes, you will probably see a dialog box requesting
that you set the country code. DO NOT do this yet. Details of this are covered later in this section.
In HotView Pro, the upper screen has multiple tabs. The Network View tab shows all of the meshes;
each Mesh tabs show one mesh each in more detail. The illustrations below show the Network View for
a single-mesh network, and for a three-mesh network. (The mesh icons are standardized, and do not
reflect the internal mesh topology.) In HotView, there is only the Mesh view.
Before proceeding with the instructions in the rest of this manual, ensure all of your HotPort nodes
are visible to HotView Pro. This can be verified on the individual Mesh diagram (see below), or in the
Inventory screen, the bottom portion of the mesh view. In particular, check the columns of informa-
tion described below to ensure that all nodes are included. (If the Inventory screen is not displayed,
click on the Inventory tab at the bottom of the screen.)
If all of the nodes are not visible, you must resolve this issue first, before proceeding to other con-
figuration options. The reason for this is that the next steps involve changing the mesh-wide settings.
Nodes which are not visible on the mesh will not receive mesh updates, and will be lost. If you dont
see all the nodes, follow the trouble-shooting tips in Chapter 23.
Screen 63. Mesh View
Note that the head node is marked by a small H between the antennas; the node icon in the top
right corner will also show this H when the node is selected. In a simple, single-mesh network, the
head node is the one connected to the HotView Pro server. In a multiple mesh network, the H mark
will be on the node that connects upstream to the HotView Pro Server.
Adding New Nodes to an Existing If you have an existing mesh and wish to add nodes to it, follow these steps:
Mesh 1. With your old version of HotView or HotView Pro, use the Import Mesh Configuration from this
Node command to make a backup copy of your mesh configuration. Do this for each mesh.
2. Upgrade the firmware on all existing nodes, using the new firmware that came with your
Firetide software package. Use the OLD version of HotView or HotView Pro to do this.
3. Set up your new nodes as a small mesh. Configure a PC to talk to 192.1768.224.150, and use
HotView to apply the saved mesh configuration to the new nodes.
4. You can now use your new version of HotView Pro to connect to your existing mesh. The new
nodes should then appear on that existing mesh.
Mixed-Node Network Warning If the mesh contains a mix of nodes with different radio types, you will see a warning message. High-
power nodes (e.g. 3500 Series and 3600 Series) are single-band, and the mesh will restrict itself to
frequencies in that band. In most cases you can ignore this message; as it is perfectly fine to operate
nodes with different radios on the same mesh.
Screen 64. Mixed-node Warning Message

Country Codes Important! HotPort units designed for operation on the 4.9 GHz US Public Safety bands may be operated
only by FCC-licensed Public Safety agencies. 4.9 GHz-capable PS units are identified by their labelling.
Do not turn such units on if you are not a licensed operator. Public Safety units will NOT show a country
code screen.
HotPort nodes equipped with high-power radios (3500 Series and 3600 Series) are for use in the US only,
and are generally illegal for use elsewhere. These units will NOT show a country code screen.
Your HotPort mesh nodes must comply with the specific channel limitations, indoor/outdoor restric-
tions, and license requirements for your country or region. Operating with the wrong settings may
result in illegal operation and may cause harmful interference to other systems. To ensure compli-
ance, your mesh nodes must be set with the proper Country Code for your country of operation. You
are responsible for setting the correct country code.
By default, HotPort units are shipped from the factory with no Country Code selected. Until the Coun-
try Code is set, radio settings will be severely restricted.
It is illegal to set a country code other than the correct one for the location of that node. Firetide
HotPorts are capable of operation on frequencies which are restricted and/or licensed in the US and
elsewhere. Setting an improper country code to bypass this can interfere with public safety radio, and
result in criminal prosecution.
The Country Code settings allow operation at the maximum legal limit for that country; if it is not set,
the transmitters operate at very low power defauly settings, and range is limited. . As soon as you set
the Country Code, the radios switch to the default radio settings for that country. See Appendix A for
specific default settings for each model and country.
Setting the Country Code should be the second thing you do when setting up a new HotPort mesh.
(The first thing you should do is make sure that all nodes are visible.)
Setting the Country Code overwrites all other settings, such as node names, etc., therefore it should
be done first. However, because setting the Country Code changes the radio settings, its important
to make sure all nodes are visible before setting the Country Code.

Set Country Code If your mesh has nodes which require a contry code setting, and the country code has not yet been
set, the Set Country Code message will appear.
1. Make sure all nodes are visible on the mesh.
2. Select the proper Country Code from the drop down list. Note that some countries have several
codes from which to choose.
3. Click the Set Country Code Now button to set the Country Code for all of the mesh nodes.
If you click Set Later, the Set Country Code message will reappear later and the mesh will
continue to operate with severe limitations until a Country Code is set.
Your distributor or reseller may have already set the proper country code for you. If the Country Code
is properly set for all mesh nodes, you do not have to perform these procedures. If the current Country
Code is incorrect you will need to reset this parameter for all of the nodes on your mesh. See Chang-
ing Country Codes for instructions.
Screen 65. Setting the Country Code

Resolving Conflicting Country If only some of the mesh nodes have their Country Code set or if the mesh detects multiple Country
Codes Codes, the following screen will appear. This screen will indicate the number of different mesh node
configurations. If you click on the Compare All button, HotView will display all of the different con-
figurations including their Country Codes.
Screen 66. Comparing Meshes
1. Click Compare All to determine which nodes have the correct Country Codes and which ones do
not.
2. Click OK to close the screen.
3. Save the configuration of a node that has the proper Country Code to a file and then apply
this configuration to the other nodes that do not have this configuration. This procedure is
described later in this manual under the heading Updating Node Configurations.
Note: If you attempt to make a meshwide configuration change when only some of the mesh nodes
have their Country Code set or if the mesh detects multiple Country Codes, the following screen will
appear. Click OK to close the screen and follow Step 3 above.
Screen 67. Resolving Conflicting Country Codes
Changing Country Codes Begin by resetting the node to the factory default settings. This will clear its Country Code setting.
1. Connect the node to a workstation running HotView or HotView Pro. (You will need to set the
workstations IP address.) When the Set Country Code screen appears, select the proper
code and click Set Country Code Now.
2. Set all of the other parameters for this node to the proper configuration.
3. Save the configuration of this node to a file and then apply this configuration to the other
nodes. This procedure is described later in this manual under the heading Updating Node
Configurations.

Initial Mesh Configuration Once you have all the nodes visible in HotView Pro, you should perform some basic configuration
steps. In general, any Firetide node which has the same settings as an existing mesh will join that
mesh. Thus, if you leave the default settings unchanged, any HotPort node can automatically and eas-
ily join your mesh. This works, but is a security hole. It is also a maintenance hassle, as any factory-
reset node will join that mesh, rather than be ready to accept proper configuration data.
Firetide recommends that you change the ESSID and password at a minimum, and we recommend you
enable encryption as well.
All of the following settings will affect all of the nodes in the mesh, so make sure all nodes are visible
on HotView Pro before proceeding.
Basic Mesh Parameters There are several mesh parameters which must be specified for correct mesh operation. All HotPort
nodes on any given mesh must share the following properties:
IP Address The IP address used for net management.
Mesh ID A numerical ID number, used by HotView to identify the mesh.
Mesh Name A human-friendly name, used by HotView to identify the mesh.
ESSID An electronically-broadcast identifier, used by mesh nodes to identify themselves
to each other.
Radio channel The RF frequency (or frequencies) on which the radio(s) operate.
Encryption type and key The encoding used on the radio links.
The IP address is the one used for network management, and has nothing to do with the enterprises
overall IP addressing scheme. However, the IP address must be routable through the enterprises
network. The default address assigned by Firetide is 192.168.224.150.
The default ESSID is HOTPORT_MESH. You should change it to a more descriptive name.
You have a choice of encryption methods. By default, encryption is disabled.
Note: In addition to selecting mesh settings commands from the File menu, you can also select most
mesh settings commands by right-clicking on a blank area of the mesh diagram. A pop-up menu con-
taining mesh settings commands is displayed. You can also select mesh settings by clicking on the
appropriate icons in the toolbar near the top of the screen.
IMPORTANT: To ensure the security of your mesh, change the default mesh password and ESSID.

Assigning the Mesh IP Address To the outside world, the Firetide mesh is a virtual Ethernet switch with a single IP address for man-
agement. The default IP address is set to 192.168.224.150. You should change the IP address of the
mesh to another value. When you change the mesh IP address, be sure to set the HotView workstation
IP address to the same subnet.
To change the IP Address, select Configure Mesh from the File menu, and enter the new IP address
values.
You should also assign a Mesh ID. This can be any value from 1 to 254. (Zero is reserved.) Each mesh
should have a unique ID. You can assign a Mesh Name as well, for management purposes. Note that
this is NOT the ESSID of the mesh, but rather the name used for management and error-logging pur-
poses.
Note: Changing the IP settings will cause the HotPort nodes to reboot. This will interrupt mesh opera-
tion for approximately one minute until the new settings are loaded into all of the HotPort nodes. You
will receive a warning message when the reboot begins. If you are changing the subnet, you can use
this time to reconfigure the IP settings on your PC, and restart HotView Pro.
Note: If one or more nodes are down when you change the mesh IP address, HotView will notify you of
this.
Screen 68. Assigning the Mesh IP Address

Setting the RF Channel, Radio All HotPort nodes on the mesh share the same ESSID and radio channel. This makes it easy to manage
Mode, and ESSID large mesh networks, or create multiple mesh networks in close proximity to one another as separate
domains. The default ESSID is HOTPORT_MESH, the default radio mode depends on the Country
Code setting.
However, you should change these parameters to avoid conflicts with other networks or devices, and
to enhance security.
You can change the ESSID by selecting the Wireless tab under the Mesh Configuration command.
ESSIDs may have up to 32 alphnumeric characters. Radio settings are selectable in the drop-down
menus.
Radio Mode Series 6000 nodes can operate their radio in either of two modes, bonded or linear. Linear is often
referred to as Auto-Channel Assignment (ACA), although you can manually assign channels if you
prefer.
In bonded mode, the two radios are slaved together to deliver an effective data rate of about 70
Mbps. The radios are not independent, and operate as half-duplex. This delivers good performance in
heavily-meshed applications. At any one instant, both radios are transmitting (or receiving) to one
other node. If one of the radio signals is blocked or interfered with, the link wil stay up, but at half
the speed.
In linear (ACA) mode, the radios operate independently. One radio can be transmitting while the
other is receiving. This delivers better throughput in sparsely-meshed, multi-hop applications.
For mobile applications, it does not matter greatly which mode you use. Mobile nodes operate at 35
Mbps, that is, they use one radio for data and the second radio to continuously scan for other non-
mobile nodes. Thus, the effective throughput to or from a mobile node is 35 Mbps, regardless of the
overall mesh speed. In a multi-hop mesh, you may see more performance in linear (ACA) mode than
in bonded mode.
Radio Channel Selection The 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g band used for wireless access offers only three non-overlapping channels, 1,
Guidelines 6, and 11. For best results, the Firetide mesh should not use the same radio channel number as any
wireless access points connected to or operating near the mesh. If your environment needs to sup-
port 802.11b/g clients and access points (or if it needs to operate where such equipment is in use),
its best leave as many of these channels open as possible. Thus you must run your Firetide mesh in
the 5 GHz band, or reserve two channels for 802.11b/g APs and assign the third to the Firetide mesh
network, or vice versa.
Series 6000 nodes have dual radios. You should run at least one of the radios in the 5 GHz band. The
second radio can be run in the 2.4 GHz band if channel space is available, or in the 5 GHz band.
Selecting Channels In bonded mode, you will be presented with a list of channels, and you can explicitly assign a channel
to each radio. In linear mode, you must first run the Auto-Channel Assignment algorithm. You can
then go to individual nodes and re-assign radios to other channels. Details on ACA are covered in the
following pages.

Setting the Radio Channels - Series 6000 nodes can be operated in either bonded mode or Auto-Channel Assigment (Linear Full-
Series 6000 duplex) mode. The advantages and applications of each oare covered in more detail elsewhere. When
configuring a Series 6000 mesh, the wireless tab will look like Screens 69 and 70.
Screen 69. Series 6000 Wireless Settings - Bonded Mode
Screen 70. Series 6000 Wireless Settings - Linear Mode

Mesh Channel Assignment Before the mesh begins its automatic channel-assignment algorithm, you can help it out by indica-
Optimization tion which nodes are the most performance critical. Typically these are the exit-point nodes. Use the
Optimization screen to specify these.
Screen 71. Specifying Mesh Optimization Goals
Before the algorithm begins execution, you will see the following warning message:
Screen 72. Advisory on Auto-Channel Assignment
Overriding Automatic Channel If necessary, you can override the automatic channel assignment for Series 6000 nodes. Right-click
Assignment on an individual node, and change the channel as required. Use caution when doing this; if you pick a
channel that has external interference, you may cause the node to go off the mesh.
Screen 73. Overriding Automatic Channel Assignments
Locking Channel Assignments After initial setup, if an individual Series 6000 node is lost to the mesh due to RF problems, the other
nodes will attempt to recover and and re-allocate channel assignments. In some cases this may not be
desirable. To prevent it, set the Channel Lock tick-box.

Setting the Radio Channels - Series 3000 channel assignment is straightforward. Pick one.
Series 3000
Screen 74. Setting the Radio

DFS - Dynamic Frequency Selection HotPort nodes support DFS in countries where it is required. DFS channels are indicated by a DFS
symbol next to the channel number. If a DFS channel is chosen, the HotPort nodes will listen for other
activity on the channel. If any node finds activity, the entire mesh will automatically switch to another
channel. The mesh will indicate this in three ways:
The Channel Display always shows the actual operating channel, not the chosen channel. (See
screen on previous page.)
In Mesh View, the HotPort node which detects activity will change in the node display, and a small
radar-dish icon will appear.
In Network View, the radar-dish icon will appear in the mesh cloud icon.
Note that Series 6000 nodes support a disable-DFS feature, refer to Screen 70 for an example.
Screen 75
Screen 76. DFS Alert in Mesh View

Changing Radio Security Settings - The Firetide mesh offers two levels of security. You can encrypt the radio links, and you can also en-
Encryption crypt end-to-end. Radio link encryption offers aa choice of WEP-64, WEP-128, or 256-ibt WPA2 (AES)
encryption, with Pre-Shared Keys. WPA2 specifies 256-bit AES for the encrption method, replacing
the RC-4 algorithm used in earlier security standards. End-to-end encryption choices include 128-bit
and 256-bit AES encryption. Use of either encryption does not slow throughput.
To set encryption, click on the File menu and select Configure Mesh. A dialog box appears. Enter the
required data. If you selected 104/128-bit encryption, enter 26 hexadecimal characters for the key;
if you selected 40/64-bit encryption, enter 10 hexadecimal characters.
Valid characters for all keys are hex digits, numerals 0 through 9 and letters a through f.
Note: For added security, the key you enter is replaced by asterisks on screen after you save it.
Screen 77. Specifying Radio Encryption

Section IV How-to: Advanced Operations
This section contains how-tos and examples on the advanced capabilities of HotView Pro. These ca-
pabilities include creating complex mesh topologies with MeshBridge and Ethernet Direct, providing
multiple redundant exit points with Gateway Servers, and similar topics.
Chapter 14 shows how to perform a factory reset on Firetide hardware.
Chapter 15 explains how to upgrade firmware on Firetide hardware.
Chapter 16 shows how to split a large mesh into two smaller ones.
Chapter 17 shows how to create Network Gateway Interconnects. These provide redundant connec-
tions from the mesh to the enterprise network, and are required for Controllers and mobility.
Chapter 18 discusses the options available to you for managing multiple meshes, and explains how to
set up Mesh Bridges.
Chapter 19 explains how to use Ethernet Direct to mix wired and wireless connections with a mesh.
Chapter 20 shows hwo to create VLANs and define Qaulity of Service (QoS).
Be sure to read the planning section before setiing up a complex mesh. For your initial installation,
Firetide recommends that you set up all the nodes on a table or bench, and perform the initial con-
figuration before installing the nodes in field locations.

Chapter 14 - Resetting a Firetide Product
Reasons to Reset There are several reasons why you might need to perform a factory reset on a node. The most common
reason is that the node has been taken out of service and you do not know its configuration; thus you
cannot connect to it.
A factory-reset node will ALWAYS respond at its default IP address (for HotPort nodes, 192.168.224.150;
for HotPoint access points, 192.168.224.160). If you have reset a node and it will not respond to a
ping at that address, it is probably defective. Contact Firetide customer support.
Note that a node which has been configured as a Gateway Server (GWS) node WILL return to its de-
fault IP address, but will NOT revert to normal node status. You should connect to it via HotView and
switch it back to normal mode.
Note: you should allow a node to fully boot before restting it. The green status light will come on when
the unit has booted. If, after two minutes, the green status light has not come on, you can try reboot-
ing anyway, but there is a good chance it will not work, and the unit will need repair.
Indoor Nodes and Access Points To reset any indoor node or indoor access point, power the unit up and allow it to boot. This takes
about a minute. Then use a paperclip or similar object to press and hold the recessed reset switch.
Hold it for ten seconds. The unit will reset itself to factory default settings.
Note: When a node is factory-reset, it will immediately join any mesh within range which is still at
factory-default settings. For this reason, you should not run meshes with factory-default settings.
They are themselves insecure, and will steal freshly-reset nodes in the vicinity as well. This can make
servicing and troubleshooting new nodes more difficult.
Outdoor Nodes - 6000 Series To reset a 6000-series outdoor node, power the unit up and allow it to boot. This takes about a minute.
Then open the small cover on the bottom of the unit, and press and hold the recessed reset switch.
Hold it for ten seconds The unit will reset itself to factory default settings.
Outdoor Access Points To reset a 4600-series outdoor access point, power the unit up and allow it to boot. This takes about
a minute. Then open the small cover on the bottom of the unit, and press and hold the recessed reset
switch. Hold it for ten seconds. The unit will reset itself to factory default settings.
Outdoor Nodes - 3200 Series For outdoor nodes that do not have an external reset switch, a software program is available to reset
the node. The program is called 3200factoryreset.exe. Install the program on a PC that is connected
solely and directly to the node with an Ethernet cable. Do not use a switch or hub. Then follow this
sequence:
1. Configure the PCs IP address to be on the subnet 192.186.224.0/24, with an address OTHER
than 192.168.224.150 or the HotPorts IP address, if different.
2. Open an MS-DOS command window, and type ping 192.168.224.150 -t, the default address.
to produce a continuous stream of pings. Depending on the HotPorts IP address, you may or
may not receive successful ping replies.
3. Remove power from the 3200 or 3600 HotPort node. Wait 15 seconds. Re-apply power.
4. You may see a few ping replies, but soon the replies will change to timeouts. Wait for at least
15 timeout messages, then start the 3200factoryreset.exe program. It will open and run in its
own MS-DOS window.
5. Allow the reset program to run at least three times, then close its window (i.e., terminate the
program).
6. The ping program has been running all this time. Allow it to keep running. You may see a few
valid ping messages. You will then see several timeout messages. Be patient. After a bit, you
will see valid ping responses. This means the unit has bee reset to its factory default condi-
tion.
The reboot time on an HotPort node is typically 60 to 90 seconds. Because the node has to power up
(step 3) and then reboot itself (step 5) the overall process typically takes a few minutes.

Chapter 15 - Upgrading Your Mesh Network Firmware
To update the firmware on your HotPort nodes, select the Mesh, and select the Upgrade Software from
the File menu. A dialog box appears. Navigate to the desired file; its name will be the version to which
you wish to upgrade. The extension will be either .bin or .bin2. The .bin2 extensions refer to versions
which are digitally signed by Firetide; if you have selected Strict Security (under the Certificate tab of
Server Configuration, for HotView Pro only), you must use a .bin2 type file. Click Open.
Screen 78. Firmware Upgrade - Selecting the Firmware Image
Select the node or nodes you want to upgrade; you can upgrade as many as ten at one time. The
upload process will begin. Each node will show a progress bar. When all the uploads are complete,
HotView Pro will ask you if you want to perform the actual upgrade. Click yes. The nodes will upgrade
and reboot themselves.
Note: If you are upgrading a mesh with more than ten nodes, the upgrade command will upgrade
them in batches of ten, until all nodes are upgraded.
Screen 79. Uploading the Image

Once the files are transferred to all the nodes, HotView Pro will confirm that you want to proceed. Note
that the transfer time can be quite long for a large mesh.
Screen 80. Confirming Upgrade
When the upgrade is done you will see this message:

Screen 81. Upgrade and Reboot
Note that an upgrade causes the node to reboot; while rebooting, nodes are not visible to HotView. As
a result, you will see a warning message that connectivity to the mesh (or node) has been lost. Ignore
the message; the nodes will return to the mesh in three to four minutes.
If you are upgrading a complex, multi-mesh network, start with the mesh furthest away from HotView
Pro and work inward.

Chapter 16 Splitting a Large Mesh
Reasons for Splitting While there is no practical limit to the number of nodes you can have on a single mesh, both per-
formance and manageability can be enhanced by dividing a large mesh into two smaller ones. Per-
formance is increased because the two meshes, operating on different frequencies, can carry traffic
simultaneously.
There are two methods which can be used to split a mesh. The first method does not require taking
the overall mesh down at once. The second method is faster, but takes half the mesh out of service for
several minutes.
Method One In Method One, you will convert nodes one at a time. In addition to your HotView Pro NMS, you will need
a laptop with HotView Begin by connecting a HotView-equipped computer to the node you will use as
the new head node for the new mesh. Set the computer to an IP address on the 192.168.224.x/24 sub-
net. Next, perform a factory reset on this node, then configure it with new and different parameters.
You must make the Mesh ID, Mesh IP address, and ESSID different.
Once youve completed the new configuration, use the Import Mesh Configuration command to save
a copy as a file. Transfer this file to the Hot-View-equipped laptop.
Next, connect the laptop to a node that you wish to convert to the new mesh. Perform a factory-reset
on the node, and when it comes up, apply the saved configuration to the node.
Repeat this for each node that you wish to add to the new mesh. You can verify that the nodes have
converted correctly by viewing the mesh on the primary HotView Pro NMS.
Method Two Method Two can convert a large number of nodes to a new mesh simultaneously, but it requires the
ability to power down all of the nodes that you are NOT converting.
Begin by verifying that all nodes are visible on the mesh, and that your NMS is connected to a node
that will be part of the new mesh you will create.
Power down all of the nodes that you do NOT want to convert to the new mesh.
Use the Delete Down Nodes command to clear the nodes from HotView.
Reconfigure the remaining nodes to your desired settings. You must make the Mesh ID, Mesh IP ad-
dress, and ESSID different.
Use the Add Mesh command to re-connect to the original mesh.

Chapter 17 Network Gateway Interconnects
Most mesh networks are connected to the outside world. A small, simple mesh can simply be plugged
into a network connection, and all of the users on all nodes will have access, just as they would if
connected via an Ethernet switch. This is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Typical Simple Mesh-to-Backbone Connection
Enterprise LAN
or Internet
ethernet
switch wireless mesh
cloud
HotPort
Node
HotPort Node
However, larger networks may want more than one connection, both for performance and redun-
dancy. Such connections are called Network Gateway Interconnects, and they are managed as a group
under the control of a Gateway Server. A Gateway Server (GWS) and its associated NGIs are collectively
called a Gateway Group (GWG).
Performance is increased because there are two (or more) nodes carrying traffic between the wireless
mesh and the wired backbone. Reliability is enhanced because the loss of a single node cannot isolate
the mesh from the wired backbone.
Typically at least two HotPort nodes are chosen to be NGIs, but you can have up to eight NGI nodes in
each Gateway Group. (HotView will permit you to create a GWG with have one NGI, but this offers no
advantage over a straight connection.)
Meshes may have multiple Gateway Groups, up to sixteen per mesh.
A basic Gateway Group is shown in Figure 9. Note that the Gateway Server does NOT have antennas.
The Gateway Servers radios are off. In a Gateway Group, the GWS CPU manages broadcast and multi-
cast packets to avoid loops. Typically, the GWS is located in the computer room, not near the mesh.
Figure 9. Network Gateway Interconnects - Final
NGI
ethernet
switch wireless mesh
Gateway cloud
Server
Enterprise LAN
or Internet
HotPort
Redundant Node
Gateway Server
NGI HotPort Node

Planning Your Gateway Group Refer to Figure 10. The nodes that will become Network Gateway Interconnects and Gateway Servers
cannot be the head node that you are currently using to manage the network, that is, the Head Node.
You may need to create a temporary Head Node.
Figure 10. Network Gateway Setup - Initial
wireless mesh
cloud
Temporary Head
Future NGI Future NGI Node
Future
Gateway Server
HotView Pro
X X Workstation
X
Enterprise LAN
Decide which nodes you want to make into NGI nodes. Ideally, they should chosen such that all other
nodes are one or at most two hops away. Bear in mind you will need to run wired Ethernet connections
to these nodes.
You can convert an existing node to be the Gateway Server node, but note that the Gateway Server is
NOT a wireless node on the mesh; its radio is switched off when it is set to Gateway mode. (You may
wish to remove the antennas as a reminder that the Gateway node is not using its radio.)
In most cases, the Gateway Server node should be located in the computer or networking equipment
room. In most cases, you will want to deploy a new node to act as the Gateway Server node. You can
also use the Firetide Controller platform as a Gateway Server. The Gateway Server cannot be a HotPort
Model 3101.
The Gateway Server and the units chosen to be NGIs must be reachable via a wired connection. These
wired connections will carry the external network-bound traffic once the Gateway is configured. Its
best to pick NGI nodes that are not near each other (that is, with multiple hops between them), to
maximize throughput.
When planning your Gateways, consider the following:
Each node in the mesh can have only one Gateway Group port (interface). That is, you can only as-
sign one of each nodes Ethernet ports to a Gateway Group.
Nodes selected as NGI nodes cannot be Mesh Bridge nodes or Ethernet Direct nodes.
All Gateway Group ports in a Gateway Group must belong to the same VLAN (see the section on
VLANs for more information).
When a trunk is enabled on the gateway server you need to configure a Tagged VLAN on the gateway
interface ports. Additionally all non-gateway interface ports must be disabled.
No other ports in the gateway interface node should have the same VLAN as the gateway interface
port.
No VLAN trunk interface can be configured on a gateway interface node.
You can add and remove Gateway Group ports from Gateway Groups dynamically, without rebooting
the node or mesh.

IP Address Assignment A Gateway Group uses IP tunnels between the NGI nodes and the Gateway Server. You should select IP
addresses for this purpose. You will need an IP address for the Gateway Server, one for the redundant
server if you elect to deploy one; and an IP address for each NGI.
The IP addresses can be on the same subnet as the management IP address of the mesh (its more
convenient) but it is not required. Record your selected IP address information here before proceed-
ing.
Table 12. NGI Planning Worksheet
Item Value
Mesh Name
Mesh ID
Mesh ESSID
Gateway Group name
Gateway Group encryption (256/128/none)
Gateway Group encryption key (hex)
Gateway Server node name
Gateway Server IP address
Gateway Server subnet mask
Gateway Server Ethernet port (1-4)
Default Gateway to leave mesh
Secondary GWS IP address
Secondary GWS Ethernet port (1-4)
Network Gateway Interface #1 node name
NGI #1 IP address
NGI #1 subnet mask
NGI #1 Ethernet port (1-4)
Network Gateway Interface #2 node name
NGI #2 IP address
NGI #2 subnet mask
NGI #2 Ethernet port (1-4)
(Extend this table for as many NGIs as you will have in the GWG, up to eight.)
The basic setup sequence is as follows:
1. Configure the first NGI node-to-be with its parameters; using the values from Table 12.
2. Configure the second NGI node-to-be; again using the values from Table 12.
3. Repeat for additional NGIs, if desired.
4. Save the mesh configuration, using the Import Mesh Configuration command.
5. Convert your chosen node to be the Gateway Server node. If you are implementing a secondary
GWS node, convert it now.
6. Connect directly to each GWS node and apply the mesh configuration to it.
7. Connect the wired connections from all NGIs and the GWS to the enterprise Ethernet back-
bone.
These steps are shown in more detail on the following pages.

Setting Up a Gateway Group - Step DO NOT connect the future Gateway Server or future NGIs to the enterprise LAN yet. The NGI nodes
by Step should be on, and should be part of your mesh. If they are not (e.g. if they are new nodes) add them
to the mesh before proceeding. Do connect another node as a temporary Head Node. (In most topolo-
gies, when youve set up the Gateway Server, it becomes the Head Node.)
1. Verify that ALL nodes, including the NGIs, are visible on the mesh. If a node is not visible, fix
the problem.
2. Verify that the selected Ethernet ports on the NGI nodes are active. If they have been disabled,
activate them.
3. Create a Gateway Group. Use the Gateway Group command from the file menu, or the toolbar
icon. From Screen 82, select the New Gateway Group button.
Screen 82. Creating a New Gateway Group
4. Enter the Group Name, then add the first NGI in the Add New Interface section.
5. Enter all of the NGI IP address information.
6. For this first interface, you will enter the GWS IP information for the primary GWS. You can also
define a secondary (backup) GWS. You will not need to re-enter this information as you add
more NGI interfaces.
7. Enable encryption, if desired, and enter the key. (Encryption can be added later if desired.)
Your screen should look something like Screen 83.
8. Be sure to click Add when you have entered all of the information.
Screen 83. Adding the First NGI and the GWS

9. When youve added the first interface, your screen will look something like Screen 84. Con-
tinue adding interfaces by selected the node, choosing the Ethernet port, and entering the IP
address information until you have added all NGIs for that group. (You may have up to eight.)
Screen 84. Adding Additional NGI Interfaces
10. When you are finished adding NGIs, close the dialog window.
11. Select a node in the mesh, and use the Import Mesh Configuration command to import the
mesh configuration file. Save this file.
12. Select the node youve picked to be the Gateway Server node. Right-click it, and select the
Configure this node to a Gateway Server node command. This is shown in Screen 85. The nodes
radios will be turned off; you may wish to remove its antennas as a reminder.
13. The node will reboot. Use the Delete Down Nodes command (File menu) to remove the node
from the screen view.
14. While the GWS node is booting, re-configure the IP address settings on your computer to let
you talk to the GWS. Its IP address will be 192.168.224.150.
Screen 85. Converting a Node to Gateway Server Operation

The Gateway Server node is now dedicated; and will remember that it is a Gateway Server node even
through a reset operation. To return the node to normal operation, right-click on it and convert it
back. Its IP address is 192.168.224.150.
15. Use the Apply Mesh Wide Configuration command to apply the file you saved to the GWS node.
16. You will receive a warning message. Click through.
17. You will see a window that will allow you to confirm all settings. Inspect it, and click OK.
18. You will receive another warning. Ignore it.
19. Click the Apply command. It will take 10 to 30 seconds for the settings to be sent and applied.
This action reconfigures the GWS node; as this happens, HotView Pro loses communication
with it. You will see a warning message; ignore it.
20. If necessary, reconfigure the IP address on your computer so that you can re-connect to the
mesh.
21. Ping the GWS node (at the mesh IP address) to verify that it is up and working.
22. Disconnect the wired connection to the temporary head node.
23. Connect the wired connections to the NGIs and the GWS. Wait a moment while auto-discovery
happens. The entire mesh should appear.
The node you used as a temporary head node is now a conventional node; it should NOT be recon-
nected to the wired backbone.
You may have more than one Gateway Group on a mesh; in fact you can configure up to 16 Gateway
Groups in any one mesh, and each Gateway Group can support up to 8 Network Gateway Intercon-
nects. However, any given node on the mesh can be involved in only one Gateway Group intercon-
nect.
Editing and Deleting a Gateway You can add and remove nodes from a Gateway Group and change a groups network information. You
can also use this option to delete Gateway Groups.
To remove a Gateway Group interface or delete a Gateway Group:
1. Click on the File menu and select Gateway Groups. A dialog box appears.
2. Select the Gateway Group you want to edit from the list on the left. The HotPort node ports
(interfaces) assigned to the selected Gateway Group appear in the list on the right side.
3. Click on the Edit Group button. Another dialog box appears.
4. To delete one of the HotPort node ports (interfaces) from the Gateway Group, click on the in-
terface you want to delete and click on the Remove button; to delete all the interfaces, along
with the Gateway Group, click on the Remove All button. (Note that the Add button becomes
disabled.)
5. Click on the Save button. You return to the previous dialog box.
6. Click OK.
To add a new Network Gateway Interface to an existing Gateway Group:
1. Disable the ports on the HotPort node that will not be used as interfaces, that is, all the ports
except the one to be used as the interface. (See the Enable/Disable Port section for informa-
tion.)
2. Click on the File menu and select Gateway Groups. A dialog box appears.
3. Select the Gateway Group you want to edit from the list on the left. The HotPort node ports
(interfaces) assigned to the selected Gateway Group appear in the list on the right side.
4. Click on the Edit Group button. Another dialog box appears.
5. Select the HotPort node whose port you want to use as a Gateway Group interface from the
Interface menu.
6. Select the port you want to use as an interface.
7. Type in a valid and unique IP address for the external network into the IP Address field.
8. Click on the Add button. (Note that the Remove and Remove All buttons become disabled.)
10. Click OK.

Chapter 18 Managing Multiple Meshes
Firetide Mesh networks provide an excellent way of carrying Ethernet traffic wirelessly across places
efficiently and reliably. Mesh bridges act as connecting points between smaller wireless meshes.
Reasons for Multiple Meshes Most larger installations will have multiple meshes. Whether you are in a campus environment, a
municipal deployment, or a multiple-site enterprise network, you will in most cases choose to have
multiple meshes. Typical reasons include:
1. You want to connect two meshes which are not directly within radio range of each other.
2. You want to operate different portions of the mesh on different frequencies. This increases
overall throughput capacity of the combined meshes.
3. You want to operate small portion of the mesh in a different configuration from the rest of the
mesh, e.g. a long-distance point-to-point link between two nodes.
4. Multiple bridge connections between meshes for redundancy and better throughput.
5. Multiple meshes can be connected in loop configuration without worry about infinite packet
looping. This enhances reliability in large, complex networks.
6. Bandwidth damping. As the number of hops increase, throughput drops at every hop because of
the half duplex nature of wireless transmission. If the mesh gets too big, end-to-end through-
put drops enough to make it unsuitable for high throughput applications.
7. Spatial Frequency issues. As the coverage area for a mesh increases it is possible that a frequen-
cy that works well in one area will have interference in another area of the larger mesh. This will
affect the overall performance of the mesh.
Whenever you have multiple meshes, you have a choice of ways to manage these methods. The sim-
plest method is to simply connect each mesh to the wired backbone, and from there to the HotView
Pro NMS system. This does require a connection to every mesh; in some cases this may not be conve-
nient. To deal with such situations, Firetide offers Mesh Bridging. Mesh Bridging allows you to daisy-
chain multiple meshes in almost any desired topology. Only one mesh needs to be connected back to
the NMS. (Most deployment will have multiple connections for redundancy, but this is not required.)
Overview of Mesh Bridging A Mesh Bridge is a tunneled connection between two separate Firetide meshes. It is usually a wired
connection, but this is not a requirement. A Mesh Bridge is different than an Ethernet Direct connec-
tion for the following reasons:
A Mesh Bridge Connection can be over an arbitrarily long connection; even across the globe. An
Ethernet Direct connection must be low latency and therefore must be short.
A Mesh Bridge Connection must be between two separate meshes; whereas an Ethernet Direct must
be within a single mesh. (Meshes are considered separate if they have different ESSIDs and Mesh ID
numbers; they should have different management IP addresses, as well.) They may be on different
frequencies, but this is not a requirement.
Mesh Bridges are typically used for these reasons:
1. You have two meshes which are not within radio range of each other, and it is not convenient to
home run both meshes back to the HotView Pro NMS. In this case, the NMS-connected mesh
will have a Mesh Bridge connection to the more-distant mesh,
2. You need increased overall throughput. By overlaying two meshes, each operating on a differ-
ent set of channels, greater overall throughput can be achieved over a given coverage area.
3. You want to run two nodes as a point-to-point link to span a longer distance. For example,
suppose you have a mesh A, connected to the HotView Pro NMS, and a mesh B which is located
too far from mesh A to connect. You can create a 2-node mesh C, using high-gain directional
antennas, and use Mesh Bridging to connect mesh A via mesh C to mesh B.
4. You have an existing mesh based on Firetide Series 3000 nodes, and you want to operate new
Series 6000 nodes along side them. While the Series 6000 nodes will fully interoperate with
the older nodes, the combined mesh supports the Series 3000 feature set, not the Series 6000
feature set. By grouping the Series 6000 nodes in their own mesh, all of their additional capa-
bilities are available.

Mesh bridge connections offer user-configurable AES encryption to secure the point-to-point bridge
connection. The Bridge connection itself can be over any wired or wireless IP-routable connection,
regardless of distance or media. Meshes may have more than one Mesh Bridge connection, either to
different meshes or to the same mesh, for redundancy. You can even run a mesh bridge from one mesh
to another through a third mesh.
A Mesh Bridge connection is a type of tunnel, and as such it has an IP address for each interface
(end). Like Ethernet Direct tunnels, it is transparent to network-wide IP tunnels. An inter-mesh rout-
ing protocol is used to route the packets from the source mesh to the destination mesh along the most
optimized route. Route information is learned; routing intelligence is added to each bridge node to
support this. For this reason, bridge nodes are dedicated to being strictly bridge nodes. A node which
is to be used as a Mesh Bridge node cant be used as a Gateway node or an Ethernet Direct node. When
a node is configured as a Mesh Bridge, the only active wired Ethernet port is the one being used for
the bridge connection. Thus, other wired Ethernet equipment cant be connected to a Mesh Bridge
node.
The inter-mesh routing protocol is carried via ordinary data packets, thereby eliminating separate
control packets to send route information. Global broadcast squelching is introduced to ensure that
one broadcast packet entering a mesh will not result in duplicate packets being sent.
A mesh can have bridge connections to multiple meshes.
Mesh Bridging for Mixed Series As noted previously, when Series 3000 and Series 6000 nodes are operated on the same mesh, the
Networks combined feature set is limited to the Series 3000. Thus many users deploy the Series 6000 nodes on
a separate mesh, using mesh bridge to connect them, as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11. Mesh Bridge Setup
Mesh Bridge
Connection
Wireless Mesh Cloud

Mesh ID = 20
ESSID - Cloud_20
RF channels 52, 56
Wireless Mesh Cloud
Mesh ID = 10
ESSID - Cloud_10
RF channels 48, 60
The following pages show how to set up a Mesh Bridge connection between two existing meshes.


Planning the Mesh Bridge Begin by completing Table 13 for each Mesh Bridge connection you want to create.
Table 13. Mesh Bridge Planning Table
Parameter Mesh A Mesh B

Name of Mesh Bridge Connection
Mesh ID
Mesh Name
Mesh IP Address
ESSID
Radio Mode
Radio 1 Channel
Radio 2 Channel
Bridge Node Name
Bridge Node Ethernet Port (1-4)
Bridge Endpoint IP Address
Mesh Bridge Encryption Key
HotView Pro Server Address
Definition of Terms Each Mesh Bridge connection should be named. Pick a name that will assist you in remembering its
location.
Each Mesh has a Mesh ID, Name, IP Address, and ESSID. These must all be unique.
Record the specific node name and Ethernet port that you will use for the Mesh Bridge connection.
The node will look for the connection on the specified port only, you must use the defined port.
The Mesh Bridge connection is an tunnel, and needs an IP address for each endpoint. These must be
unique and on the same subnet.
You can enable encryption if desired. Choose either 128 or 256-bit encryption; enter the key in hex.
An example is shown in Table 14. We will use these values in the following example.
Table 14. Example Mesh Bridge Planning Table
Parameter Mesh A Mesh B

Name of Mesh Bridge Connection Spartan
Mesh ID 1 20
Mesh Name CS Training Mesh CS Second Mesh
Mesh IP Address 192.168.224.150 192.168.224.151
ESSID cs_training_mesh cs_second_mesh
Radio Mode bonded bonded
Radio 1 Channel 161 157
Radio 2 Channel 48 36
Bridge Node Name CS6102-603 CS6102-602
Bridge Node Ethernet Port (1-4) 4 4
Bridge Endpoint IP Address 192.168.224.155 192.168.224.156
Mesh Bridge Encryption Key <none>
HotView Pro Server Address 192.168.224.6

Setting up the Mesh Bridge Begin by selecting the Configure Mesh Bridge command. Enter the Mesh Bridge Group Name, Remote
Mesh ID, and other parameters as indicated.
Screen 86. Creating a New Mesh Bridge Connection - Step 1
When youve entered all of the required parameters, click on the Add button. Your screen should look
like Screen 87.
Screen 87. Creating a New Mesh Bridge Connection - Step 2
Now click Save.

For the next steps, you will need to connect to the second mesh. Switch to the correct tab in Network
View, and then proceed.

Now that you are connected to the second mesh, select the Configure Mesh Bridge command again,
and enter the complementary data, as shown in Screen 88.
Screen 88. Configuring the Mesh Bridge - Step 3
When you are done, click Add, then click Save.

You should now connect the two meshes using the nodes and ports you specified when setting up the
Mesh Bridge.
Warning If your HotView Pro NMS is connected to both meshes via a wired connection, unhook one of these
connections before making the Mesh Bridge connection. This avoids route loops. (Note: it is possible
to have multiple connections from the mesh to the backbone; this is done via Gateway Groups. Refer
to that section for details.)

Chapter 19 Ethernet Direct
Some mesh topologies get a performance boost from connecting certain nodes together with a wired
Ethernet connection. In general, meshes can be classified as:
Fully meshed - a mesh where every node can hear every other node.
Highly-meshed - a mesh where every node can hear several other nodes.
Linear - each node can hear only one or two other nodes.
There is no strict demarcation between highly-meshed networks and linear networks; it is a matter
of degree. Highly-meshed networks are naturally resilient. Linear networks may experience a bottle-
neck if there is a single pair of node which must handle much of the traffic. The reason for this lies in
the nature of the radio link. Each HotPort node can transmit and receive, but cannot do both simulta-
neously. In other words, the radio links are half-duplex. Thus, if node A is sending packets via nodes
B and C to node D, and they are all within radio range of each other, the following scenario happens:
Lets assume Node A sends a 1500-byte (12,000 bits) packet over its 25 Mbps radio link. This takes
~0.5 milliseconds. Node B begins sending it to Node C, which takes another 0.5 milliseconds. How-
ever, Node A cannot talk during this time, because it shares spectrum with Node B. Node C now sends
the packet; again Node A must be silent. Thus, Node A can only send a packet every 1.5 millisecond,
thus cutting its throughput.
Such topologies benefit from connecting the two nodes with a segment of cat-5 cable. This allows
the nodes to exchange traffic over the wire while simultaneously transmitting or receiving packets.
Firetide calls this capability Ethernet Direct.
Figure 12. Ethernet Direct
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A single Firetide mesh is analogous to a regular wired Ethernet switch; it operates below the IP layer.
By definition, Ethernet Direct connections operate between nodes on the same mesh. (A wired con-
nection between nodes on different meshes is called a Mesh Bridge. They are covered in the next
section.) A mesh is defined as a collection of nodes which have the following characteristics in com-
mon:
Same radio frequency and channel.
Same IP address.
Same Mesh ID and Mesh Name.
Same encryption settings.
Meshed via radio connections.
A key characteristic of Ethernet Direct connections is that they are part of the routing algorithm, that
it, the algorithm takes it into account when moving packets, and is aware of the fact that an Ethernet
Direct connection is full-duplex, and is generally faster than a radio connection.

Generally speaking, you should place Ethernet Direct connections such that high-traffic routes do not
have more than two hops. You must configure the Ethernet Direct connection BEFORE physically con-
necting the Ethernet cable. Making a wired connection between two nodes will cause a packet loop if
you have not set up the Ethernet Direct connection first.
The routing algorithm assumes that the Ethernet Direct connection is low-latency. There is no strict
limit on the length or number of hops, but higher-latency connections will give better performance if
configured as a Mesh Bridge instead. To configure an Ethernet Direct connection, click on the Ether-
net Direct icon in the toolbar. You will see a window that shows existing Ethernet Direct connections,
and which allows you to enter new ones.
Screen 89. Creating an Ethernet Direct Connection
An Ethernet Direct connection is a type of tunnel. It operates below the IP layer, so it does not affect
any other tunnels you may have running across your network. An Ethernet Direct connection can be
encrypted. Because it is a tunnel, it can operate over any medium that can carry Ethernet packets.
To create a new connection:
1. Enter a descriptive tunnel name.
2. Select one of the two HotPort nodes that you will use for the connection. It doesnt matter
which end you start with.
Select a specific wired Ethernet port on the chosen node. The tunnel will be known by the pair of IP
addresses which define its endpoints. You may wish to define a subnet within your addressing scheme
(e.g. 10.0.3.x) to use for endpoint identifiers.
3. Enter one of the pair of addresses, the mask (typically 255.255.255.0), gateway, and the
remote IP address.
4. Set the desired encryption. It does not need to match the encryption used on the radio side.
5. Click Add.
The First End Node will now fill in with your data.

Screen 90. Ethernet Direct - Entering the Second Node
After you have clicked the Add button:

1. Select the Ethernet Direct connection in the top window, and click mirror. This will automati-
cally enter the complementary settings.
2. Complete the entry by selecting the desired node, and entering the IP mask and default gate-
way settings.
3. Click Add.
The Ethernet Direct connection is not complete. Use the Mesh View screen to insure that the wired
Ethernet ports on each HotPort node are enabled, and then install the wired connection between the
nodes.
To remove an Ethernet Direct connection, select it and click Remove. You do not need to unplug the
wire first; both nodes will automatically disable their respective Ethernet ports when an Ethernet Di-
rect connection is deleted. However, re-creation of the Ethernet Direct connection will NOT automati-
cally re-enable the ports; that must be done manually.

Chapter 20 Creating VLANs
Understanding VLANs A Firetide mesh is the equivalent of an ordinary Ethernet switch. Packets entering any port on any
node in the mesh will be delivered to the correct exit port.
In some applications, you may wish to divide up the Ethernet switch into multiple smaller switches.
These are called Virtual LANs, or VLANs. Any combination of ports across a collection of nodes can be
combined into a VLAN. For example, you could assign workstations belonging to the same workgroup
to the same VLAN. In this case, workstations belonging to this VLAN would only be able to switch traf-
fic among themselves.
You can also use VLANs to provide additional security to a network. For example, you could restrict
access to a file server containing confidential customer records by assigning the HotPort node port
connected to the file server and the ports connected to only certain workstations to the same VLAN.
Only the workstations belonging to this VLAN would be able to access the file server.
VLANs are also used in support of Class-of-Service applications, such as VoIP and video. Priority traffic
is placed on its own VLAN, and Firetides Class-of-Service controls are used to give that VLAN priority
over others.
VLAN Rules A HotPort wireless mesh can support multiple VLANs. You can assign ports to different VLANs. Only
ports belonging to the same VLAN can switch traffic among themselves. The maximum number of
VLANs you can define depends on the type of nodes you are using. If you are using 3000-Series nodes,
you can define up to 16 logically separated VLANs on any node and up to 4094 VLANs within a mesh.
You can select IDs from 2 to 4095 for these VLANs. The HotPort mesh also supports VLAN trunks to ac-
commodate VLANs defined externally to the mesh. If you are using 6000-Series nodes, you can define
up to 4096 VLANs across a mesh, and up to 32 VLANs on any single node.
You cannot assign a VLAN on a node which is a Mesh Bridge node.
About Tagging Each HotView Pro node port (interface) you assign to a VLAN can be either tagged or untagged.
The assignment of tags only affects the packets at their exit point on the network. You should use the
untagged designation for those HotPort node ports connected to devices that do not support VLANs
(that is, devices that do not support the IEEE 802.1Q specification). This is because devices that do
not support IEEE 802.1Q may drop VLAN packets.
Once you assign a port to a VLAN, that port will accept packets belonging to only that VLAN.
If a port belonging to a VLAN receives a tagged packet on that port, and the packets VLAN ID matches
the VLAN ID configured on that port, the packet will be allowed inside the mesh (assuming all other
conditions are met). If a tagged port receives an untagged packet, and the packets VLAN ID matches
the VLAN ID configured on that port, the packet is then tagged with the configured VLAN ID and for-
warded inside the mesh.
Now consider how tagging affects packets when they exit from a port. On the exit port, if the VLAN ID
carried in the packet when it was received at the entry port (that is, from the wire), matches the VLAN
ID configured on the exit port, the packet is allowed to leave the mesh on that port, otherwise the
packet is dropped. Depending on whether the exit port is configured as tagged or untagged, a packet
exiting the mesh either carries a VLAN tag or is sent out without any VLAN tag.

Table 15 provides details on how VLAN assignments and tagging classifications affect communication over a wireless mesh.
Table 15. VLAN Options
Incoming Entry Port Exit Port Result

Packet
If the packet VLAN ID is the same as the entry
Tagged or
Tagged Tagged ports VLAN ID, the packet goes through. If it does
Untagged not match, the packet is dropped.
If the packet VLAN ID matches the exit port VLAN
Tagged Tagged Tagged ID, the packet goes out as tagged. If it does not
match, the packet is dropped at the exit port.
If, and only if, the packets VLAN ID matches the
Tagged Tagged Untagged VLAN ID set on the exit port, does the packet go
out as an untagged packet.
If the VLAN ID of the entry port matches the
Tagged or VLAN ID of the incoming packet, the packet goes
Tagged Untagged Untagged through. If the VLAN IDs do not match, the packet
is dropped.
All packets are sent out on the exit port as un-
Untagged Untagged Untagged tagged packets.
If the VLAN ID configured on the entry port does
Untagged Tagged Tagged not match the VLAN ID configured on the exit
port, the packet is dropped at the exit port.
If the VLAN ID configured on the exit port matches
the VLAN ID of the entry port, the packet goes
Untagged Tagged Untagged through as an untagged packet. If it does not
match, the packet is dropped at the exit port.

Creating a New VLAN Note: HotPort Series 3000 outdoor models have only two Ethernet ports, ports 1 and 2, and HotPort
Series 6200 nodes have only three Ethernet ports. If you select a HotPort outdoor node and try to
assign a nonexistent port to a VLAN, the software will display an error message.
Screen 91. Creating a VLAN - Series 3000
Screen 92. Creating a VLAN - Series 6000
1. Click on the File menu and select VLANs. A dialog box appears. Click on the New VLAN button.
Another dialog box appears.
2. Type a new, unique VLAN ID (from 2 to 4095) into the VLAN Number (ID) field. VLAN ID 1 is
reserved for the management VLAN. The software checks for VLAN IDs greater than 4095 and
IDs that are already in use.
3. Select the node whose ports you want to assign to a VLAN from the list on the left, then select
the port(s) you want to assign to this new VLAN.
4. Click on the Add with tagging button to add the port(s) to the new VLAN and classify the
port(s) as a tagged port. The selected node and port(s) appear in the list on the right. [TAG-Y]
identifies a port as tagged. Click on Add without tagging to add a port to the new VLAN and
classify it as an untagged port. The selected node and port(s) appear in the list on the right.
[TAG-N] identifies a port as untagged.
5. Repeat the above step to add more ports to the new VLAN. If you make a mistake, select the
port(s) you want to change from the list on the right and click on the Remove button; to
change all the ports, click on the Remove All button to remove all the ports assigned to the
new VLAN.
6. Click on the Save button. You return to the previous dialog box. The new VLAN is selected in
the list on the left and the ports assigned to it are listed on the right.

Limitations on VLAN Numbering For Series 3000 nodes, the last four digits of the ID must be unique on a node. For example, you
cannot define both 2 and 18 as VLAN IDs, because the last four bits of the binary representations of
the decimal number 2 (00010) and 18 (10010) are the same. The software checks for VLAN IDs that
conflict with this rule.
This limitation does not apply to Series 6000 nodes.
Editing and Deleting a VLAN VLANs can be modified after they are created.
1. Click on the File menu and select VLANs. A dialog box appears. Select the VLAN you want to
edit.
2. Click on the Edit VLAN button. Another dialog box appears.
3. To delete VLAN interfaces, select the interfaces you want to delete from the list on the right.
4. Click on the Remove button to remove selected interfaces from the VLAN; click on the Re-
move All button to remove all the interfaces from the VLAN and delete the VLAN. The selected
interface(s) is removed from the list.
5. Click on the Save button. (See the Creating a New VLAN for information on assigning inter-
faces to VLANs.)
Screen 93. Editing a VLAN - Series 3000

VLAN Trunking You can configure ports as VLAN trunk ports. When a port is configured as a VLAN trunk port, any
packet received on that port, tagged or untagged, is allowed to enter and exit from the wireless mesh.
VLAN trunk ports act as pass-through ports that allow packets associated with one or more VLANs to
pass through that port. Below are some important notes regarding VLAN trunking.
To configure a VLAN trunk port, you must disable all ports that wont be used as VLAN trunk ports.
Only ports 3 and 4 on a HotPort 3100 series node can be defined as VLAN trunk ports.
Both ports 1 and 2 on a HotPort 3203 can be defined as VLAN trunk ports.
Ports already assigned to a VLAN cannot be configured as trunk ports.
Screen 94. VLAN Trunk Setup Screen
1. Disable the ports on the node(s) you do not want to use as VLAN trunk interfaces.
2. Click on the File menu and select VLANs. A dialog box appears.
3. Click on the Edit VLAN Trunks button. Another dialog box appears.
4. Select the node you want to use as a VLAN trunk port or ports from the list on the left.
5. Select the port(s) you want to use as a VLAN trunk port or ports.
6. Click on the Add button. The selected node and port appear in the list on the right.
7. Repeat the above three steps to configure other ports as trunk ports.
8. To remove ports configured as trunk ports, select the port(s) you want to change from the list
on the right and click on the Remove button; to remove all the ports configured as trunk ports,
click on the Remove All button.
10. Click on OK.
The Management VLAN option is for management of the HotPort nodes only. The Firetide Manage-
ment VLAN can only be configured on a trunk interface which supports multiple VLANs. This is used
to identify which VLAN the Firetide Management traffic belongs to. A regular VLAN can be configured
on any of the ports and is used for classifying the client traffic. Because each port on a HotPort node
can only be associated with a single VLAN, you cannot, for example, have a separate traffic VLAN and
management VLAN for an external Ethernet device, such as an access point. If a management VLAN
is configured on a trunk port then all the firetide management traffic would use that VLAN. If no
management VLAN is configured on the trunk interface then the default VLAN 1 is used to transmit /
receive Firetide Management traffic.

Chapter 21 Wireless Video Surveillance
Overview of Wireless One of the most popular uses of wireless network technology is for video surveillance. In this applica-
tion, network video cameras (often known as IP cameras, because they are IP-addressable) are con-
nected to a network. While the cameras can be used on wired-Ethernet infrastructure, its usually eas-
ier to deploy a wireless mesh network to reach all the locations at which cameras will be mounted.
A wireless IP camera system offers several advantages over traditional CCTV systems. The most im-
portant advantage is picture quality. Modern IP cameras can deliver VGA quality color images at 30
frame per second. The two-way nature of the network connection makes control of PTZ cameras easy.
And because the system is based on industry-standard Ethernet and IP routed networks, the camera
system can be made accessible from anywhere, and can piggyback on existing infrastructure wherever
its available. Likewise, other network services (such as VoIP phones) can piggyback on the wireless
infrastructure. Last but not least, the flexibility of wireless technology means that additional cameras
can be installed in temporary locations at low cost, for special events or other reasons.
The Firetide mesh network can be tuned to deliver optimum performance of top-quality video. The key
to good video is reliable, low-latency data delivery. Advanced networks auto-negotiate many things;
for example wired-Ethernet ports will auto-negotiate 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps speeds. However, auto-
negotiation can increase latency. This chapter will show how to tune your network to minimize this.
Once your network is running, you should analyze its performance. Each node is capable of reporting
the signal strength of neighboring nodes, as shown in Screen 95. These values are called RSSI, for
Received Signal Strength Indication, and are shown as a negative number, in units of dBm.
To access this information, right-click on the node and select Statistics. When the screen opens, click
on the Refresh Stats button to get the most current data.
Screen 95. Signal Strength Levels
Checking RSSI Under the heading Neighbor Statistics, the display shows the strength of each neighbor-node signal
received by each radio. In the example mesh, there are four nodes, hence three neighbor nodes.
Look for links with RSSI levels weaker than -72 dBm (i.e. numbers more negative than -72). In this
example, we see that Radio 2s link to Neighbor Node CS6202-219 is -77 dBm.
If the node has more than two links to it, use the Link Elimination command in HotView Pro to elimi-
nate the weak link. If the node only has two links, you should find a way to improve the RSSI value.
This might involve repositioning the node or its antenna, using a higher-gain antenna, or adding an
additional node at a half-way point between the low-RSSI node and the rest of the mesh.
Be sure to check the RSSI in both directions; i.e., check it on each and every node. Its possible for
the RSSI to be strong in one direction but weak in the other. For example, Node CS6202-219 shows an
RSSI of only -70 dBm, as shown in Screen 96. Eliminate the node be if it is weak at either end.

Screen 96. RSSI at the Neighbor Node
Checking Link Quality Once you have resolved any RSSI issues, you should check the link quality, shown under Radio Statis-
tics (the second panel in the window). This is shown as a percentage. Interference, multi-path reflec-
tions, and Fresnel zone obstructions are among the factors which can degrade link quality. Check link
quality in both directions, as well.
If the link quality on any link is below 60%, either eliminate the link (if its not needed) or try to iden-
tify the source of the interference and correct it.
Setting Link Speed After youve verified RSSI and link quality in both directions on every link, you should set the link
speed for each link in the mesh. Manually setting the link speed improves overall performance be-
cause the mesh does not attempt to negotiate higher link speeds. Right-click on each node and select
Radio Settings. Link speed is set as shown in Screen 97.
Screen 97. Setting the Link Speed
In most cases the link speed should be set to 36 Mbps (shown as 36000 in HotView). Actual link speed
can be viewed and monitored in the statistics tab, as shown in the first panel in Screen 95.
If the link speed drops below 36000, you should manually set it to the next speed lower than the low-
est observed value. For example, if the link drops to 24000, manually set it to 18000.
Firetide mesh technology offers two additional features which you may want to use in conjunction
with a video surveillance system. Video traffic can be segregated onto its own virtual LAN (VLAN),
and it can be assigned a higher Quality of Service (QoS). A separate VLAN increases security by mak-
ing it more difficult for other devices on the mesh to see packets from the camera nodes. Assigning
a higher QoS to video insures that video images will not be interrupted even during periods of peak
data transfer. These features are not required, and may not be needed in a network used primarily for
video. However, if you plan to use the network for voice and data traffic as well, you should implement
both features. Refer to the HotView Pro manual for details.

Link Elimination To eliminate a link, make a note of the two nodes and the radio number (1 or 2) of the link you wish
to eliminate. Note that the radio number may not be the same on each end of the link. Next, select
the Link Elimination command under the file menu. This will bring up the Link Elimination window,
as shown in Screen 98.
Screen 98. Eliminating a Link
Select one end of the as the Reference Node, and select the radio number. You can then select the
second node either by the user-assigned name or the unit serial number. Select the radio number for
the second node, then click on Eliminate Link.
You should repeat this process for each link to be eliminated. The eliminated links will be shown in the
window as you proceed, as shown in Screen 99. Eliminated links can be un-eliminated by selecting the
link in the window and clicking on Remove.
Screen 99. Link Elimination - Complete

Section V Tuning & Troubleshooting
This section explains how to use statistics and other tools to analyze your meshs performance and
optimize it.
Chapter 22 explains the statistics and performance data available to you.
Chapter 23 provides tips and guidance for troubleshooting problems.

Chapter 22 Analyzing Performance
Viewing Statistics The Statistics command displays a screen containing important statistical information about a select-
ed node. By right-clicking on a node and selecting Statistics, you can display both radio and wired-
port performance statistics.
There are three key parameters here. In order of importance:
RSSI - this tells you whether the radio signal is strong enough for reliable reception. RSSI values
should be stronger than -72 dBm (i.e. closer to 0 dBm). Weaker RSSI values should be fixed. This
may involve changing or re-positioning the antenna, or moving the node.
In the example mesh, there are four nodes, hence three neighbor nodes. In this example, we see
that Radio 2s link to Neighbor Node CS6202-219 is -77 dBm.
Be sure to check the RSSI in both directions; i.e., check it on each and every node. Its possible
for the RSSI to be strong in one direction but weak in the other. For example, Node CS6202-219
shows an RSSI of only -70 dBm
Link Quality - a computed number which combines signal strength, interference, collisions, and
other factors to develop a quality metric for the link. Link quality should be a least 60%. Because a
certain amount of interference and collisions are normal, it is unusual to see this number as high
as 100%, but values below 60% should be investigated further.
Data Rate - a link which is experiencing interference will auto-negotiate to a lower speed. If you
see links running a slower speeds than expected, investigate further. There may be occasional or
intermittent interference which is causing the slowdown.
Screen 100. Viewing Statistics
You should click the Refresh button after you open the statistics window. This causes fresh data to be
collected form all nodes, thus insuring data is up to date. You can resize the columns by clicking on a
dividing line in the column heading and dragging.

Neighbor Statistics Displays details about direct links between the node and its neighbors. Much of the most important
performance data you will need is in this section; namely the per-link signal strength (RSSI) and the
actual link speed (Data Rate). Information includes:
Neighbor Node The name of the neighboring node.
RSSI (dBm) RSSI value of the link to the neighboring node. Note that this is given for each radio, per companion
node. Thus, in the example in Screen 100, Radio 1 and Radio 2 each have three entries, one for each
of the neighbor nodes to which it is communicating.
RSSI values should be greater than (i.e., more positive) than -72 dBm.
Input Packets Number of packets received from the neighboring node.
Output Packets Number of packets sent to the neighboring node.
Input Bytes Number of bytes received from the neighboring node.
Output Bytes Number of bytes sent to the neighboring node.
Data Rate Gives the data rate at which the link is actually operating. This data rate will be lower if the link
has auto-negotiated a lower speed, which it will do in the event of interference. Thus, a lower-than-
expected figure here is a sign of interference, even if the RSSI levels are good.
Packets Dropped Number of packets dropped across the link.
Total Retries Transmission retries across the link.

Radio Statistics Displays details about transmit/receive characteristics of the nodes radio and antenna. Information
includes the following:
Link Quality Displays the average quality of the communication link between the node under evaluation and other
wireless mesh nodes. This is a figure-of-merit number computed by the node, and factors in several
variables. A value of 100% is perfect but rare. Values of 60% or better generally deliver good mesh
performance.
RSSI (dBm) Displays the Received Signal Strength Indicator (in dBm) of the nodes radio. This is an average value
for the radio, and does not give the detailed view available under the RSSI heading in the Neighbor
panel. Typically, higher RSSI values indicate better channel conditions, while lower RSSI values indi-
cate poorer channel conditions that may require intervention.
Input Packets Number of packets received over the nodes radio.
Output Packets Number of packets sent over the nodes radio.
Input Bytes Number of bytes received over the nodes radio.
Output Bytes Number of bytes sent over the nodes radio.
Transmit Errors Number of transmission errors over the nodes radio.
Receive Errors Total number of Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) errors in packets received over the nodes radio.
Retransmitted Packets Number of packets the nodes radio retransmitted due to detected transmission errors.
Retransmitted Packets Failed Number of retransmitted failed packets.
Dropped Packets Number of packets dropped due to excessive errors or software retries.

Ethernet Port Statistics Displays details about packets sent and received on the selected nodes Ethernet ports. Information
includes the following:
Port The port number for which statistics are provided.
Input Packets Number of packets received over the Ethernet port.
Output Packets Number of packets sent over the Ethernet port.
Input Bytes Number of bytes received over the Ethernet port.
Output Bytes Number of bytes sent over the Ethernet port.
Packet Collisions Number of packet collisions detected.
Receive Errors Total number of Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) errors in packets received over the Ethernet port.
Changing the Statistics Refresh Interval

You can change the interval between the times that the statistical information is refreshed. Note that the specified interval affects only the
statistics reporting; it does not affect the reporting of errors, including nodes whose links are down.
1. Click on the Monitor menu and select Statistics Refresh Interval. A dialog box appears.
2. Type in the desired rate (in seconds) at which nodes send out statistics updates (in seconds)
and click on the Save button.
Screen 101. Changing the Statistics Refresh Interval

Several tools exist to assist you in analyzing the performance of your mesh. HotView Pro provides
various views (screens) that list important information about HotPort nodes. They are:
Network Inventory view: lists the HotPort meshes, ID, status, IP address, and number of active and
inactive nodes.
Mesh Inventory view: lists the HotPort nodes on the mesh. It also shows the status, location, and
other information for each node.
Performance view: shows the uptime statistics and traffic information for each node.
Current Faults view: shows the status of the nodes in the mesh, identifies the number of faults
detected for each node, and shows the available Ethernet ports on each node.
For the Inventory, Performance, and Current Faults screens, you can control the information display
in the following ways:
To resize a column, click on a column dividing line in the column title, hold down the mouse button,
drag the column boundary to the desired location, and release the mouse button.
To reposition a column, click on a column title, hold down the mouse button, drag the column to
the desired location in the table, and release the mouse button.
To sort the information by the contents of a specific column (in either ascending or descending
numerical or alphabetical order, depending on the columns contents), click on the title of the
column you want to sort by. An arrow beside the column shows if the data is sorted in ascending or
descending order. To sort by the opposite order, click on the columns title again.
Inventory View The Inventory screen provides status information at a glance for all of the HotPort nodes in the mesh
network. If this screen is not displayed, click on the Inventory tab near the bottom of the screen.
Screen 102. Inventory View
The columns in the Inventory View include the following information:

HotPort Name The default factory name for the HotPort node is HOTPORT 3103, HOTPORT 3203, or similar, de-
pending on the model. You may see different names if they were changed previously using HotView
Pro. In either case, ensure that all of your HotPort nodes are on this list.
Serial Number Displays the serial numbers of each HotPort node. This is a unique number that is also appears on the
rear panel of HotPort nodes.
Status Shows at a glance which HotPort nodes are connected to the mesh. A green check mark indicates
that the node is connected and operational. A red X indicates that the node is not connected to the
mesh. This condition can occur if the HotPort node loses power or is malfunctioning, is removed from
the mesh or moved out of radio range, or has different internal settings than the other nodes on the
mesh. Even if a node is disconnected from the mesh, this field will still list the node. This allows you to
keep track of nodes that have become disconnected from the mesh for some reason.
Location String Shows the location text defined for the node. See the HotPort Location section for information on
entering text describing a HotPorts physical location.
HotPort Type Indicates type of node (basic, mobile, etc.).
Software Version Indicates the firmware version of the internal software for each HotPort node. The version number
should be the same for all of the nodes on the mesh.
Model Identifies the model number of the HotPort node.
Ethernet MAC Address Identifies the nodes Media Access Control (MAC) address.
Radio 1,2 MAC Addresses Identifies radio MAC addresses.

Performance View Performance view displays statistical information about each node. Much of this information relates to a
nodes radio communications.
Screen 103. Mesh Performance View
The columns in the Performance View include the following information:

HotPort Name Identifies by unique name all of the HotPort nodes recognized by the network.
Serial Number Displays the serial number of each HotPort node. This is a unique number that is also appears on the
Uptime Indicates how long each HotPort node has been continuously connected to (or disconnected from)
the mesh. If a unit is disconnected temporarily and then reconnected, this counter will be reset to
zero. If the node is currently down, Node Down is displayed.
RSSI (dBm) Displays the Received Signal Strength Indicator (in dBm) of the nodes radio. Typically, higher RSSI
values reflect better channel conditions, while lower RSSI values reflect poorer channel conditions.
(Note that these are negative number, so -85 dBm is a stronger signal than -95 dBm.)
Input Packets Indicates the total number of packets each HotPort node received from the mesh network since the
node was powered on. The packet count includes all data, including mesh routing traffic, HotView Pro
traffic, and the user data traffic.
Output Packets Indicates the total number of packets each HotPort node sent across the mesh network since the node
was powered on. The packet count includes all data, including mesh routing traffic, HotView Pro traf-
fic, and user data traffic.
Wireless Input Packets Shows the total number of packets each HotPort node received from the mesh network over the nodes
wireless radio interface.
Wireless Output Packets Shows the total number of packets each HotPort node sent from the mesh network over the nodes
wireless radio interface.

Current Faults View Current Faults view displays a table showing error information about the nodes in the mesh.
Screen 104. Current Faults View
A check mark in the field indicates the occurrence of an error condition affecting the node. The col-
umns in the Current Faults View include the following information:
Severity Displays an icon representing the severity of the fault, as described below.
Table 16. Key to Color Codes for Fault Severity
Icon Fault Severity

Red X Indicates a critical fault
Red X with an orange background Indicates a major fault
Red X with a yellow background Indicates a minor fault
Green I Indicates important information, for example, that the node
has come back up
Warnings The Current Faults tab includes a summary of warnings. The Firetide Mesh Network considers an en-
abled but unused Ethernet port to be a possible security hole, and alerts the system via the Ethernet
Ports Down section of the Current Faults tab view.
HotPort Name Identifies by name all of the HotPort nodes recognized by the network.
Serial Number Displays the serial numbers of each HotPort node. This is a unique number that is also appears on the
Major Fault Count Shows at a glance which HotPort nodes are connected to the mesh. A green check mark indicates
that the node is connected and operational. A red X indicates that the node is not connected to the
mesh. This condition can occur if the HotPort node loses power or is malfunctioning, is removed from
the mesh or moved out of radio range, or has different internal settings than the other nodes on the
mesh.
HotPort Status Shows the number of major faults detected on the node.
Minor Fault Count Shows the number of minor faults detected on the node.

Displaying the Fault Log The Fault Log shows a chronological list of problems affecting specific nodes in the HotPort mesh. To
display the Fault Log, click on the Monitor menu and select View Faults Log.
To specify the number of faults to display, type the desired number of faults (from 1 to 1000) into the
Display last field and click on the Apply button.
To clear all the faults from the log, click on the Clear All button.
See the Current Faults View section for more information about error reports.
Screen 105. Fault Log
The columns in the Fault Log include the following information:

Severity Displays an icon representing the severity of the fault, as described below.
Icon Fault Severity

Red X Indicates a critical fault
Red X with an orange background Indicates a major fault
Red X with a yellow background Indicates a minor fault
Green I Indicates important information, for example, that the
nodes neighbor has come back up
Date Shows the date and time when the fault occurred.
Serial Number Shows the serial number of the affected node.
HotPort Name Shows the name of the affected node.
Fault Type Provides a brief description of the nature of the fault.
Details Provides a more detailed description of the fault. For example, this field may identify which node
reported the fault.

Chapter 23 Troubleshooting
Trouble-shooting Tips There are three classes of problems which most commonly occur:
HotView cant connect to the mesh.
HotView can connect, but all nodes arent visible.
All nodes are visible, but performance is poor.
Cant Connect to Mesh This is a common problem. By far the most common cause of this is an IP addressing error. Begin
troubleshooting by pinging the Mesh IP address. If you cant ping it the mesh, stop and fix this before
proceeding. Reasons why you cant ping include
Your machines IP address settings are not set correctly for the IP address of the mesh.
The mesh is not at the IP address you think its at.
You are plugged into an Ethernet port which has been disabled by a previous HotView com-
mand.
Something in the wired Ethernet path is not plugged in.
For meshes connected via a Mesh Bridge, you must ping the remote-end tunnel IP address, not
the mesh IP address.
If you can ping the mesh, but HotView wont connect to it, begin troubleshooting by user Server Con-
figuration, and deleted the list of meshes HotView Pro knows about. Then re-add these meshes one at
a time after verifying that you can ping them.
If you still cant connect, someone may have changed the admin account name or password on the
mesh. Either obtain the new password, or reset the node.
Can Connect, but not to all Nodes If all of the nodes are not visible, there are several things you should check to find and fix the prob-
lem.
In the tabular display at the bottom, a green check mark indicates that a HotPort node is actively con-
nected to the mesh. A red X indicates that a HotPort node previously connected to the mesh is no
longer linked. There are a number of reasons why an new or existing node might not be visible:
The HotPort node is running 2.x firmware, or other older firmware. You will need to connect to the
node directly, via an Ethernet connection, and upgrade the firmware. Refer to the section on up-
grading firmware for details
The HotPort node is not powered. Ensure that the node is plugged in; the green power LED on the
front panel should be on. Series 6000 nodes have a positive-retention power connector; make sure
it is fully seated so that it latches.
The HotPort node has not booted correctly. About 1 minute after power is applied, the green status
LED on the front panel should be on. If it will not, reset the node again. If the node still doesnt
show the status LED as green, contact Firetide customer support.
The HotPort node has previously been configured as a Gateway Server. This is the one property of a
node that is NOT cleared by a factory reset. Connect directly to the node. Perform a factory reset,
then use the Add Mesh command to log into this mesh. Right-click the node and set it back to
being a normal node.
The HotPort node is out of radio range. If all of the nodes are in the same room, they will be within
radio range, even at low-power setting.
The antennas are mis-aligned. HotPort node antennas operate on a plane perpendicular to the
antenna shaft. Typically all antennas are positioned vertically. High-gain omnidirectional antennas
have a narrower vertical spread than lower-gain antennas, so alignment is especially critical for
them. You may need to tilt them if you are trying to connect to a mesh that is on a level above or
below the HotPort node, such as in a multi-story building or outdoors on a hill.

Figure 13. Antenna Orientation
The HotPort node is set to a different RF channel or mode.

The HotPort nodes have different encryption settings. All nodes must be running the same encryp-
tion type and key.
The HotPort node has a different password. All nodes must have the same password; the ad-
min and guest node accounts are what HotView Pro uses to log into and control each node.
All nodes must have identical radio settings in order to mesh together. Note that high-power nodes
(3500 Series and 3600 Series) are single band; if you have a mix of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz nodes, you
cannot place them all on the same mesh. The easiest way to fix this is to factory-reset the node,
then use the Apply Mesh Configuration command to copy the correct configurations to each node
in turn. (You obtain the configuration file by using the Import Mesh Configuration command from
a good node.)
The HotPort node has been factory-reset. If the node has been reset, it will not join an existing
configured mesh. Fix as described above.
If you are bringing up nodes which have already been installed in field locations (this is not recom-
mended), temporarily move the missing HotPort node closer to one of the HotPort nodes that ap-
pears on the HotView Pro screen. If the node appears on the screen after doing this (usually within 60
seconds), it was probably located too far from the rest of the mesh. You can either relocate it closer to
the rest of the mesh or add one or more additional HotPort nodes between the mesh and the desired
location. You can use a third-party software tool to help troubleshoot node-connection problems.
Poor Performance Check the RSSI values and the link quality, as discussed in Chapter 22. Also check the actual radio data
speeds. If any of these are poor, a possible reason is interference.
Is there periodic use of equipment which might cause interference? (e.g. microwave ovens.)
Does the number of people in the building vary dramatically? People are good absorbers of RF
energy. Check RSSI with the building full.
Warning: Moving Wired Normally your HotView Prom NMS is connected to a HotPort node and left connected. However, during
Connections from Node to Node service work you may find that ARP tables are used by Windows, Linux, and most other operating sys-
tems to track the MAC (Ethernet) address associated with each IP address. If you are using a worksta-
tion to configure multiple HotPort nodes individually, the workstation may lose connection to a node
due to a stale ARP entry. To avoid this, whenever you physically connect to a different node, flush the
ARP cache with the following command:
> arp -d *
Refer to the ARP information in the Appendices for more information.

Section VI Managing 802.11 Access Points
HotView Pro can manage both Firetides own HotPoint series of 802.11 access points as well as third-
party access points connected to the Firetide mesh.
This section will show you how to manage third-party access points (that is, non-Firetide) which are
connected to Firetide mesh nodes. It will also show you how to manage Firetides HotPoint series of
enterprise-class access points.
Regardless of the type of access point you use, in order to support mobility (roaming) across the
Firetide mesh, you must make HotView aware of the existence of the access point.

Chapter 24 Managing Third-Party APs
Access Point Configuration HotView offers two ways to manage third-party access points which are connected to HotPort nodes.
You can manually add an access point to an existing node, using the Access Point command in the
Node Command list (right-click the node). This is convenient if you are adding just a few access
points. In the window, specify the access IP address or URL, and HotView will allow you to open a
browser window that will control the specified access point.
Mobility Support You dont need to add third-party access points to HotView Pro, but it does provide a convenient,
unified management interface. However, if your mesh supports mobility (that is, mobile users), all
access points must be added.
Screen 106. Adding a Third-Party Access Point to HotView Pro
When an access point has been configured, it is shown in the HotView mesh diagram:
Screen 107. HotView Pro Mesh Screen with Third-Party Access Point

The second method is recommended when you are adding a larger number of access points. In this
method, the MAC addresses and IP addresses of each access point are entered into HotView. The sys-
tem then auto-discovers the access points after they are installed.
Begin by using the Access Point menu command to bring up this window, then add the MAC and IP
addresses.
Screen 108. Entering MAC Addresses and IP Addresses for Third-Party APs
The Auto Discover command can then be used to identify all of the access points once theyre in-
stalled. A summary list is available:
Screen 109. Third-Party Auto-Discover Results

Chapter 25 Firetide HotPoint Access Points
Firetide Hotpoint access points can be used as standalone APs or as companions to Firetide Mesh
Routers, or a combination of the two. HotPoint access points can be managed in a number of ways,
depending on your overall network and requirements. The management options are:
Integrated operation - each HotPoint is connected directly to a HotPort mesh router via an Eth-
ernet span.
Standalone operation - there are no HotPorts in use, and the HotPoints are connected directly to
the enterprise LAN.
Mixed - a combination of the above.
Integrated Operation Connect the HotPoint access points to their respective HotPort mesh routers. Configure and manage
them using either HotView or HotView Pro.
Standalone Operation Connect the HotPoint access points to your enterprise LAN. You will want to connect them one by
one and assign each an IP address. You can then configure them and manage them using HotView or
HotView Pro. HotPoint nodes can acquire IP addresses from a DHCP server; if you use this option, you
will need to get the assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.
Mixed Operation Some deployments may have both integrated and standalone. In such cases, you can still manage all
of the HotPoints and HotPorts using HotView or HotView Pro.
Understanding the Association The HotPort mesh routers run a discovery protocol to determine if there is a HotPoint access point
Process connected to them. This protocol operates at layer 2, below IP, and it will discover HotPoints which
are connected to HotPorts via Ethernet, regardless of the number of switches or hubs between the
HotPort mesh router and the HotPoint access point.
This means that if you connect one or more HotPoint access points to your enterprise LAN, and then
connect a HotPort mesh router, that mesh router will discover the HotPoints and associate with them.
Specifically, it will associate with, and remember, the first four HotPoints it discovers.
If you wish to prevent this, place the HotPoints on a different LAN segment and assign them to a dif-
ferent IP subnet.
Mixed Operation Firetides HotPoint system is an enterprise-class 802.11b/g wireless access system. As such, it has
been engineering with management capabilities not found in consumer-grade products.
Each HotPoint can be configured with up to 16 Virtual Access Points, or VAPs. Each VAP behaves like
an independent access point. Thus, you can have one VAP configured for guest access and a second
VAP configured for secure employee wireless access. A third VAP can support wireless security cam-
eras (with full privacy), while a fourth VAP can be assigned a higher QoS to support mobile VoIP.
VAPs can be grouped. This makes it easy to change the password or security settings, for example,
for all employee wireless access across all access points with just a few clicks.
Physical access points can also be grouped. This makes it easy to change hardware settings (such as
radio channel) system wide with just a few clicks.
The options and capabilities of the Firetide HotPoint system are covered in detail later in this chapter.
You should study this information carefully when planning your AP deployment.

Basic Setup Sequence The basic sequence of steps in setting up a Firetide HotPoint access point are summarized here, then
shown in detail in the following pages.
If you are installing a new Firetide-based wireless network, begin by installing the HotPort Mesh
nodes, and the HotView or HotView Pro mesh management software, before installing any HotPoint
APs. Refer to the documentation supplied with those products for details.
If you are adding HotPoint APs to an existing network, begin by upgrading the existing mesh nodes
to version 3.5.X.X or later. Use your existing version of HotView to upgrade all mesh nodes, then use
HotView 3.5.X.X to configure HotPoint APs.
Then:
1. Depending on whether you are using your HotPoints as Associated or Standalone, configure
your management tool (HotView, HotView Pro, or a browser) to access the HotPoint.
2. Assign a management IP address to each HotPoint. The default address options are shown in
Table 17. The IP address you pick should be reachable from the computer running HotView, or a
browser. It does not need to be on the same subnet as the management address of the Firetide
mesh.
Note that if you are using DHCP for Standalone access points, you will need to capture the IP ad-
dress assigned by the DHCP server to each HotPoint. Because this complicates management, Firetide
recommends that you not use DHCP to assign IP addresses to HotPoint nodes, but it is a supported
option.
3. Log in to the AP.
4. Set the Country Code.
5. Change the default password.
6. Rename the AP. A name based on the APs location is a good choice.
7. Set the radio settings (channel, etc) for each physical AP.
Repeat these steps for all access points. Before proceeding with the details of setup, you should un-
derstand the interrelationship between physical nodes and virtual access points. This is discussed on
the next page. Read this material before proceeding
1. Create one or more VAP Groups, using the VAP Group Configuration command. You must have at
least one group, even if you only have one AP.
2. Use the VAP Configuration command to configure those VAP features which are controlled per
physical AP. (DHCP, DNS, NAT)
3. Use the VAP Group configuration command to assign the SSID, security, and other features for
the entire VAP group.
4. Use the AP Group command to group all of APs into a management group. (This is not neces-
sary if you only have one AP. Also, you can create more than one group if you require multiple
management domains, but in most cases this is not required.)

Table 17. Default IP Addresses
HotPoint Connection Method DHCP Server Default IP Address
via HotPort node dont-care none
DHCP available as assigned by DHCP
Standalone
no DHCP available 192.168.224.160

Understanding APs, AP Groups, Before you begin software configuration, you should understand your choices for management. You
VAPs, & VAP Groups may use Firetides HotView Network Management System to manage HotPoint Access Points, or you
can manage individual access points via a web browser or via SNMP. Regardless of the method, the
essential management is the same.
An AP is a physical box - a computer and a radio - which can implement up to 16 virtual access
points. Virtual access points are the things that wireless clients actually see and connect to.
Each HotPoint node offers a range of network as well as radio configuration options. The commands
which control these features and options are grouped logically. This makes it easy to manage large
collections of physical nodes and virtual APs, once you understand the concepts.
Access Points (AP) - certain parameters, such as radio settings, are specific to the hardware on each
particular physical node.
Virtual Access Points (VAP) - HotPoint nodes support Virtual Access Points. In general, each physical
HotPoint can support up to 16 VAPs. (A HotPoint which is the server node of a WDS cluster can only
belong to one VAP.)
VAP Groups - VAPs are grouped together for management purposes. You will create at least one VAP
group, with SSID, encryption, and other parameters. This is the access point that will appear to wire-
less clients.
Access Point Groups - In some cases, you may want to grant management access to some nodes to
one person or persons, and other nodes to other persons. This can be done using Access Point Groups.
Each HotPoint may be assigned to an Access Point Group, or AP group. You can specify different user
names and passwords for each group.
All HotPoint commands are grouped according to whether they affect settings on a physical node, a
VAP Group, an AP Group, or an individual VAP.
Figure 14 shows how the various domains relate to each other. Figure 15 shows a more complex ar-
rangement of multiple APs and multiple Virtual APs. Figure 16 shows a three-AP, three-VAP configura-
tion. You can have up to 16 VAPs per physical AP. You can have as many AP Groups as needed, and there
is no limit to the number of APs in any one AP Group.

Figure 14. Matrix of Physical and Logical APs - Simple
AP Group
Login
Password
Name
IP Address
Firewall
VAP Groups VPN
VAP Group A VAP IP Address

SSID DHCP / DNS
Encryption NAT
MAC Address Access
VAP
AP
Figure 15. Three-AP Network

AP Group
Login
Password
Name Name Name

IP Address IP Address IP Address
Firewall Firewall Firewall
VAP Groups VPN VPN VPN
VAP Group A VAP IP Address VAP IP Address VAP IP Address

SSID DHCP / DNS DHCP / DNS DHCP / DNS
Encryption NAT NAT NAT
MAC Address Access
VAP VAP VAP
AP AP AP
Figure 16. Large AP Matrix

AP Group
Login
Password
Name Name Name

IP Address IP Address IP Address
Firewall Firewall Firewall
VAP Groups VPN VPN VPN
VAP Group A VAP IP Address VAP IP Address VAP IP Address

MAC Address Access
VAP VAP VAP
VAP Group B VAP IP Address VAP IP Address VAP IP Address
MAC Address Access
VAP VAP VAP
VAP Group C VAP IP Address VAP IP Address VAP IP Address
MAC Address Access
VAP VAP VAP
VAP Group D VAP IP Address VAP IP Address VAP IP Address
MAC Address Access
VAP VAP VAP
AP AP AP

Table 18 gives a summary of all of the major commands and options available on the HotPoint APs,
organized by logical group.
Table 18. Summary of Commands by Logical Group

Physical AP AP Group VAP VAP Group
Configuration Configuration
AP Name Membership DHCP Server WDS (new group creation only)
DHCP Service IP address
VAP IP address
AP Management IP address Guest Login DNS Broadcast SSID
/ DHCP client Admin Login SSID suppression
Performance Statistics NAT VLAN
Radio Settings: ch, mode, DTIM, RTS/CTS,
RF power, beacon, rogue fragmentation
detection
Firewall Encryption
VPN MAC address access
Country Code Intracell blocking
Reboot / Reset User data rate control
Import & Apply IAPP
Refresh WMM
SNMP-enabled

IP Address Planning You should plan out your IP addressing scheme prior to deployment. You will need several ranges of
IP addresses. All of these IP addresses are in addition to the management IP address (aka mesh IP
address) assigned to your Firetide mesh network.
In general, you may assign AP IP addresses independently of the IP addressing scheme you use for
the Firetide mesh. The only constraint on AP IP address assignment is that the IP addresses must be
routable within your overall IP addressing scheme.
AP Management IP Address - this is the IP address assigned to the physical access point, and is
used for management purposes. An AP is capable of acquiring this address from a DHCP server, or
it may be manually assigned. This address must be reachable from the HotView management work-
station.
VAP Management / DHCP Server IP Address - each VAP requires an IP address. It is used for NAT,
if enabled, and for DHCP, if the AP is configured to assign IP addresses to clients. It must be differ-
ent from the AP Management IP address. Note that each AP can be a member of as many as 16 VAP
Groups.
DHCP Address Range - this is the pool of addresses available to be assigned to wireless clients.
It is permissible for an AP to acquire its AP Management address via DHCP, yet also serve DHCP ad-
dresses to clients. The addresses do not need to be on the same subnet, but all must be routable over
the enterprise LAN.
Subnetting Users with large numbers of HotPoint access points in relationship to the number of HotPort mesh
routers should consider placing Standalone HotPoints on a separate IP subnet and a separate LAN
segment. This will prevent HotPorts from discovering and associating with HotPoints.

HotPoint Configuration - HotView The Firetide HotPoint access point family requires either HotView or HotView Pro software, version
& HotView Pro 3.5.X.X or newer, on your computer, or a browser. In addition, the HotPort nodes to which the access
points will be connected must be upgraded to firmware version M3.5.X.X. Access Points should have
firmware version A2.0 installed.
If youve connected your HotPoints as associated nodes, launch HotView Pro and log in. Your screen
will look like Screen 110.
Screen 110. Access Points on a Firetide Mesh
If youre operating your access points as Standalone units and you are using HotView, launch it and
check the Manage Standalone APs box in the login screen. If youre using HotView Pro, just launch it
and log in. In either case, your screen will look like Screen 111 - that is, blank. You will add the APs
next.
Screen 111. HotView / HotView Pro - Standalone APs

Adding Standalone HotPoints to To add Standalone HotPoints to HotView or HotView Pro, use the Standalone Access Point
HotView Configuration command under the Access Point menu to add the IP address of each HotPoint to the
system, as shown in Screen 112.
Screen 112. Access Point Menu Commands
Enter the IP addresses of each node, and click the Add button, as shown in Figure 113. Then click
Save.
Screen 113. Adding HotPoint IP Address to HotView
When youve finished adding the IP addresses, HotView will automatically discover the APs. Your
screen should look like Figure 114.
Regardless of whether your nodes are Associated or Standalone, you can now proceed with configura-
tion.
Screen 114. Access Point Display - Standalone Mode

AP Node Commands These commands are accessed by right-clicking the AP icon. Begin by assigning an IP address to each
node, and logging in to the node. You must then set the Country Code. Finally, you should rename
each node.
Table 19. Summary of AP Node Commands
Command Function
Rename AP Assigns the management screen name to the physical node. Note: this is NOT the SSID of the node; that is
specified under the VAP Group Configuration command.
HotPoint Location Allows you to assign a location string to the unit.
IP Settings (includes Assigns the IP address that will be used by the AP for management access. This command also allows you to
Management VLAN) assign a management VLAN, if desired.
Release Lock Releases management control lock on APs. Normally all APs are locked by one instance of HotView; this
command allows others to manage the AP.
Login The default user ID and password is admin and firetide.
Statistics Shows performance for a given VAP.
AP Configuration (Radio) Allows you to specify the radio parameters, firewall configuration, and VPN.
VAP Configuration Allows you to define DHCP service for the VAP.
VAP Group Allows you to define radio and security options for a group of Virtual Access Points.
Configuration
Country Code Set once at initial startup.
Reboot, Reset Allows you to reboot or reset to factory defaults.
Import, Apply Allows you to save and restore node settings.
Refresh Forces HotView to re-acquire the status of the AP.
Delete HotPoint Removes stale HotPoint icon from HotView.
Summary Gives a summary of HotPoint node information.
Screen 115. AP Node Commands

Physical AP Radio Settings Each physical AP has certain radio settings which are common to all virtual APs on that node. These
are set using the AP Configuration command, as shown at right.
Auto Channel allows the AP to find the clearest channel, or you may set the channel manually.
The Wireless Mode can be set to b, b/g, g-only, or 108g Static Turbo.
The raw Transmit Data Rate of the wireless link can also be specified.
Transmitter power and beacon can be controlled.
Antenna Diversity is supported. This control determines which antenna the unit listens on; transmit
is always on Antenna 1. In most cases, Diversity is the best choice, but if you are only installing one
antenna, set this to Antenna 1.
Rogue AP Detection enables the AP to detect other, unknown APs operating in the area, and report
them. You may specify how often the AP stops and scans for rogue APs, as well as the level of search.
Screen 116. AP Radio Settings

VAP Group Configuration VAP Groups are the collections of Virtual Access Points that form the user-visible logical layer over-
laid on the physical collection of Access Points.
You must create at least one VAP Group, with at least one VAP in it. Do this by selecting VAP Group
Configuration command from the Access Point menu. You will see the Manage VAP Groups screen, as
shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17. Managing VAP Groups
Click on the New VAP Group button. The New VAP Group screen appears, as shown in Figure 18.
Enter a VAP Group Name. This is NOT the same as the SSID. Select one (or more) APs which will sup-
port this VAP group. Note that APs can be members of more than one VAP group. Typically, all APs are
members of all VAP Groups.
You can also create Wireless Distribution Service (WDS) networks. However, there are two limitations.
First, APs which are members of a WDS-enabled VAP Group cannot be members of any other VAP Group.
Second, and more critically, do not use WDS to bridge two APs which are connected to the same Firetide
mesh. This creates a routing loop.
Next, set the SSID and radio data rates.
There are two remaining basic setup steps: VAP Configuration and VAP Group Configuration. The order
in which you do these is not critical; this manual will configure each VAP next.
Figure 18. Creating a New VAP Group

VAP Settings As shown in Figure 19, VAP Groups logically intersect with APs to form VAPs. Certain settings are spe-
cific to each VAP. These settings include the IP address of the VAP, the DHCP Server settings, the DNS
settings, and the optional NAT capability.
To modify these settings, right-click on the AP icon and select the VAP Configuration command. This
command will reveal a second drop-down menu which lists all of the available VAPs. Select the VAP you
wish to configure. You will see a screen like the one at right.
Enter the VAP IP address. This must NOT be the same as the management IP address of the AP. You
must assign an IP address before enabling DHCP.
If desired, configure DHCP service. For DHCP, each VAP Group should have every access point in that
group configured to serve addresses to clients. All access points must be configured, and each access
point must have a unique range of assignable IP addresses. The DHCP range must be on the same
subnet as the VAP IP address.
Note: it is possible, using VLANs, to insure that each client receives its IP address from the VAP with
which it physically associates, rather than the first DHCP server within the VAP Group to respond. This
is useful in multi-tenant applications. Each node will need a VLAN; refer to your HotView Pro manual
for assistance in VLAN configuration.
You may also use an independent DHCP server. The HotPoint AP will forward DHCP requests if it is not
configured to serve DHCP addresses.
NAT may be enabled here, if desired.
Figure 19. VAP Settings

VAP Group Settings You must enable the VAP Group by checking the box. VAP groups can be turned off and on if desired,
to limit access to certain times.
The SSID defaults to the VAP Group name, but this can be changed if desired. The SSID can be sup-
pressed if desired for high-security applications.
DTIM is the Delivery Traffic Indication Message. It indicates which client stations, currently sleeping
in low-power mode, have data buffered on the access point awaiting pick-up.
The DTIM period you specify here indicates how often the clients served by this access point should
check for buffered data still on the AP awaiting pickup.
Fragmentation and RTS/CTS Thresholds can be used to tune wireless performance in some special-
ized applications.
A VLAN can be created for this VAP Group. This can be useful for security and privacy purposes.
Figure 20. VAP Group Basic Settings

VAP Group Security Settings A wide range of wireless security options are supported. Select the one you prefer. Authentication
choices include:
802.1X
Auto
Open
Shared Key
WPA
WPA-Auto
WPA-Auto-PSK
WPA-PSK
WPA2
WPA2-PSK
Begin by selecting an authentication type using the first drop-down menu. The other menus will
change to reflect the options available for each method.
Figure 21. VAP Group Security Settings

MAC Address Access Control If desired, VAP Group access can be limited to an explicit group of MAC addresses, or denied.
Figure 22. VAP Group Access Control Settings

Understanding Advanced Settings VAP Groups offer a number of advanced settings which allow you to maximize security and optimize
traffic loading for various usage scenarios.
Intracell Blocking Intracell blocking allows you to prevent users of a given VAP from seeing each other. When enabled,
all users can use the VAP to reach the network, but no user can see or access other computers on that
VAP.
Note: Intercell blocking is accomplished with VLANs. To implement it, configure a VLAN for each VAP.
Refer to the HotView Pro User Guide for details on VLAN configuration.
User Data Rate In order to prevent one user from consuming excess bandwidth on the backbone, you can limit the
data rate for each user. You can also limit the aggregate rate for each VAP Group.
IAPP and Roaming The Inter-Access Point Protocol describes an optional extension to IEEE 802.11 that provides wireless
access-point communications among multivendor systems. If you have other APs which support it,
you can enable its operation and set the port used for control.
Fast roaming is also supported for clients which support PMKID.
WMM WMM, also known as WME, allows clients which support the Wireless Multimedia Extensions protocol
to prioritize VoIP and video traffic. If your clients support it, enable it here.
Figure 23. VAP Group Advanced Settings

AP Group Commands HotPoint Access Points can be grouped for management purposes. Each group shares a set of ad-
ministrative accounts and passwords. The AP Group Configuration command, under the Access Point
menu, opens a dialog box, in which you can create new groups and edit existing groups.
The Configure button lets you re-define the user ID and password for all APs in a group. There is an
account name for read-write privileges, and a second, guest account with read-only privileges. The
defaults are admin and firetide, but these should be changed for security reasons.
Most small installations will find a single AP group for all APs to be the most convenient to manage.
Larger installations which have APs for security purposes as well as user data networking may wish
to divide the management functions (and access privileges) by creating multiple groups with unique
user IDs.
Figure 24. AP Group Management

Advanced Features Firetide HotPoint APs support several advanced features. These include:
NAT
Firewall
VPN
SNMP
NAT Network Address Translation is configured per VAP; that is, each physical node has a NAT setting for
each VAP Group to which it belongs. Use the VAP Configuration command (in the right-click menu)
to configure it.
Figure 25. Enabling NAT

Firewall The Firewall features is configured per physical AP, and is common to all VAP Groups on that AP. The
Firewall blocks ports coming from the APs wired connection, going to the wireless clients.
By default, all ports are open. Enabling the Firewall closes all ports; individual ports can then be
opened as needed. Use the AP Configuration command (in the right-click menu) to configure it.
Figure 26. Firewall

SNMP APs can be monitored and managed via SNMP. To activate SNMP access, use the SNMP tab in the AP
Configuration window.
Copies of the MIBs can be found on the CD, or obtained from Firetide.
Figure 27. Enabling SNMP Management

Country Code Assignment Firetide HotPoint APs are designed to be compliant with all applicable regulations for their country of
operation. In order for this to work, the AP needs to know which country it is in.
You MUST set the Country code in order for the HotPoint AP to work correctly. If the Country Code has
not been set, you may see the following warning:
Figure 28. Country Code Warning

Section VII Managing Mobility with HotView Controller
In this section you will learn how to add a Controller to your HotView meshes, and how to enable mo-
bility of Firetide HotPort nodes and 802.11b/g clients across your meshes.
Chapter 26 shows how to set up your Controller and configure it for multiple meshes.
Chapter 27 shows how to configure your Controller to support integrated HotPoint APs.
Chapter 28 shows how to configure your Controller to support standalone APs.
Introduction The HotView Controller is a software platform enabling advanced wireless mesh backbone and Wi-Fi
access services. Working with HotPort mesh nodes and HotPoint Access Points, the Controller delivers
high speed infrastructure mobility, and seamless client roaming. The controller software is hardware-
independent and runs on standard servers from leading suppliers. This hardware independence pro-
vides a scalable, multi-service platform for network growth and investment protection.
Unlike other wireless infrastructures, HotPort mesh networks are dynamic by design, allowing for
automatic and instantaneous connection and reconnection of mesh nodes to the network. Firetides
patented AutoMesh routing protocol makes the mesh fully self-forming and self-healing, to afford
rapid deployment and dependable operation for both static and mobile mesh infrastructures.
The Controller is managed via Firetides HotView Pro NMS. The Controller can be configured to manage
HotView meshes, optionally-integrated HotPoint APs connected to those meshes, or standalone Hot-
Point APs. (The Controller cannot manage both integrated and standalone APs at the same time.)
Infrastructure Mobility In addition to ensuring a reliable, self-configuring and self-healing wireless network, Controllers also
provide the added benefit of mobility. A HotPort mesh node instantly associates and re-associates
with the mesh network as it travels within range of other static and dynamic mesh nodes.
With the HotView Controller, Ethernet-enabled devices such as network video cameras, Wi-Fi access
points, RFID readers, and laptop computers maintain network connectivity while traveling at high
speeds across multiple HotPort mesh networks and IP domains.
Applications include:
Continuous video surveillance for any moving vehicle such as police cars, fire trucks, and trains.
Uninterrupted Wi-Fi access on public transportation vehicles for traveling hotspots.
Mobile network services on public transportation, first responder vehicles, fork lifts, and cranes.
Mobile command centers for public safety including police, fire and other emergency personnel.
Seamless Wi-Fi client roaming.
A typical application is shown in Figure 29.
Figure 29. Roaming and Mobility in a Complex Mesh
HotView Pro
Network Management Station

Client Mobility HotPoint Access Points ensure secure, fast roaming for any Wi-Fi enabled client device. With the Hot-
View Controller, HotPoint APs also provide seamless roaming across multiple subnets and IP domains.
This means that you can move around a building, across a campus, or even drive along city streets
while maintaining a network connection. You can roam virtually anywhere in range of HotPoint APs
while talking on a Wi-Fi phone, without losing your connection - or your conversation.
Features The HotView Controller manages the association of Wi-Fi clients to the HotPoint AP network, pro-
viding fast roaming from one AP to another, while maintaining application persistence. Seamless
roaming across IP domains is key for applications that require wireless persistence - voice, barcode
scanning, PDAs, and notebook computers.
Automated Deployments Network deployment is simplified with Auto Provisioning, which pushes virtual AP and VLAN configu-
rations to HotPoint APs. The HotView Controller automatically discovers and configures HotPort and
HotPoint devices that have been added to the network, eliminating complex pre-configuration by a
network administrator saving time and money.
CPE and Client Control The HotView Controller further strengthens the service provider functions already available with the
HotPoint Access Point. It extends rate limiting from Wi-Fi clients to any Wi-Fi CPE device. It provides
manual HotPoint AP power control to ensure optimal signal strength and coverage for client and CPE
connectivity. Connection Admission Control provides per session/per client access control.
Centralized Policy Management HotView Controller pushes user policies to HotPoint APs and enforces these policies as the clients
roam across multiple IP domains.
Controller Capabilities Firetides Controller platform offers a number of capabilities today, and is a platform to grow on for
future enhancements. It allows 802.11b/g clients connected wirelessly to Firetide HotPoint APs to
roam seamlessly from AP to AP, and it allows mobile HotPort nodes to roam from mesh to mesh.
A Controller controls mobility over a collection of meshes. This collection is called a Domain. Within
a domain, HotPort nodes can wander freely - and rapidly - across meshes. The Controller tracks the
nodes location and tunnels the mobile nodes traffic back to the enterprise LAN in a way which makes
IP addressing seamless. You do not have to worry about updating default gateways or other settings.
Each mobile node knows and remembers its home mesh (defined as the Mesh ID it was on when
originally configured) and will continue to behave, for IP addressing purposes, as if it is on that mesh.
Thus, client hardware connected to it which has acquired an IP address either by DHCP or manual as-
signment will continue to work as it roams - the Controllers will tunnel its traffic so it behaves as if
connected to the correct IP subnet.
The Controllers can be grouped for convenient management, and will share the workload across a
secure tunnel.
Note: if you have a small, single, mesh, you can support mobile nodes without a controller.
Planning Your Deployment The Controller has two Ethernet ports. Eth0 connects to the outside world - your HotView Pro network
management system, your enterprise network, and possibly to the Internet. This is the public side of
the Controller, and is referred to as the Network side in HotView Pro. Eth1 connects to the meshes,
using GRE IP tunnels to do so. This is the Mesh side of the Controller. Typically you will assign only one
IP address to the public side, but you will probably assign multiple IP addresses to the Mesh side.
Controller configuration consists of defining the IP address that HotView (and the outside world) will
use to reach eth0, and on the eth1 side, the IP addresses for the tunnel endpoint(s). Tunnels exist
between eth1 and each Gateway Server (GWS) node on each mesh. When a direct connection (or one
through an Ethernet switch) is used, the tunnel endpoint IP addresses can be any pair of addresses
on the same subnet. Because the mesh side is a tunnel, these addresses do not need to be on the
same subnet as your HotView network management station or the management IP addresses of the
meshes. Note that the tunnel endpoint IP address assigned to the Gateway Server Node is that nodes
IP address, specified when the Gateway Server was created. If you have not created GWS nodes yet,
you should do so before setting up your Controller.
Deployment Considerations When assigning RF channels to meshes which will have mobile nodes, do not use DFS-regulated chan-
nels for mobile nodes. A mobile node cannot join a mesh on a DFS channel; it wont even try. You
can use DFS channels for links between non-mobile nodes in a mesh, but this reduces the number of

possible radios to which a mobile node can connect. Refer to the section on RF channel assignment
for details on selecting channels. A mobile node normally uses one radio for ordinary traffic, and the
second radio to scan and see which other nodes it is getting nearer to, or farther from. Thus it can hop
from channel to channel as it moves around.
A recommended configuration is to assign one radio on each node (e.g. Radio 1) to be the primary
mesh node communicating with other static nodes, and the second radio (e.g. Radio 2), configured
with omnidirectional antennas, used to link to the mobile nodes. In this example, Radio 1 can be a
DFS channel but Radio 2 must not be. This is shown in Figure 30, a basic installation. The GWS node is
typically co-located with the Controller in the enterprise computer or network equipment room.
Figure 30. Simple Controller Installation
HotView Pro
Network Management Station
Enterprise Network Gateway

LAN Interface
freq 1
Controller Gateway
eth0 Server Node
eth1
Network Gateway
Interface freq 2
Mobile Node
Figure 31 shows a common, but more complex configuration. Here, the Controller is not physically
near the mesh, and the Controller-mesh connection must be routed over the Internet. Note that the
Gateway Server node can be near the mesh (as shown), or near the controller; that is, between the
controller and the public Internet cloud.
Figure 31. Controller Connection via the Public Internet.
HotView Pro
Network Management Station Gateway
Server Node
Network Gateway
Enterprise Public Interface
LAN Internet
Controller
eth0
eth1
Network Gateway
Interface
When the VPN tunnel runs over the public Internet (or any complex, routed network), the Controller
tunnel should be transported inside another tunnel, using a VPN-compatible router to interface the
connection through the public network.
You may have as much LAN infrastructure in between the Controller and the meshes and APs as you
want, but that infrastructure must be VPN compatible, and must permit ICMP traffic to pass. (The GRE
tunnels use ICMP packets for certain control functions, but some firewalls may block ICMP traffic.) All
of the IP addresses assigned must be routable to each other. An easy way to confirm this is to ping
each IP address after you have finished assigning them to all elements in the system.

Chapter 26 Setting Up Your Controller
The Firetide Controller installation CD will automatically. The Firetide Controller works with HotView
Pro Version 4.1.x only, and requires Firetide Mesh Nodes and Access Points to be upgraded as well.
First-Time Installation The Controller software should be installed for the first time from the console. You will need a VGA
Instructions monitor and PC-style keyboard and mouse for the initial installation, but you will not need them once
installation is complete.
Installation is very simple. To install, follow these steps:
1. Insert the CD and reboot the system.
2. Wait for the Fedora splash screen to appear, then hit the enter key.
3. Fedora will self-install; do nothing. After Fedora finishes, HotView will also self-install.
4. When prompted to do so, enter the serial number of your HotView Controller software.
5. When prompted to do so, reboot the machine and remove the CD. Installation is complete.
Upgrade Instructions Once the Controller is running on your network, it can be upgraded from HotView Pro. To do so, follow
these steps:
1. In HotView Pro, select the Controller tab.
2. Right-click on the Controller you wish to upgrade, and select Upgrade Controller Software.
3. Navigate to the hotswitch_1xxx-1.0.1-0.i386.bin image, and click Apply. (Please note since
the image is large, it will take 4 to 5 minutes to complete. Do not interrupt the process.
When upgrading, upgrade HotPort Mesh Nodes and HotPoint Access Points first, then upgrade the
Controller, and finally upgrade HotView Pro itself.
Adding the New Controller Connect the controller to a system running either HotView or HotView Pro. The system must be on the
192.168.224.x/24 subnet initially. You can use HotView on another system for this first step to change
the controllers IP address to your production network if you do not wish to take HotView Pro offline.
Use the Add Controller command from the file menu to add the controller.
Screen 117. Adding a Controller

You must specify the NMS IP address, username and password. The default IP address is 192.168.224.10.
The username is admin, and the password is firetide. You should change these for security.
Screen 118. Logging into a Controller
Modifying the Controller Settings You use the Controller Configuration tabs to modify Controller settings. Right-click on the Control-
ler icon to bring up the Controller Configuration window. Set the network-side IP address to a value
compatible with your network design. The default is 192.168.224.10, but you should change it. (You
should also change the user ID and password; you can do so via the User Accounts tab.)
Screen 119. Controller Configuration Settings
When you are done, select the Network View tab. Your screen should be similar to this:
Screen 120. Controller View in HotView Pro
The Controller uses secure encrypted tunnels to communicate with the meshes. Next, you will assign
the IP address for the tunnel(s) on the mesh side of the Controller. Then you will enter the informa-

tion for the mesh end of each tunnel, that is, the Gateway Server information.
To connect each of your HotPort meshes to the controller, you will need the IP addresses of the Gate-
way Server nodes on each mesh. If you have not yet configured Gateway Server nodes on each mesh,
do so now. Be sure to note the Mesh ID and Gateway Server IP address for each mesh.
Controller Tunnel Endpoint on eth1Return to the Controller view and right-click the Controller to bring up the Controller Configuration
window again. To create the tunnel endpoint on the Controller, select the Controller Tunnel tab and
enter the IP address you have selected for the tunnels. This address must be on the same subnet as
the IP addresses used by the Gateway Server nodes.
Screen 121. Controller Tunnel Endpoint Configuration
Completing the Tunnel To complete the tunnel, use the Mesh Tunnel Configuration command; access it by right-clicking on
the Controller icon. This will bring up the Mesh Tunnel Data Entry window, shown in Screen 123.
Screen 122. Mesh Tunnel Configuration Command
Enter the IP addresses and other information as required, near the bottom of the panel. The list in the
center will show all of the meshes added to the Controller.
Screen 123. Mesh Tunnel Data Entry Window
Meshes which are reachable only through Mesh Bridge connections must be added separately. Do this
using the Controller Mesh Bridge Configuration command, accessed by right-clicking the Controller.
You need only add the Mesh ID number and the Controller will configure itself.
Screen 124. Adding Mesh-Bridge-Accessible Meshes to a Controller.

After you have added the data for all of the meshes, you must apply the Controller information back
to the Gateway Servers. (The Gateway Servers do not yet know that the Controller exists.) Do this by
using the Import Controller Mesh Tunnel Configuration command, in the right-click menu.
Screen 125. Importing Controller Mesh Configuration Command
This brings up a dialog window, shown in Screen 126, which allows you to save a configuration file for
each mesh. Be sure to give the files names which will help you identify them later.
Screen 126. Importing a Controller Configuration

After you have saved all of the files, apply each one to its corresponding Gateway Server. Select the
Mesh view tab, and right click on the GWS node to bring up the command menu. Select Apply Control-
ler-Mesh Configuration Tunnel to this node. This is shown in Screen 127.
Screen 127. Applying Controller Tunnel Configuration to the Gateway Server
When the tunnels are all correctly configured, your Network view will look something like this:
Screen 128. Tunnel Configuration - Final
You have completed the configuration of tunnels for mesh management. You must now tell each mesh
to work with the Controller.


Enabling the Controller From the Mesh View tab, select the Configure Mesh command under the File Menu, as shown in Screen
129. Select Controller State: Enable.
Screen 129. Enabling the Controller
When you are done, the Mesh views should look something like Screens 130 and 131.
Screens 130 and 131
Last but not least, you must define a Controller Group.

Controller Groups Controller Groups allow you to expand roaming capabilities across a larger number of meshes. A single
Controller can support up to 32 meshes and 64 APs; but by combining Controllers using tunnels, you
can scale your mesh as required. By placing Controllers in a common Controller Group, mobile nodes
can roam across all of the meshes connected to any of the Controllers. In addition, Controller Groups
allow you to create an Access Control List (ACL), An ACL defines explicitly which mobile nodes are
permitted to join the meshes.
All Controllers in a group must be of the same type; that is, either all mesh Controllers, all integrated
AP Controllers, or all standalone AP Controllers.
You must create a group even if you only have one Controller. After youve created the Group, you can
define an ACL for it.
After youve created the group, if it has more than one Controller in it, you will add Controller-Con-
troller tunnels.
Use Controller Group Configuration, under the Controller menu, to open the dialog box.
Screen 132. Accessing the Controller Group Configuration Command
This brings up a dialog box, as shown in Screen 133.

Screen 133. Controller Group Configuration Dialog
Click the New Controller Group button, enter a group name, and add your Controllers to it.
Screen 134. Adding Controllers to a New Controller Group

Configuring Controller-to- Controller-Controller tunnels operate between the eth1 ports on each Controller, that is, on the same
Controller Tunnels side of the Controller as the mesh. Thus, you must have an Ethernet connection between the eth1
ports on each controller in the group.
In order to create the C-C tunnel, you should first set up and fully configure each Controller individu-
ally. Give each Controller a unique IP address and a unique ID. Then select the Controller-Controller
Tunnel Configuration command from the Controller menu, and enter the required IP address infor-
mation. Use the IP address of the mesh tunnel side of the Controller. The example screen shows two
controllers, but you may have more. When you have entered it for all Controllers, save the information
to a file on your system.
Screen 135. Configuring Controller to Controller Tunnels
Next, select each Controller in turn by right-clicking. This brings up a file selection dialog; locate the
file you saved and apply it to the Controller. Select the Controller to which you are applying the saved
file.
Once you have completed this for all Controllers, your Controller-to-Controller tunnel is done.

Access Control Lists Next, you can define an Access Control List (ACL) as a security measure. This is not required, but is
recommended. You will need a list of the serial numbers of all nodes which are to be mobile nodes.
Click the ACL button, as shown in Screen 133, and enter the serial numbers, as shown in Screen 136.
Screen 136. Entering Serial Numbers in the ACL
Making a Node Mobile Last but not least, you must tell each mobile node that it is to be mobile. Do this by right-clicking on it
and selecting the HotPort Type option from the menu. Select the Mobile button to convert the node.
Note that nodes can be converted back with the same command. Dont forget to include the nodes
serial number in the ACL.

Chapter 27 Adding Integrated HotPoint APs
Configuring a Controller for Access HotPoint Access Points (APs) use a separate tunnel system for Controller access. This improves both
Point Management security and performance. Each HotPoint has its own tunnel. Tunnels are created by first defining a
unique tunnel endpoint at the Controller, and then setting up tunnel endpoints on each HotPoint.
How this is done depends on whether the AP is integrated or standalone.
All Firetide HotPoint Access Points can be deployed either as integrated APs or standalone APs. The
AP in either case is the same; the difference refers to the method of connection. An integrated AP is
one that is connected to a HotPort mesh node. A standalone AP is one that is connected directly to
the wired LAN infrastructure. For further details, refer to Section VI, Access Points.
Defining the Controller AP The Controller can work with either standalone APs or APs connected to Mesh node. You must tell the
Operating Mode Setting Controller which type of AP it is to control. From the Mesh View tab in which the AP(s) appear, right-
click on an AP icon and select Access Point Controller Configuration.
Screen 137. Configuring a Controller for Access Point Use
Select the Controller operating mode for the type of APs that you have. Note that this command does
NOT change the operating mode of the Access Point; rather it determines which type of AP the Con-
troller will work with. One Controller cannot support both types of APs at the same time.
Screen 138. Specifying the Type of AP to be Controlled

Configuring the Controller for Controller configuration for Access Points is similar to that for meshes. You will define the parameters
Integrated Access Points of tunnels which will connect the Controller to the Access Point. The same rules and guidelines for IP
addresses apply.
Defining the HotPoint AP Tunnel Begin by using the AP Tunnel tab in the Controller Configuration window to define the tunnel IP on
Endpoint - Controller End the Controller. Select an IP address not already in use; it cannot be the same address as the one the
Mesh tunnels use.
Screen 139. Controller Tunnel Endpoint for Integrated APs
Next, you will configure the tunnel endpoints on each HotPoint.

Defining the HotPoint AP Tunnel To configure the tunnel endpoint on an AP, right-click on it and select the Access Point Controller
Endpoint - AP End Configuration command.
Screen 140. AP Tunnel Endpoint Command
This will bring up the configuration window.

Screen 141. Integrated AP Controller Tunnel IP Assignment
Enter the tunnel IP address for the Access Point, and also the IP address you selected for the tunnel
endpoint on the Controller. Repeat this for each AP on all meshes.

Chapter 28 Standalone AP Configuration
Defining the Network IP Interface If you have not already created your Controller (as described in Chapter 26) do so now.
(eth0) Then, right-click on the Controller icon to bring up the Controller Configuration window. If you have
not already done so, begin by setting the Controllers network-side IP address to a value compatible
with your network design. This is the side that HotView Pro talks to. The default is 192.168.224.10, but
you should change it.
Screen 142. Setting the network IP - Standalone AP Controllers
Defining the Standalone AP Tunnel Select the Controller Tunnel tab in the same window. Here you will enter the IP address to which each
Endpoint (eth1) - Controller End standalone AP will tunnel. You can also specifiy security settings.
Screen 143. Standalone AP Controller Tunnel IP

Next, you will tell the APs where their controller is.
Select the AP view tab, and right-click on an AP. You will see a drop-down menu of commands; select
the Access Point Controller Configuration command.
Screen 144. Configuring the Controller for Standalone APs
Enter the IP address information of the Controller, as you defined it earlier. Repeat this for each Ac-
cess Point in your network. Controller configuration is now complete.
Screen 145. Defining the IP Address

Appendix A - Default Radio Settings
HotPort units operate in very low-power, short range mode until the country code is set. When the
country code is set, the unit switches to a default setting appropriate for that country. These tables
list the defaults:
Table 20. Default Radio Assignments
Country Mode Channel Xmit Pwr (dBm)

Australia A (5.25-5.35 GHz OFDM) 60 17
Austria A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 15
Belgium A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Canada A (5.25-5.35 GHz OFDM) 60 17
Denmark A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Finland A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
France A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
France A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Germany A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Greece G (2.4 GHz OFDM) 7 16
Hong Kong A (5.25-5.35 GHz OFDM) 60 17
India G (2.4 GHz OFDM) 7 16
Ireland A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Italy A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Japan A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 42 17
Japan (JE1) A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 42 17
Japan (JE2) A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 42 17
Japan (JP0) A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 42 17
Japan (JP1) A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 42 17
Japan (JP1 - 1) A (5.03 - 5.09 GHz OFDM) 12 17
Luxembourg A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Malaysia G (2.4 GHz OFDM) 7 16
Netherlands A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
New Zealand A (5.25-5.35 GHz OFDM) 60 17
Norway A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
China A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 157 17
Portugal A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Singapore A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 149 17
South Korea A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 157 17
South Korea A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 157 17
Spain A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Sweden A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
Taiwan A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 149 17
United Kingdom A (5.15-5.25 GHz OFDM) 40 17
United States A (5.725-5.850 GHz OFDM) 161 17

Appendix B - 802.11 a/b/g Frequency Assignments
802.11 Channel Assignments Strictly speaking, the lower and upper frequencies of each channel represent the spectral points
which must be 30 dB down from the transmitter power at the center frequency. The channels do ex-
tend outside the nominal upper and lower frequencies as specified in this table. However, in most ap-
plications, it can be taken that 802.11 b/g channels 1, 6, and 11 are non-overlapping and are thus
the best choice for physically-overlapping 802.11 b/g mesh networks and access points.
Network planners should consider using the 5 GHz band for mesh routing if the use of multiple 802.11
b/g Access Points are planned.
Table 21. 802.11 b/g Channel Assignments
Channel Lower Limit (GHz) Center Frequency (GHz) Upper Limit (GHz)
1 2.401 2.412 2.423
2 2.404 2.417 2.428
3 2.411 2.422 2.433
4 2.416 2.427 2.438
5 2.421 2.432 2.443
6 2.426 2.437 2.448
7 2.431 2.442 2.453
8 2.436 2.447 2.458
9 2.441 2.452 2.463
10 2.446 2.457 2.468
11 2.451 2.462 2.473
Table 22. 802.11a OFDM Operating Bands and Channels
Band Channel Center Frequency (GHz) Maximum Power

U-NII Lower Band 36 5.180 40 mW
(5.15GHz-5.25GHz) 40 5.200 (2.5 mW/MHz)
44 5.220
48 5.240

U-NII Middle Band 52 5.260 200 mW
(5.25GHz-5.35GHz) 56 5.280 (12.5 mW/MHz)
60 5.300
64 5.320

U-NII Upper Band 149 5.745 880 mW
(5.725GHz-5.825GHz) 153 5.769 (50 mW/MHz)
157 5.785
161 5.805

Appendix C - ARP Command Man Page
NAME
arp -- address resolution display and control
SYNOPSIS
arp hostname
arp -a
arp -d hostname
arp -s hostname ether_addr [temp] [pub]
arp -f filename
DESCRIPTION
The arp program displays and modifies the Internet-to-Ethernet address translation
tables used by the address resolution protocol (arp(4)). With no flags, the program
displays the current ARP entry for hostname. The host may be specified by name or by
number, using Internet dot notation.
Available options:
-a The program displays all of the current ARP entries.
-d A super-user may delete an entry for the host called hostname with the -d flag.
-s hostname ether_addr. Create an ARP entry for the host called hostname with the
Ethernet address ether_addr. The Ethernet address is given as six hex bytes separated
by colons. The entry will be permanent unless the word temp is given in the command.
If the word pub is given, the entry will be published; i.e., this system will act as
an ARP server, responding to requests for hostname even though the host address is not
its own.
-f Causes the file filename to be read and multiple entries to be

set in the ARP tables. Entries in the file should be of the form
hostname ether_addr [temp] [pub] ...with argument meanings as given above.
SEE ALSO
inet(3), arp(4), ifconfig(8)
HISTORY
The arp command appeared in 4.3BSD.

Appendix D - Ping Command Man Page
NAME ping -- send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts
SYNOPSIS
ping [-AaDdfnoQqRrv] [-c count] [-i wait] [-l preload] [-M mask | time] [-m ttl] [-P
policy] [-p pattern] [-S src_addr] [-s packetsize] [-t timeout] [-z tos] host
ping [-AaDdfLnoQqRrv] [-c count] [-I iface] [-i wait] [-l preload] [-M mask | time]
[-m ttl] [-P policy] [-p pattern] [-S src_addr] [-s packetsize] [-T ttl] [-t timeout]
[-z tos] mcast-group
DESCRIPTION
The ping utility uses the ICMP protocols mandatory ECHO_REQUEST datagram to elicit an
ICMP ECHO_RESPONSE from a host or gateway. ECHO_REQUEST datagrams (``pings) have an
IP and ICMP header, followed by a ``struct timeval and then an arbitrary number of
``pad bytes used to fill out the packet. The options are as follows:
-A Audible. Output a bell (ASCII 0x07) character when no packet is received before the
next packet is transmitted. To cater for round-trip times that are longer than the
interval between transmissions, further missing packets cause a bell only if the
maximum number of unreceived packets has increased.
-a Audible. Include a bell (ASCII 0x07) character in the output when any packet is
received. This option is ignored if other format options are present.
-c count Stop after sending (and receiving) count ECHO_RESPONSE packets. If this option
is not specified, ping will operate until interrupted.
-D Set the Dont Fragment bit.
-d Set the SO_DEBUG option on the socket being used.
-f Flood ping. Outputs packets as fast as they come back or one hundred times per second,
whichever is more. For every ECHO_REQUEST sent a period ``. is printed, while for
every ECHO_REPLY received a backspace is printed. This provides a rapid display of how
many packets are being dropped. Only the super-user may use this option. This can be
very hard on a network and should be used with caution.
-I iface Source multicast packets with the given interface address. This flag only applies
if the ping destination is a multicast address.
-i wait Wait wait seconds between sending each packet. The default is to wait for one
second between each packet. The wait time may be fractional, but only the super-user
may specify values less than 1 second. This option is incompatible with the -f option.
-L Suppress loopback of multicast packets. This flag only applies if the ping destination
is a multicast address.
-l preload. If preload is specified, ping sends that many packets as fast as possible
before falling into its normal mode of behavior. Only the super-user may use this
option.
-M mask | time Use ICMP_MASKREQ or ICMP_TSTAMP instead of ICMP_ECHO. For mask, print the
netmask of the remote machine. Set the net.inet.icmp.maskrepl MIB variable to enable
ICMP_MASKREPLY. For time, print the origination, reception and transmission time-
stamps. -m ttl Set the IP Time To Live for outgoing packets. If not specified, the
kernel uses the value of the net.inet.ip.ttl MIB variable.
-n Numeric output only. No attempt will be made to look up symbolic names for host
addresses.
-o Exit successfully after receiving one reply packet.
-P policy policy specifies IPsec policy for the ping session. For details please refer to
ipsec(4) and ipsec_set_policy(3).
-p pattern You may specify up to 16 ``pad bytes to fill out the packet you send. This
is useful for diagnosing data-dependent problems in a network. For example, ``-p ff
will cause the sent packet to be filled with all ones.
-Q Somewhat quiet output. Dont display ICMP error messages that are in response to our
query messages. Originally, the -v flag was required to display such errors, but -v
displays all ICMP error messages. On a busy machine, this output can be overbearing.
Without the -Q flag, ping prints out any ICMP error messages caused by its own ECHO_
REQUEST messages.

-q Quiet output. Nothing is displayed except the summary lines at startup time and when
finished.
-R Record route. Includes the RECORD_ROUTE option in the ECHO_REQUEST packet and displays
the route buffer on returned packets. Note that the IP header is only large enough for
nine such routes; the traceroute(8) command is usually better at determining the route
packets take to a particular destination. If more routes come back than should, such
as due to an illegal spoofed packet, ping will print the route list and then truncate
it at the correct spot. Many hosts ignore or discard the RECORD_ROUTE option.
-r Bypass the normal routing tables and send directly to a host on an attached network.
If the host is not on a directly-attached network, an error is returned. This option
can be used to ping a local host through an interface that has no route through it
(e.g., after the interface was dropped by routed(8)).
-S src_addr. Use the following IP address as the source address in outgoing packets.
On hosts with more than one IP address, this option can be used to force the source
address to be something other than the IP address of the interface the probe packet is
sent on. If the IP address is not one of this machines interface addresses, an error
is returned and nothing is sent. -s packetsize Specify the number of data bytes to be
sent. The default is 56, which translates into 64 ICMP data bytes when combined with
the 8 bytes of ICMP header data.
-T ttl Set the IP Time To Live for multicasted packets. This flag only applies if the ping
destination is a multicast address.
-t timeout Specify a timeout, in seconds, before ping exits regardless of how many
packets have been received.
-v Verbose output. ICMP packets other than ECHO_RESPONSE that are received are listed.
-z tos. Use the specified type of service.
When using ping for fault isolation, it should first be run on the local host, to
verify that the local network interface is up and running. Then, hosts and gateways
further and further away should be ``pinged. Round-trip times and packet loss
statistics are computed. If duplicate packets are received, they are not included
in the packet loss calcula- tion, although the round trip time of these packets is
used in calculat- ing the round-trip time statistics. When the specified number of
packets have been sent (and received) or if the program is terminated with a SIGINT, a
brief summary is displayed, showing the number of packets sent and received, and the
minimum, mean, maximum, and standard deviation of the round-trip times.
If ping receives a SIGINFO (see the status argument for stty(1)) signal, the current
number of packets sent and received, and the minimum, mean, and maximum of the round-
trip times will be written to the standard error output. This program is intended for
use in network testing, measurement and management. Because of the load it can impose
on the network, it is unwise to use ping during normal operations or from automated
scripts.
ICMP PACKET DETAILS.

An IP header without options is 20 bytes. An ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packet contains an
additional 8 bytes worth of ICMP header followed by an arbitrary amount of data.
When a packetsize is given, this indicated the size of this extra piece of data (the
default is 56). Thus the amount of data received inside of an IP packet of type
ICMP ECHO_REPLY will always be 8 bytes more than the requested data space (the ICMP
header). If the data space is at least eight bytes large, ping uses the first eight
bytes of this space to include a timestamp which it uses in the computation of round
trip times. If less than eight bytes of pad are specified, no round trip times are
given.

DUPLICATE AND DAMAGED PACKETS
The ping utility will report duplicate and damaged packets. Duplicate packets should
never occur when pinging a unicast address, and seem to be caused by inappropriate
link-level retransmissions. Duplicates may occur in many situations and are rarely (if
ever) a good sign, although the presence of low levels of duplicates may not always
be cause for alarm. Duplicates are expected when pinging a broadcast or multicast
address, since they are not really duplicates but replies from different hosts to the
same request. Damaged packets are obviously serious cause for alarm and often indicate
broken hardware somewhere in the ping packets path (in the network or in the hosts).
TRYING DIFFERENT DATA PATTERNS

The (inter)network layer should never treat packets differently depending on the
data contained in the data portion. Unfortunately, data-dependent problems have been
known to sneak into networks and remain undetected for long periods of time. In many
cases the particular pattern that will have problems is something that does not have
sufficient ``transitions, such as all ones or all zeros, or a pattern right at the
edge, such as almost all zeros. It is not necessarily enough to specify a data pattern
of all zeros (for example) on the command line because the pattern that is of interest
is at the data link level, and the relationship between what you type and what the
controllers transmit can be complicated. This means that if you have a data-dependent
problem you will probably have to do a lot of testing to find it. If you are lucky, you
may manage to find a file that either cannot be sent across your network or that takes
much longer to transfer than other similar length files. You can then examine this file
for repeated patterns that you can test using the -p option of ping.
TTL DETAILS
The TTL value of an IP packet represents the maximum number of IP routers that the
packet can go through before being thrown away. In current practice you can expect
each router in the Internet to decrement the TTL field by exactly one. The TCP/IP
specification recommends setting the TTL field for IP packets to 64, but many systems
use smaller values (4.3BSD uses 30, 4.2BSD used 15). The maximum possible value of
this field is 255, and most UNIX systems set the TTL field of ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets
to 255. This is why you will find you can ``ping some hosts, but not reach them with
telnet(1) or ftp(1). In normal operation ping prints the ttl value from the packet it
receives. When a remote system receives a ping packet, it can do one of three things
with the TTL field in its response:
Do Not change it; this is what BSD systems did before the 4.3BSD-Tahoe release.
In this case the TTL value in the received packet will be 255 minus the number of
routers in the round-trip path.
Set it to 255; this is what current BSD systems do. In this case the TTL value in the
received packet will be 255 minus the number of routers in the path from the remote
system to the pinging host.
Set it to some other value. Some machines use the same value for ICMP packets that
they use for TCP packets, for example either 30 or 60. Others may use completely wild
values.
RETURN VALUES
The ping utility returns an exit status of zero if at least one response was heard
from the specified host; a status of two if the transmission was successful but no
responses were received; or another value (from <sysexits.h>) if an error occurred.
SEE ALSO netstat(1), ifconfig(8), routed(8), traceroute(8)

HISTORY The ping utility appeared in 4.3BSD.
AUTHORS The original ping utility was written by Mike Muuss while at the US Army Ballistics
Research Laboratory.
BUGS Many Hosts and Gateways ignore the RECORD_ROUTE option.

The maximum IP header length is too small for options like RECORD_ROUTE to be
completely useful. Theres not much that can be done about this, however.
Flood pinging is not recommended in general, and flood pinging the broadcast address
should only be done under very controlled conditions.
The -v option is not worth much on busy hosts.

Appendix E - Installing PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL Installation Under A copy of PostgreSQL is included on your Firetide CD, or you may download it from http://www.post-
Windows gresql.org. Firetide recommends that you install it on the same machine that will host the HotView
Server software. To install it on your server:
1. Double click on postgresql-8.0.msi.
2. Select the language, click ok.
3. If you get a warning about openssl incompatibility, please rename or remove libeay32.dll
and ssleay32.dll from windows\system32 directory.
4. Click next for the welcome screen, then the installation notes, then the installation options.
5. Enter account password in the next screen. Make sure that install as service is checked.
6. If you get an error message user not found, click ok to create.
7. Enter a password for the database cluster. Remember this username/password as it is needed
by the HotView Server .
8. Dont check the accept connections check box.
9. Click next for procedural languages, for enable contrib modules, and for ready to install.
10. Click finish to complete the installation.
11. Click on start/postgresql 8.0/configuration files/edit pg_hba.conf.
12. Change the line: host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5
to host all all 127.0.0.1/32 password
and save the file. Then close it.
13. Click on start/postgresql 8.0/configuration files/edit postgresql.conf.
14. Change the line: #ssl = false
to ssl = false
15. Change the line #default_with_oids = true
to default_with_oids = false
and save the file. Then close it.
16. Stop the SQL server and restart it, so that the new configuration is taken into account.
DATABASE INSTALL
1. Open the pgadminIII tool from the programs menu.
2. Right click on postgreSQL database server and select connect.
3. Give the password entered on step 7 above.
4. Right click again on postgreSQL database server and select new object/new database.
5. Give a name for the database (remember this name), click ok.
6. Expand the tree for postgreSQL database server and then databases and select the database
you created in step 5.
7. Click on SQL on the top menu.
8. Open file nmspro_create.sql to create tables, press F5 to execute. There is another file nm-
spro_drop.sql to drop all the tables.
The PostgreSQL installation is now complete. If you encounter problems, consult the PostgreSQL web
page for help.

PostgreSQL Under Linux Linux installation varies with the flavor of Linux you are running, as well as other parameters. Con-
sult the PostgreSQL website at http://www.postgresql.org for complete installation help, and to get
the version of PostgreSQL correct for your version of Linux. The following instructions are a general
guideline.
1. rpm -i postgresql-libs-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
2. rpm -i postgresql-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
3. rpm -i postgresql-server-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
4. rpm -i postgresql-devel-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
5. rpm -i postgresql-contrib-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
6. rpm -i postgresql-pl-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
7. rpm -i postgresql-jdbc-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
8. rpm -i postgresql-test-8.0.3-1PGDG.i686.rpm
9. rpm -i pgadmin3-1.2.0-3.i386.rpm
10. chkconfig --add postgresql
11. chkconfig postgresql reset
12. /etc/init.d/postgresql start. This may fail, but that is OK. It still creates certain needed files.
13. Open /var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
14. Change line: local all all ident sameuser
to: local all all trust
15. Remove line: host all all ::1/128 ident sameuser
16. Change line: host all all 127.0.0.1/32 ident sameuser
to: host all all 127.0.0.1/32 password
17. Save the file and close it.
18. Open /var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf
19. Change line: #ssl = false
to: ssl = false
20. Change line: #default_with_oids = true
to: default_with_oids = false
21. Save the file and close it.
22. /etc/init.d/postgresql restart
23. su postgres
24. psql template1
25. ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD firetide; (firetide should be changed to another pass-
word in this line)
26. \q
27. open /var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
28. change line: local all all trust
to: local all all password
29. /etc/init.d/postgresql restart

DATABASE INSTALL
1. /usr/bin/pgadmin3
2. From menu, select add server.
3. Give localhost for address.
4. Give postgresql 8.0 server for description.
5. Give password as entered in step 25.
6. Right click on the server name, select new object/database.
7. Create a database; for example: ft-db. Note the name of database; you will need it later.
8. Select the database and click on SQL on the top menu.
9. Run nmspro_create.sql to create tables. There is another file nmspro_drop.sql to drop
the tables in case of db corruption or remake the database.
10. Database installation is complete.

Appendix F - SNMP
This document specifies the SNMP interface provided with the HotView Manager. Your SNMP Manage-
ment tool will require configuration. SNMP programming is beyound the scope of this manual, but
some example configurations are shown at the end of this section for reference.
HotView Pro SNMP features include:
Firetide Enterprise MIB has been generated, which can be used to manage HotPort Mesh.
Agent acts as Mesh Agent to access mesh and nodes information. It allows configuration and facili-
tates collection of statistics and traps.
Supports SNMP V3, V2/V1 protocols.
Understands Admin MIB to configure user, password and ACLs.
Implements Firetide Enterprise MIB to manage the Mesh.
Allows SNMP Manager, SNMP Browser or SNMP Admin tool to connect to AGENT using standard
SNMP V3, V2/V1 protocol.
Mesh parameters can be configured through SNMP Manager and are similar to the ones allowed
through existing GUI.
User Admin can be done through SNMP Admin tool or an SNMP Manager-Browser Application.
Only one client can access the mesh at a time i.e., either Java GUI or SNMP Manager can access at a
time.
Trap server can be specified (Sever IP and port number).
Trap version can be specified (SNMP V3 or V2/V1).
This section gives instructions on how to use a MIB browser to configure, listen to traps and check
statistics using SNMP to talk to HotView Pro. SNMP agent install directory should contain a shell
script, runagent.sh, which should be invoked to start the SNMP agent. The startup script expects
JAVA_HOME to be set to the Java installation directory, or the PATH variable to be set to contain
<Java Installation Directory>/bin. This script sets the CLASSPATH variable appropriately
and invokes java command to start the SNMP agent. The command line format for the startup script
(and also for the FiretideSnmpAgent class) is as follows :
Format :
java FiretideSnmpAgent -config [ commands ] / -standalone/-agent [
preferences ]
Where commands are :
adduser noAuth/auth/priv <user name> [des/aes md5/sha]
deluser <user name>
showusers
addtarget <target name> <target ip> <target port>
deltarget <user name>
showtargets
And preferences are :
loginIp <nms ip>
loginUser <nms login>
protocol UDP/TCP_IP
version V1/V2/V3
agentHostIp <agent host ip>
agentPort <agent port>
trapPort <agent trap port>
v1Compliance true/false
targetComNotifSupport true/false

The first argument could be one of -config or -standalone or -agent. If the first argument is -config,
SNMP agent starts up in configuration mode, processes the following commands and exits. If the
first argument is -agent, only the SNMP agent is started. In this mode, the MRM should be started
seperately. If the first argument is -standalone, MRM is also started by the SNMP agent.
Supported Commands
adduser : This command takes the additional arguments <context>, <user name> and optionally
auth/priv protocol types. For noAuth context, no auth/priv protocols are used. For auth or
priv context an additional argument specifying the auth protocol is expected. The possible values
are md5 or sha. Also, the user is prompted to enter the auth password. For priv context, an-
other argument specifying the priv protocol is expected, in addition to the auth protocol. The pos-
sible priv protocols are des or aes. Like auth password, the user is prompted for priv password
in this case.
deluser : This command takes the additional argument <user name> and removes that user.
showuser : This command takes no additional arguments and lists all the users.
addtarget : If this command is specified, three additional arguments are expected, <target name>,
<target host address> and <target port>.
deltarget : Here, just one additional argument is expected, the <target name> which needs to be
deleted.
showtarget : This command takes no more arguments and lists down all the targets, currently con-
figured.
Default Users By default, the agent comes up with 3 default users and a default target. The default users are no-
AuthUser, authUser (authProtocol is MD5 and authPassword is authUser) and privUser (auth-
Protocol is MD5, privProtocol is DES, authPassword is privUser and privPassword privUser). The
default target is port 8003 in localhost (127.0.0.1). When started in agent or standalone mode, the
SNMP agent uses the last used HotView Pro IP and HotView Pro user name, prompts for the HotView
Pro password and attempts to connect to the head node. In its first invocation, the HotView Pro IP and
user name defaults to 192.168.224.150 and admin. The other defaults are, UDP for agent proto-
col, V3 for SNMP version, 8085 for the agent port, 8086 for the trap port. Also, the agent comes up
by default as V1/V2 compliant and supports standard MIBs for configuring users and targets. These
defaults may be changed by additional preference arguments as per the command line format.
If the agent is started with guest user, the whole MIB becomes read-only and all SET operations fail.
However, with admin user, all write operations are permitted as per the MIB.
To connect to the agent from the MIB browser application, edit the V3 user settings to match one of
the users (noAuthUser, authUser or privUser, by default) configured in the SNMP agent.
To receive the traps start the trap viewer to listen to a target port (port 8003 in localhost, by default)
as configured in the agent. A cold start notification is always sent, when the agent starts up. This may
be used as a means to verify that the trap viewer configuration is correct.
The Firetide Mesh MIB The agent implements the FIRETIDE-MESH-MIB enterprise for configuring Firetide mesh routers.
Apart from this, it also supports the standard MIBs, SNMP-TARGET-MIB, SNMP-USER-BASED-SM-MIB,
to allow configuration of users and targets. It also supports standard MIBs like SNMP-v2-MIB for
SNMP statistics.
FIRETIDE-MESH-MIB resides in FiretideMesh group of Firetide enterprise - 22835 as assigned by
IANA.
The complete MIB is included on the CD. Please refer to it for detail on available MIBs and their param-
eters.

SNMP Setup Examples These examples use the SNMP management tool from Silvercreek. A New Agent Setup is shown below;
other configuration options are shown on the following pages.
Screen 146. SNMP Setup Screen

Screen 147
Screen 148

Appendix G - Web Access - Connecting via a Browser
HotView Pro allows client access to the server either via a standalone application or a web browser.
Web browser access is served using JBoss, which must be started in order for web access to work.
JBoss is in the /Firetide directory, either in /Programs (default) or in the location you specified dur-
ing installation, and can be started from the Start menu.
Browser Access via the Default If youve chosen to install and run the HotView web server option, you can use Internet Explorer or
Port, Port 80: Firefox to connect to the server. To do this, open a browser window and use this URL:
http://IPaddressofServer:8080/FiretideNms/
Where IPaddressofServer is the address of the machine running the HotView Pro server application.
You will get an initial splash screen, followed by a login prompt. The browser-based interface func-
tions identically to the client application, and is virtually indistinguishable.
Browser Access via Alternate Many servers may need to use port 80 for other applications. If you want to reserve port 80 for other
Ports: applications, youll need to run JBoss on another port. To make this change, you will need to edit the
server.xml file, which can be found under jboss-4.0.3SP1\server\default\deploy\jbossweb-tom-
cat55.sar and specify the desired port. This example shows a re-assignment to port 8080:


<Connector port=8080 address=${jboss.bind.address}
maxThreads=250 strategy=ms maxHttpHeaderSize=8192
emptySessionPath=true
enableLookups=false redirectPort=8443 acceptCount=100
connectionTimeout=20000 disableUploadTimeout=true/>
After this change, the URL for HTTP access will be http://ipaddressofthemrm:8080

End of HotView Pro Reference Guide

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HotView Reference Guide

Mesh Management Software for

Manual Revision 20070813-1f.

2005-2007 Firetide, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Finish the installation.

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Model Use Band RF Output Power Typ Data Rate

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Table 2. Fresnel Zone Formula

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192.168.224.150 Default Mesh IP Address

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Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD

Direct client: Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD

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Series 3000 node

Series 6000 dual-radio indoor node

Series 6000 single-radio outdoor node

Cyan Port is enabled and connected at 10 Mbps.

Yellow Identifies enabled but unconnected ports.

Gray Identifies ports that are disabled or not available.

B Identifies the node as supporting a Mesh Bridge connection to another mesh.

S Indicates the node is a Gateway Server Node.

A Indicated the node is supporting an Integrated Access Point

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Table 9. Toolbar Icons

Zoom in by a 1.2 zoom factor

Zoom out by a factor of 0.8

Scroll to the right

Scroll to the left

Display the original, overall view

30 HotView Pro User Guide August 2007

Controller Menu The Controller Menu is covered in Section VII, Mobility.

August 2007 Firetide Instant Mesh Networks 31

32 HotView Pro User Guide August 2007

Hide all Links Hides all links.

August 2007 Firetide Instant Mesh Networks 33

Screen 9. The About Screen

34 HotView Pro User Guide August 2007

The available commands are shown in Screen 11.

Mesh Summary Displays a table of mesh information. See Screen 12.