Part Number: 10015006 Rev. AA
Copyright © 2006 3Com Corporation
Published February 2006
www.3Com.com
3Com Wireless LAN Mobility System
External Dual-Band
Antenna Guide
3Com’s Wireless LAN Mobility System uses 3Com access points, along with
wireless switches and controllers, to provide versatile and secure enterprise-level
wireless LAN services. 3Com wireless access points can be used with external
dual-band antennas to provide greater coverage and versatility. 3Com offers
different antennas to meet a range of indoor and outdoor applications.
This guide describes how to select and implement 3Com external antennas for use
with our wireless access points in a Wireless LAN Mobility System. The information
in this guide applies to 3Com Wireless Switch v4.0 software release 2—Mobility
System Software (MSS) v4.0.21 and Wireless Switch Manager (3WXM) v4.0.18.
Overview To use an external antenna with your 3Com access point perform the following
steps:
1 Select an appropriate external antenna for your access point that meets the needs
of your installation. Refer to “Choosing a 3Com Dual-Band External Antenna”.
2 Install and connect the external antenna and access point. See “Installing an
External Antenna and Access Point”.
3 Use the Wireless Switch Manager software (3WXM) to configure the access point
to use the external antenna. Refer to “Configuring an AP to use an External
Antenna”.
2 3COM WIRELESS LAN MOBILITY SYSTEM EXTERNAL DUAL-BAND ANTENNA GUIDE
Choosing a 3Com
Dual-Band External
Antenna
Consider the following points when selecting an external antenna for use with
your access point (AP).
■ Be sure that you have a 3Com Wireless Mobility System switch or controller
that supports access points with external antennas. See “Compatible Wireless
Switches and Controllers”.
■ Identify your access point. Refer to “Compatible Wireless Access Points” for a
list of 3Com APs that support external antennas.
■ Choose an appropriate antenna for your application. See “3Com External
Dual-Band Antennas”.
■ Not all access points support all external antennas. Refer to “Unsupported
Configurations” for incompatible external antenna applications.
Compatible Wireless
Switches and Controllers
Table 1 lists the 3Com Wireless Mobility System switches and controllers that
support access points with external antennas.
Your wireless switch or wireless controller must be running 3Com Mobility System
Software (MSS) v4.0.21. You must also be using 3Com Wireless Switch Manager
(3WXM) software v4.0.18.
Compatible Wireless
Access Points
Table 2 lists wireless access points that can be used with a 3Com external
dual-band antenna.
When selecting an external antenna to use with your 3Com wireless access point,
refer to the restrictions described in “Unsupported Configurations”.
3Com External
Dual-Band Antennas
Table 3 lists the 3Com external dual-band antennas supported by this release.
Table 1 3Com Wireless Switches and Controllers Compatible with External Antenna Use
Model Description
WX4400 3Com Wireless LAN Controller (3Com Part No. 3CRWX440095A)
WX1200 3Com Wireless LAN Switch (3CRWX120695A)
WXR100 3Com Remote Office Wireless LAN Switch (3CRWXR10095A
Table 2 3Com Wireless Access Points Compatible with External Antennas
Model Description
AP2750 Wireless LAN Managed Access Point (3Com Part No. 3CRWX275075A)
AP3750 Wireless LAN Managed Access Point (3CRWX375075A)
AP7250 Wireless LAN Access Point (3CRWE725075A) when converted to FIT mode
AP8250 Wireless LAN Access Point (3CRWE825075A) when converted to FIT mode
AP8750 Wireless LAN Access Point (3CRWE875075A) when converted to FIT mode
Table 3 3Com External Dual-Band Antennas
Model Number Description
3CWE591 3Com 6/8 dBl Dual-Band Omni Antenna
3CWE592 3Com 3/4 dBl Dual-Band Ceiling-Mount Omni Antenna
3CWE597 3Com 4/6 dBl Dual-Band Hallway Antenna
3CWE598 3Com 8/10 dBl Dual-Band Panel Antenna
Installing an External Antenna and Access Point 3
Unsupported
Configurations
Table 4 describes the equipment combinations that are not supported.
Installing an External
Antenna and Access
Point
There are many factors to consider when deploying an external antenna with your
access point. The location of your AP, its distance from the antenna, how the
antenna is mounted, and the type of cable used all contribute to the effectiveness
of your installation.
For best results, a complete site survey is required before deploying your access
point and external antenna. 3Com recommends that installation be performed
only by qualified personnel.
When installing your 3Com access point, follow the instruction that came with
your unit for mounting and set-up procedures. For the 3Com external dual-band
antenna, be sure to follow the instructions included with the antenna for
mounting and connection procedures.
For an external antenna to work properly, it must be connected to the AP using a
special low-loss cable. “Selecting 3Com Low-Loss Cables” describes how to select
an appropriate cable for your application.
Selecting 3Com
Low-Loss Cables
All 3Com IEEE 802.11 dual-band external antennas must be used with 3Com
antenna cables. 3Com antenna cables provide a certified connection between the
3Com access point and the 3Com antenna. The cables also provide proper
connectivity between the SMA jack on the access point and the N-type jack on the
antenna.
Note that external antennas and cables are sold separately.
3Com offers ultra-low-loss cables to maximize the performance of your wireless
installation in either 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz applications. Note that you should always
choose the shortest cable that is appropriate for your installation.
Refer to Table 5 to select the correct length of cable you will need to connect your
external antenna to the access point. All cables are terminated on one end with an
N-type connector for connection to the external antenna, and an SMA connector
on the other end for connection to the AP.
Table 4 Unsupported Antenna Equipment Combinations
Access Point Antenna Restrictions
AP3750 3CWE591
3CWE597
3CWE598
Not supported for IEEE 802.11a-band channels 36–48 for the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama,
Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Colombia.
AP2750 3CWE598 Not supported.
AP7250
AP8250
AP8750
3CWE592
3CWE597
Not supported for IEEE 802.11a-band channels.
AP7250
AP8250
AP8750
3CWE591
3CWE598
Not supported for IEEE 802.11a-band channels.
Not supported for IEEE 802.11g-band channels 1 and 11 for
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama,
Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, and
Taiwan.
4 3COM WIRELESS LAN MOBILITY SYSTEM EXTERNAL DUAL-BAND ANTENNA GUIDE
Connecting the Antenna
Cable to the AP
When connecting the external antenna cable to your access point, be sure to
connect the cable to the proper antenna jack. Figure 1 through Figure 4 illustrate
the external antenna connectors on the 3Com wireless access points.
Be sure to follow the installation instructions that came with your access point and
external antenna.
Figure 1 3Com AP2750 External Antenna Connector
Figure 2 3Com AP3750 External Antenna Connectors
Table 5 Supported 3Com External Antenna Cables
Model No. Description Length Gain Connectors
*
3CWE580 3Com Ultra-Low-Loss
6-foot Antenna Cable
1.8 m (6 ft) 2.4 GHz: -0.6 dBl
5.0 GHz: -1.2 dBl
SMA (male) to
N-type (male)
3CWE581 3Com Ultra-Low-Loss
20-foot Antenna Cable
6.1m (20ft) 2.4 GHz: -2.0 dBl
5.0 GHz: -4.0 dBl
SMA (male) to
N-type (male)
3CWE582 3Com Ultra-Low-Loss
50-foot Antenna Cable
15.2 m (50 ft) 2.4 GHz: -5.0 dBl
5.0 GHz: -10.0 dBl
SMA (male) to
N-type (male)
* Each 3Com cable includes a separate 50 Ohm SMA terminator.
AP2750
External
Connect
50 Ohm terminator
here
Antenna
Connector
AP3750
External Antenna Connectors
802.11b/g
802.11a
Configuring an AP to use an External Antenna 5
Figure 3 3Com AP7250 External Antenna Connector
Figure 4 3Com AP8250 & AP8750 External Antenna Connectors
Configuring an AP to
use an External
Antenna
To work properly, your 3Com access point must be configured for the type of
external antenna connected to it. This section describes how to configure your
access point to match its connected external dual-band antenna using 3Com’s
Wireless LAN Switch Management software (3WXM).
Follow this procedure to select an external antenna:
1 At your management console, launch the 3WXM software.
2 Choose an AP device from the list: and select 'edit',
3 Select the appropriate radio to which the external antenna is connected (for
example “Radio A” “Radio B” or “Radio G”, see “Selecting the Radio”).
4 In the radio attributes box, select 'antenna type'.
A list of supported external antenna types will be displayed in a drop-down box
(see Figure 5).
R
a
di
o
E
t
h
e
r
ne
t
P
o
w
e
r
AP7250
External
Antenna
Connector
AP8250 / AP8750
External Antenna
External Antenna
Connector
(AP8250 only)
Connector
(AP8750 only)
6 3COM WIRELESS LAN MOBILITY SYSTEM EXTERNAL DUAL-BAND ANTENNA GUIDE
Figure 5 3WXM External Antenna Selection Dialog Box
5 Select the type of antenna connected to your AP. Table 6 describes the menu
selections.
6 Press finish and deploy the changes to the correct wireless switch.
Selecting the Radio 3Com access points have either single or dual radios. Refer to the notes below
when selecting a radio for your AP using the 3WXM application.
■ The AP2750 has a single radio that can operate as 802.11a or 802.11b/g.
When an external antenna is used, it must be connected to the left antenna
jack (see Figure 1). A 50-Ohm terminator must connected to the other antenna
jack.
■ The AP3750 has dual radios and operates as 802.11a and 802.11b/g
simultaneously. An external antenna can be connected to one or both antenna
connectors (see Figure 2).
■ The AP7250 and AP8250 feature a single radio that operates as 802.11b/g
only. When an external antenna is used, it must be connected to the left
antenna jack (see Figure 3 and Figure 4).
■ The AP8750 has dual radios and operates as both 802.11a and 802.11b/g.
However only the 802.11b/g radio supports the use of an external antenna,
which must be connected to the right-side antenna jack (see Figure 4).
Table 6 3Com Wireless Manager External Selection Choices
Selection Description
Internal The APs internal antenna is used (no external antenna)
ANT3C591 3CWE591 (6/8 dBl Dual-Band Omni Antenna)
ANT3C592 3CWE592 (3/4 dBl Dual-Band Ceiling-Mount Omni Antenna)
ANT3C597 3CWE597 (4/6 dBl Dual-Band Hallway Antenna)
ANT3C598 3CWE598 (8/10 dBl Dual-Band Panel Antenna)
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