Rajant LX User Manual
Version: 1.06
Date: June 25, 2008
Corporate Headquarters
Rajant Corporation
400 East King Street
Malvern, PA 19355
Tel: (484) 595-0233
Fax: (484) 595-0244
www.rajant.com
BreadCrumb
®
LX
USER GUIDE
Rajant Corporation BreadCrumb® LX User Guide
Version 1.06 June 25, 2008
Note: This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the device is operated in a commercial
environment. This device generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with this instruction manual, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. Operation of this device in a residential area is likely to cause
harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at their
own expense.
This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.
CAUTION: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Rajant Corporation could void the
user’s authority to operate the device.
© 2008 Rajant
You may use the software provided with the products only on personal computers owned by the
purchasing individual or entity, and may not use, load, or run any such software on any network or in
any type of service bureau, time-sharing operation, or non-purchasing individual or entity's equipment.
- 2 -
BreadCrumb® LX User Guide Rajant Corporation
June 25, 2008 Version 1.06
Table of Contents
Contents Page
1.0 PREFACE.........................................................................................................................................................5
1.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE ................................................................................................................................ 5
1.2 USER INFORMATION..................................................................................................................................5
2.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 WHAT IS A BREADCRUMB?...................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 RAPIDLY DEPLOYED WIRELESS NETWORKS..............................................................................6
2.1.2 MOBILE WIRELESS NETWORKS......................................................................................................6
2.1.3 WIRELESS NETWORK EXTENSION.................................................................................................6
2.1.4 WIRED NETWORK EXTENSION.......................................................................................................7
2.1.5 ANY COMBINATION OF THE PREVIOUS SECTIONS 2.1.1 to 2.1.4..............................................7
2.2 MOBILITY THROUGH MESHING.............................................................................................................. 7
2.2.1 MESH – A DEFINITION.......................................................................................................................7
2.2.2 BREADCRUMBS MESH BY CHANNEL AND ESSID ......................................................................7
2.3 DESCRIPTION OF BREADCRUMB LX...................................................................................................... 9
2.3.1 RADIOS..................................................................................................................................................9
2.4 POWER/ETHERNET...................................................................................................................................10
2.4.1 BREADCRUMB LX EXTERNAL CHASSIS FEATURES................................................................11
2.5 NETWORK FEATURES.............................................................................................................................. 12
2.6 CONNECTIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 13
2.7 ANTENNA FEATURES .............................................................................................................................. 14
2.8 POWER FEATURES.................................................................................................................................... 16
2.9 MISC. INFORMATION ABOUT THE LX.................................................................................................. 16
2.10 RESET/ZEROIZE THE LX........................................................................................................................ 16
3.0 USING BCADMIN™......................................................................................................................................17
4.0 DEPLOYING THE BREADCRUMB WIRELESS NETWORK...............................................................18
4.1 OVERVIEW OF BCWN DEPLOYMENT................................................................................................... 18
4.2 DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS........................................................................................................ 18
4.2.1 ADDRESSING.....................................................................................................................................18
4.2.1.1 BREADCRUMB DEVICE ADDRESSES........................................................................................18
4.2.1.2 DHCP.................................................................................................................................................18
4.3 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENTS....................................................................................................................... 19
4.4 PHYSICAL PLACEMENT AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS................................................................ 19
4.4.1 LINE OF SIGHT...................................................................................................................................19
4.4.2 DISTANCE...........................................................................................................................................19
4.4.3 WEATHER...........................................................................................................................................20
4.4.4 INTERFERENCE.................................................................................................................................20
4.4.5 PLACEMENT OF BCWN COMPONENTS........................................................................................20
4.5 DEPLOYMENT CONFIGURATIONS........................................................................................................ 20
4.6 DEPLOYMENT GUIDELINES AND METHODOLOGY.......................................................................... 20
4.6.1 DEPLOYMENT GUIDELINES...........................................................................................................20
4.6.2 DEPLOYMENT METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................21
4.7 STATUS LED............................................................................................................................................... 22
5.0 BREADCRUMB SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE......................................................................................23
5.1 BREADCRUMB FIRMWARE .................................................................................................................... 23
5.1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................23
5.1.2 UPGRADING THE FIRMWARE........................................................................................................23
- 3 -
Rajant Corporation BreadCrumb® LX User Guide
Version 1.06 June 25, 2008
6.0 TROUBLESHOOTING..................................................................................................................................25
6.1 BREADCRUMB WIRELESS NETWORK.................................................................................................. 25
6.1.1 SPORADIC NETWORK CONNECTIVITY........................................................................................25
6.1.2 BREADCRUMB CANNOT CONNECT TO BCWN ..........................................................................26
APPENDIX A.........................................................................................................................................................27
List of Figures
Figure Page
FIGURE 1. BREADCRUMB LX EXTERNAL CHASSIS FEATURES (TOP SIDE) ...............................................................11
FIGURE 2. BREADCRUMB LX EXTERNAL CHASSIS FEATURES (BOTTOM SIDE)........................................................12
FIGURE 3. LX – POE ETHERNET AND POWER CONNECTIONS...................................................................................13
FIGURE 4. LX ANTENNA LAYOUT ............................................................................................................................15
- 4 -
BreadCrumb® LX User Guide Rajant Corporation
June 25, 2008 Version 1.06
1.0 PREFACE
1.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This manual refers to the BreadCrumb LX model.
It provides information and guidance to all personnel who are involved with and use Rajant
Corporation’s BreadCrumb
The manual begins with an introduction to the BreadCrumb Wireless Network (BCWN) and a brief
overview of the BreadCrumb LX.
1.2 USER INFORMATION
The user of this manual is encouraged to submit comments and recommended changes to improve this
manual. Please send any comments or changes to support@rajant.com
number of the manual you are using and please provide the page numbers related to your comments
wherever possible.
®
Wireless Network devices.
. Be sure to include the version
- 5 -
Rajant Corporation BreadCrumb® LX User Guide
Version 1.06 June 25, 2008
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Rajant Corporation's (www.rajant.com) BreadCrumb LX operates on IEEE 802.11a/b/g
wireless networking standard to form a wireless mesh network. The network is mobile, selfintegrating, self-meshing, self-healing, full-duplex and secure. The focus is on flexibility,
adaptability, and simplicity.
The BreadCrumb Wireless Network (BCWN) is intended for rapid deployment of a broadband
wireless network into a situation or ‘hot zone’. The network can be deployed as a stand-alone
wireless network, or bridged to another network (such as the Internet) utilizing available reachback communication links (such as a DSL, cable, or satellite modem).
The LX provides high bandwidth applications to stream video, audio as well as data over large
distances. The network traffic can be secured by using different security features offered by
the BCWN. This makes the network optimal for tactical deployments as well as emergency
response situations since it offers robustness, stability and ease of setup in mission critical
activities.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in
which case the user will be required to correct the interference at their own
expense.
2.1 WHAT IS A BREADCRUMB?
A BreadCrumb is an 802.11a/b/g (Wi-Fi) Access Point specifically designed for the following
scenarios:
2.1.1 RAPIDLY DEPLOYED WIRELESS NETWORKS
Networks that must be established quickly and with minimal effort for short-term use.
(e.g., a network established to provide First Responder support at the site of a disaster).
2.1.2 MOBILE WIRELESS NETWORKS
Networks in which the network infrastructure itself is mobile, in addition to client devices
(e.g., a convoy viewing a video stream from a UAV).
2.1.3 WIRELESS NETWORK EXTENSION
Networks in which a wireless network must be quickly extended around or through obstacles that block
wireless communications (e.g., urban canyon networks, tunnels/caves, etc.).
- 6 -
BreadCrumb® LX User Guide Rajant Corporation
June 25, 2008 Version 1.06
2.1 WHAT IS A BREADCRUMB? (continued)
2.1.4 WIRED NETWORK EXTENSION
Networks in which two or more wired networks at different locations must be connected wirelessly
(e.g., to securely connect combat service support computers with logistics bases)
2.1.5 ANY COMBINATION OF THE PREVIOUS SECTIONS 2.1.1 to 2.1.4
Most BreadCrumb deployments include elements from more than one of the above scenarios.
In many cases, BreadCrumbs will perform all of the tasks as shipped with no configuration necessary at
all, providing an instant TAN -a Tactical Area Network. Moreover, because BreadCrumbs use industrystandard 802.11a/b/g communications, client devices such as laptops or handheld computers require no
special hardware, software, or configuration to access a BCWN.
2.2 MOBILITY THROUGH MESHING
The key component to a BCWN is a technique known as Meshing. While this is generally handled
automatically by BreadCrumbs, complex deployment scenarios require a basic understanding of how
BreadCrumbs establish and maintain a mesh.
2.2.1 MESH – A DEFINITION
A mesh is a collection of network devices (in our case, BreadCrumbs), each of which is connected to
one or more other BreadCrumbs. Data can move between BreadCrumbs via these links, possibly
passing through several intermediate BreadCrumbs before arriving at its final destination.
The intelligence of a BCWN is in how it adapts rapidly to the creation or destruction of the links in the
mesh as devices are moved, switched OFF or ON, blocked by obstructions, interfered with by other
devices, or otherwise affected. This adaptation takes place automatically and immediately as needed.
Note: Although all BreadCrumbs can be Access Points, most Access Points do not provide
any meshing capabilities. Traditional Access Points simply allow wireless devices within range
to connect to a wired network; they do not extend range through other Access Points.
2.2.2 BREADCRUMBS MESH BY CHANNEL AND ESSID
Two BreadCrumbs establish a mesh link to one another when they share both a radio channel and an
ESSID. The 802.11b/g radios used by BreadCrumbs support 11 different channels for communication,
numbered 1 to 11. The 80211a radios used by BreadCrumbs support 18 different channels: 36, 40, 42,
44, 48, 50, 52, 56, 58, 60, 64, 149, 152, 153, 157, 160, 161 and 165. By default, each 802.11b/g
BreadCrumb radio is on channel 1 or 11, while each 802.11a radio is on channel 152.
An ESSID is essentially a name for a wireless network. By default, LX BreadCrumbs use the ESSID
"breadcrumb54".
- 7 -
Rajant Corporation BreadCrumb® LX User Guide
Version 1.06 June 25, 2008
2.2 MOBILITY THROUGH MESHING (continued)
Example 1
Suppose you have four BreadCrumbs, called A, B, C and D. Each has two radios. All radio 0s are on
802.11a and all radio 1s are on 802.11b/g. All four BreadCrumbs are using the default ESSID of
"breadcrumb54". Assuming that all four BreadCrumbs are within radio range of one another and that
Radio 1 in BreadCrumb D has lost connection with the network, the network will be connected, as
shown below. It can be seen that even with the loss of one radio, the network can still be maintained.
- 8 -
BreadCrumb® LX User Guide Rajant Corporation
June 25, 2008 Version 1.06
2.2 MOBILITY THROUGH MESHING (continued)
Example 2
Now suppose that you change the ESSID of BreadCrumb C to "lonely". The network will adjust to this
change, resulting in the following configuration:
Note that BreadCrumb C can no longer communicate with A or B, and vice versa.
2.3 DESCRIPTION OF BREADCRUMB LX
2.3.1 RADIOS
The BreadCrumb LX uses two radios. The LX only uses one antenna per radio. The LX has
N-type connectors for the radios. An 802.11b/g radio is used in the 2.4 GHz band and an
802.11a radio is used in the 5 GHz band. Also, most 5 GHz antennas will only support a
subset of the 802.11a 5 GHz channels the Rajant radio is capable of using.
Since the radios operate at different frequencies, you must be careful to use
the correct type of antenna with each radio. As an example, a 2.4 GHz
antenna will not work with a 5 GHz radio and vice versa.
The user should take care choosing an 802.11a channel from BCAdmin. The available
channels are:
U-NII Upper Band (Mesh Only, Mesh/AP):
Channel 149 : 5745 MHz 11a
Channel 152 : 5760 MHz 11a Atheros Proprietary
Channel 153 : 5765 MHz 11a
Channel 157 : 5785 MHz 11a
Channel 160 : 5800 MHz 11a Atheros Proprietary
Channel 161 : 5805 MHz 11a
Channel 165 : 5825 MHz 11a
- 9 -
Loading...