Configuring External Antenna

If your Instant AP has external antenna connectors, you need to configure the transmit power of the system. The configuration must ensure that the system’s EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power or Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power. EIRP refers to the output power generated when a signal is concentrated into a smaller area by the Antenna. is in compliance with the limit specified by the regulatory authority of the country in which the Instant AP is deployed. You can also measure or calculate additional attenuation between the device and the antenna before configuring the antenna gain. To know if your Instant AP device supports external antenna connectors, refer to the Aruba Instant Installation Guide that is shipped along with the Instant AP device.

EIRP and Antenna Gain

The following formula can be used to calculate the EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power or Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power. EIRP refers to the output power generated when a signal is concentrated into a smaller area by the Antenna.-limit-related RF Radio Frequency. RF refers to the electromagnetic wave frequencies within a range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz, including the frequencies used for communications or Radar signals. power based on selected antennas (antenna gain) and feeder (Coaxial Cable loss):

EIRP = Tx RF Power (dBm) + GA (dB) - FL (dB)

The following table describes this formula:

Table 1: Formula Variable Definitions

Formula Element	Description
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power or Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power. EIRP refers to the output power generated when a signal is concentrated into a smaller area by the Antenna.	Limit specific for each country of deployment.
Tx RF Radio Frequency. RF refers to the electromagnetic wave frequencies within a range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz, including the frequencies used for communications or Radar signals. Power	RF Radio Frequency. RF refers to the electromagnetic wave frequencies within a range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz, including the frequencies used for communications or Radar signals. power measured at RF Radio Frequency. RF refers to the electromagnetic wave frequencies within a range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz, including the frequencies used for communications or Radar signals. connector of the unit.
GA	Antenna gain
FL	Feeder loss

Example

For example, the maximum gain that can be configured on an Instant AP with AP-ANT-1F dual-band and omni-directional antenna is as follows:

Table 2: Maximum Antenna Gains

Frequency Band	Gain (dBi)
2.4–2.5 GHz Gigahertz.	2.0 dBi
4.9–5.875 GHz Gigahertz.	5.0 dBi

For information on antenna gain recommended by the manufacturer, see www.arubanetworks.com.

Configuring Antenna Gain

The following procedure configures antenna gain for Instant APs with external connectors, using the WebUI:

1. Navigate to the Configuration > Access Points page. Select the Instant AP and click Edit.
2. In the Edit Access Point window, select External Antenna to configure the antenna gain value. This option is available only for access points that support external antennas.
3. Enter the antenna gain values in dBm Decibel-Milliwatts. dBm is a logarithmic measurement (integer) that is typically used in place of mW to represent receive-power level. AMP normalizes all signals to dBm, so that it is easy to evaluate performance between various vendors. for the 2.4 GHz Gigahertz. and 5 GHz Gigahertz. bands Band refers to a specified range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation..
4. Click Save.

The following CLI Command-Line Interface. A console interface with a command line shell that allows users to execute text input as commands and convert these commands to appropriate functions. command is used to configure an external antenna for 5 GHz Gigahertz. frequency:

The following CLI Command-Line Interface. A console interface with a command line shell that allows users to execute text input as commands and convert these commands to appropriate functions. command is used to configure an external antenna for 2.4 GHz Gigahertz. frequency: