Spectrum Tab in Access Point Dashboard

In the access point (AP) dashboard, the Spectrum tab provides details for all Wi-Fi Wi-Fi is a technology that allows electronic devices to connect to a WLAN network, mainly using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands. Wi-Fi can apply to products that use any 802.11 standard. and non Wi-Fi devices associated to each radio.

When the radios of an AP are set to spectrum scan mode, the AP functions as a dedicated full-spectrum 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. monitor. It scans all the channels to detect interference from neighboring APs or interfering devices such as microwaves Electromagnetic energy with a frequency higher than 1 GHz, corresponding to wavelength shorter than 30 centimeters. and cordless phones. To enable the spectrum scan feature on a specific radio of an AP, see Access Points Configuration Parameters.

When the spectrum scan feature is enabled, the AP does not provide services to clients. The Spectrum tab displays the following sections:

• Channel Utilization and Quality
• Interfering Devices

Channel Utilization and Quality

To view the Channel Utilization and Quality details corresponding to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios of the AP, click the Chart icon.

To view the Channel Utilization and Quality graphs for the radios, click the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz tabs on the Channel Utilization and Quality label.

• Channel Utilization—The Channel Utilization graph indicates the percentage of channel utilization for the Available, Interference, and Wi-Fi Utilization categories associated to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios. You can view the following channel metrics when you hover over the Channel Utilization bar graph:

  Table 1: Channel Utilization Metrics

  Metrics	Description
  Channel	The channel number of the radio.
  Available	The percentage of the channel currently available for use.
  Interference	The percentage of the channel currently used by interfering devices.
  Microwave	The percentage of the channel currently used by microwaves. Common residential microwave ovens with a single magnetron are classified as a microwave. These types of microwave ovens may be used in cafeterias, break rooms, dormitories, and similar environments. Some industrial, healthcare, or manufacturing environments may also have other equipments that function like a microwave. This may also be classified as a microwave device.
  Bluetooth	The percentage of the channel currently used by bluetooth devices. Any device that uses the Bluetooth protocol to communicate in the 2.4 GHz Gigahertz. band Band refers to a specified range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. is classified as a Bluetooth device. Bluetooth uses a frequency hopping protocol.
  Cordless Phone	The percentage of the channel currently used by cordless phones.
  Wi-Fi Utilization	The percentage of the channel currently used by Wi-Fi devices.

• Quality—The Quality graph displays the channel quality corresponding to each of the Wi-Fi and non Wi-Fi devices connected to the radios. When you hover over the Quality bar graph, the following channel metrics are displayed:

  Table 2: Channel Quality Metrics

  Metrics	Description
  Channel	The channel number of the radio.
  Quality	Current relative quality of the channel.
  Known APs	Number of valid Instant APs identified on the radio channel.
  Unknown APs	Number of invalid or rogue Instant APs identified on the radio channel.
  Max AP Signal	Signal strength of the Instant AP that has the maximum signal strength on a channel 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..
  Max Interference	Signal strength of the non-Wi-Fi device that has the highest signal strength in dBm.
  Max AP SSID	The network SSID Service Set Identifier. SSID is a name given to a WLAN and is used by the client to access a WLAN network. with maximum APs.
  Max AP BSSID	The network SSID with maximum APs.
  SNIR	The measure of SNIR Signal-to-Noise-Plus-Interference Ratio. SNIR refers to the power of a central signal of interest divided by the sum of the interference power and the power of the background noise. SINR is defined as the power of a certain signal of interest divided by the sum of the interference power (from all the other interfering signals) and the power of some background noise. detected in the network in dB Decibel. Unit of measure for sound or noise and is the difference or ratio between two signal levels..
  Noise Floor	The noise at the radio receivers of the radios.

Interfering Devices

To view Interfering Devices details detected by the spectrum scanner, click the List icon. The page displays a table with following details of interfering devices:

Table 3: Interfering Devices Table

Metrics	Description
Type	Device type. This parameter can be any of the following: Audio FF (fixed frequency) Bluetooth Cordless base FH (frequency hopper) Cordless phone FF (fixed frequency) Cordless network FH (frequency hopper) Generic FF (fixed frequency) Generic FH (frequency hopper) Generic interferer Microwave Microwave inverter Video Xbox
ID	ID number assigned to the device by the spectrum monitor. Spectrum monitors assign a unique spectrum ID per device type.
Central Frequency	Center frequency of the signal sent from the device.
Bandwidth	Channel bandwidth used by the device in KHz.
Affected Channels	Radio channels affected by the wireless device.
Signal Strength	Strength of the signal sent from the device measured in dBm.
Duty Cycle	The device duty cycle. This value represents the percent of time the device broadcasts a signal.
First Seen	Time at which the device was first detected.
Last Seen	Time at which the device status was updated.

For more information, see Viewing the Spectrum Tab in Access Point Dashboard.