MRW55 Carrier Grade Dual Frequency License Free RF link

 

 

 


 

MRV's MRW55/MRW55M is an intelligent, fast, reliable, and cost effective outdoor wireless Access-Point/Bridge. It provides connectivity for wireless clients to a LAN as well as connectivity between remote LANs, up to 28km.


The MRW55/MRW55M provides wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bridging solutions that operate in the unlicensed bands, and provides an efficient and highly secure solution for building-to-building and outdoor connectivity. It provides cost effective alternatives to expensive leased lines enabling instant links to connect detached offices to headquarters, and isolated buildings on campuses and in industrial zones.


The MRW55/MRW55M is a Dual Band Outdoor system that provides access point and/or bridging services through either 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz radio interfaces. The MRW55/MRW55M units can be used just as normal access points connected to a local wired LAN, providing connectivity and roaming services for wireless clients in an outdoor area. Can also be used purely as bridges connecting remote LANs.

Alternatively, you can employ both access point and bridging functions simultaneously, offering a flexible and convenient wireless solution for many applications.

License-Exempt Wireless Accelerates Deployment and Lowers Costs
The MRW55/MRW55M Wireless Bridge operates in the 5GHz spectrum, which many countries are opening up for license-free transmission. It also operates in the 2.4GHz license-free band. License-exempt links allow for faster and more affordable deployment, since no frequency coordination and license fee are required.

Compliance with FCC, International, and ETSI Standards
The MRW55/MRW55M is FCC compliant. The frequency bands 5.725GHz - 5.850GHz and 5.15GHz - 5.36GHz are unlicensed bands in several countries, including the U.S., Canada, and parts of Latin America and Southeast Asia. The European market operates at frequency bands between 5.5GHz and 5.7GHz. The MRW55/MRW55M operates at this frequency band conforming to the ETSI standard.

Product Highlights & Advantages

  • Robust outdoor architecture ensures unprecedented range and reliability.
  • Non compromising security using, selectable, AES or 64 / 128 / 152 bit WEP key encryption, and 801.x Authentication.
  • Supports 802.1D Spanning Tree protocol.
  • Supports packet filtering and VLANs
  • MRW55 Units support a 5 GHz point-to-point wireless link up to 28 km (at 36 Mbps data rate) using integrated high-gain 17 dBi antennas.
  • MRW55M units support 5 GHZ point-to-multipoint links using various external antenna options.
  • Multi-Band, Dual Radio works as access point or bridge in the 2.4 - 2.5GHz bands.
  • Works as Bridge and Access Point simultaneously
  • Data rate up to 108Mbps on the 5GHz radio.
  • Scans all available channels and selects the best channel and data rate based on the signal-to-noise ratio.
  • Manageable through an easy-to-use web browser interface, command line (via Telnet) or SNMP network management tools.
  • Firmware upgradeable by TFTP file transfer protocol through the Ethernet network.
  • Dual firmware image allows firmware upgrade without interference with existing firmware.
  • Supports TELNET console interface, password protected with Cisco like CLI.

The Dual-band Outdoor Access Point/Bridge system of two models provide point-to-point or point-to-multipoint bridge links between remote Ethernet LANs and wireless access point services for clients in the local LAN area:
 
  • MRW55– Includes an integrated high-gain antenna for the 802.11a radio and is designed to operate as a “Slave” bridge in point-to-multipoint configurations, or provide a high-speed point-to-point wireless link between two sites that can be up to 28 km (17 miles) apart. The 802.11b/g radio requires an external antenna option.

     
  • MRW55M – Provides only external antenna options and is designed to operate as the “Master” Bridge in point-to-multipoint configurations, supporting wireless bridge connections as many as 16 MRW55 Slave units.

Each model is housed in a waterproof enclosure for mounting outdoors and includes its own brackets for attaching to the wall, pole, radio mast, or tower structure. The unit is powered through its Ethernet cable connection from a power injector module that is installed indoors.

The wireless bridge system offers a fast, reliable, and cost-effective solution for connectivity between remote Ethernet wired LANs or to provide Internet access to an isolated site. The system is also easy to install and operate, ideal for situations where a wired link may be difficult or expensive to deploy. The wireless bridge connection provides data ranges of up to 108MBps.

In addition, both wireless bridge models offer full network management capabilities through an easy-to-use web interface, a command-line interface, and support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) tools.

Ease of Use
Based on IEEE 802.11a technology, and utilizing the same industry-standard CLI as in “wired” networks. The MRW55/MRW55M provides the user with the familiar “out of box” deployment. Convenient and easily accessible Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) for alignment and diagnostics allows for easy installation process.


To simplify ordering and installation, the MRW55/MRW55M Wireless Bridge provides the professional or IT installer with all of the components and accessories necessary to complete most deployments, including:

  • One Dual-band Outdoor Access Point / Bridge (MRW55 or MRW55M)
  • One Category 5 network cable, length 100 ft (30 m)
  • One power injector module and power cord
  • One N-type RF coaxial cable (two for MRW55M)
  • Outdoor pole-mounting bracket kit

For remote LAN connectivity, both Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint configurations are supported allowing multiple buildings to be connected using the same wireless network.


The MRW55 / MRV55M includes two antennas and operates in two bands, 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz, making it ideal for configurations that need simultaneous Access-Point and Wireless Bridge connectivity.


Data Rates
Two IEEE standard interfaces are supported, 802.11a and 802.11b/g, each providing data rates up to 54 Mbps half-duplex. The 802.11a interface also supports Turbo Mode, which allows the data rate to be doubled to 108Mbps.


Seamless Mobility
When multiple Access-Points are needed to cover a large area, the MRW55 / MRRW55M is the perfect solution. Seamless L2 roaming between Access-Points is achieved using IAPP (Inter-Access Point Protocol / IEEE 802.11f standard).


Power Injector Module
The wireless bridge receives power through its network cable connection using power-injection-over-Ethernet technology eliminating the need for an outdoor power source. A power injector module which is located indoor and connects to an indoor AC power source provides two RJ-45 Ethernet ports, one for connecting to the wireless bridge (Output), and the other for connecting to a local LAN switch (Input).


Security
To protect important company data from eavesdropping, extensive security features are supported to encrypt packets using 64, 128 and152-bit keys. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) are all supported for enhanced, interoperable, forward-compatible WiFi security. AES is used by the US government for encrypting all sensitive, non-classified information and has been designated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the successor to the Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm.


802.1x (Port Based Network Access Control) in conjunction with a remote RADIUS server authenticates wireless clients in order to keep out unauthorized users. 802.1x port-based authentication supports Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), EAP-MD5, Protected EAP (PEAP) and EAP-Tunneled TLS (TTLS). For WLAN authentication, a mutual authentication between any two bridges is supported through EAP-MD5 protocol.


Other security features are also supported to enhance security, such as MAC-based authentication. MAC-based authentication enables the access point to authenticate each client by its wireless NIC card address. MAC authentication databases can be either stored locally or remotely using RADIUS.


Packet filtering and VLANs can be used to prevent client-to-client communication. AP filtering prevents management by wireless clients. For secure management from the wired network, SNMPv3 is available with a future firmware upgrade.


Dynamic 802.1x VLANs
To secure wireless clients from particular servers and from other wireless clients, VLANs can be used. On the MRW55 / MRW55M, VLANs are dynamically assigned using 802.1x/Radius authentication. Based on the client’s login, the MRW55 Access Point places each client session into a specific VLAN. Up to 64 different VLANs are supported. By using a central Radius server for VLAN assignment, this greatly eases the deployment of multiple MRV55 / MRV55M Access Points. 802.1Q VLAN tags are used on the MRW55 / MRW55M’s wired Ethernet port which allows interoperability with any 802.1Q VLAN tagging switch.


Radio Interface
The IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g interfaces include configuration options for radio signal characteristics and wireless security features. The configuration options are nearly identical, but depend on which interface is operating as the bridge band. The access point can operate in the following modes:

  • 802.11a in bridge mode and 802.11g in access point mode
  • 802.11a in access point mode and 802.11g in bridge mode
  • 802.11a and 802.11g both in access point mode (no bridging)
  • 802.11a only in bridge or access point mode
  • 802.11g only in bridge or access point mode

Note that 802.11g is backward compatible with 802.11b and can be configured to support both client types or restricted to 802.11g clients only. Both wireless interfaces are configured independently:
 
  • Radio Interface A: 802.11a
  • Radio Interface G: 802.11b/g

Note: The radio channel settings for the wireless bridge are limited by local regulations, which determine the number of channels that are available.

Integrated High-Gain Antenna
The MRW55 wireless bridge includes an integrated high-gain (17 dBi) flat-panel Antenna for 5 GHz operations. The antenna can provide a direct line-of-sight link up to 28 km (17 miles) with a 36 Mbps data rate.

External Antenna Options
The MRW55M Master bridge unit does not include an integrated antenna, but provides various external antenna options for both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz operation. In a point-to-multipoint configuration an external high-gain Omni directional, sector, or high-gain panel antenna can be attached to communicate with bridges spread over a wide area. The MRW55 and MRW55M units both require the 2.4 GHz 8 dBi Omni directional external antenna for 2.4 GHz operation. The following table summarizes the external antenna options:

Antenna Type Gain (dBi) HPBW* Horizontal HPBW* Vertical Polarization
5GHz Omni Directional 8 360 12 Linear, vertical
5GHz 120-Degree Sector 13.5 120 6 Linear, vertical
5GHz 60-Degree Sector 16.5 60 6 Linear, vertical
5GHz High-Gain Panel 23 9 9 Linear
2.4GHz Omni Directional 8 360 15 Linear, vertical
* Half-power beam width in degrees
External antennas connect to the N-type RF connectors on the wireless bridge using the provided coaxial cables


Operation Using 5 GHz Channels in the European Community
The user/installer must use the provided configuration utility to check the current channel of operation and make necessary configuration changes to ensure operation occurs in conformance with European National spectrum usage laws as described below and elsewhere in this document.


Allowed 5GHz Channels in Each European Community Country:

Allowed Frequency Bands Allowed Channel Numbers Countries
5.15 - 5.25GHz* 36, 40, 44, 48 Austria, Belgium
5.15 - 5.35GHz* 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64 France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein
5.15 - 5.35* & 5.470 - 5.725 GHz 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140 Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, U.K.
5GHz Operation Not Allowed None
 Greece
* Outdoor operation is not allowed using 5.15 - 5.35 GHz bands (Channels 36-64)

 

 

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