ESS

ProNODE

Release Note

Version 1.45.T2.B325

Update 3




J une 2009
OpenWifless ESS ProNODE: SW Ver. 1.45.T2.B325
Doc. Rev.: 1.3 AT/MA20090623

Essentia
T el ec ommuni c at i ons & S ec ur i t y
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1. Introduction
OpenWifless ESS ProNODE version 1.45.T2 introduces several new features, improves a lot
the system performance and fixes know bugs & limitations.


2. Compatibility and Interoperability
OpenWifless ESS ProNODE version 1.45.T2 is compatible with the following hardware:
Wifless ESS 24561, any HW Rel.
Wifless ESS 24562, any HW Rel.
Wifless ESS 24564, any HW Rel.

Do NOT install on the new Wifless ESS PN25x devices!

The upgrade procedure to OpenWifless ESS ProNODE Ver. 1.45.T2 is compatible with the
previous operating system versions from 1.40.T1 to higher intermediate patch versions up to
1.45.T2.B312.

However, in same cases the configurations cannot be automatically upgraded to the
new version and a user intervention is needed to adjust the configuration.
Check carefully the behavior of your system after the upgrade to verify that it is perfectly
working as expected.

Upgrading from releases lower (older) than the 1.40.T1 could require a system reset to factory
default and the manually reconfiguration of the device.

Using CPE running OpenWifless ESS CPE operating system releases lower (older) than
1.00.T3 must enable the 802.11 Reg. Domain option in the wireless settings of the AP.

Failing to do this may lead the system to not correctly connect all the CPE of the sector.
Operating this new OpenWifless ESS ProNODE version, it is kindly suggested to upgrade your
Essentia Wifless CPE at least to the OpenWifless CPE version 1.10.T2.B338, or better to the
last version available at the time.


3. Documentation and Firmware Availability
The information in this release note is complementary to the products documentation and to
the Basic System Manual Essentia Wifless ESS PN25x (HW All) & ESS 2456x (HW 2.1x)
Basic System Manual - OpenWifless ESS ProNODE Ver 1.45 - 20090120.pdf provided in the
products documentation CD Rom and downloadable from www.essentia.eu at the following
URL http://www.essentia.eu/download/download.asp selecting the search option Manuals.

The new OpenWifless ESS ProNODE, NODE and CPE Firmware is available for download at
ftp://ftp.essentia.eu/SW Free Upgrades/OpenWifless ESS/ using your Essentias Personal
Account.

To get your Essentias Personal Account, or for any further information and details, contact the
Wifless Support Team writing to support@essentia.eu.


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4. New Features and Improvements compared to ver. 1.40.T1

General GUI Improvements
Web GUI has been improved for a better lookout and usability.
Dedicated web pages have been added to address specific settings and/or to speed
up the device provisioning.

General Performance Improvements
Further optimization of the Atheros HAL and Madwifi driver.
Optimized the IEEE 802.11 radio protocol timing and the WMM implementation.
Improved the Radio system efficiency of about 15%.
Optimized the Linux OS porting or the networking related stacks: improved the
system efficiency of about 20%.
Improved ETSI Radar Detect algorithm to reduce the False Positive Detections.
Up to 95 Mbps of UDP traffic per radio sector over 20 MHz radio channel, with 1470
bytes long packets, and up to 130 Mbps over 40 MHz radio turbo channel.
Up to 65 Mbps of TCP traffic per radio sector over 20 MHz radio channel, with 1450
bytes long packets.
Up to 38 kPps per radio sector with 64 bytes long packets.

System web tab/page
Added System tab entry, under Devices menu, to provide settings of PCI Latency
and Secondary Watch Dog control.

DFS Disable option
Added DFS Disable option available to disable DFS and Radar Detection activity.
ATTENTION! Important Legal Note!
The disable option has been added for troubleshooting purpose and for special
applications only.
ETSI and FCC Rules strictly require to have DFS Enabled under normal operation.
Contact your Local Radio Regulatory Authority for information.

ACK Fast Rate option
Added ACK Fast Rate option to handle acknowledges packets with higher rate (up
to 36Mbps instead of the standard 6Mbps).

Multicast Rate Selection and Max HW Retries options
Added Multicast Rate Selection option on the Radio Web GUI.
Added Max HW Retries option on the Radio Web GUI.

Trunk & PTP Link option
New Trunk & PTP Link option introduced to optimize the performance under PTP
operation.

PPPoE Server feature
Implemented a fully featured PPPoE Server.
(See also Known Bugs & Limitations at the paragraph Fast-Frame setting in
PPPoE Server configuration).

getinventory utility
Improved getinventory utility adding the reporting of more details.

NAS IP Address
Added the Radius NAS IP Address attribute.

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5. Main Fixed Issues from ver. 1.40.T1

Device self-Reboot under heavy Radar Detect condition
Due to a brute-force implementation of the ETSI DFS & Radar Detect algorithms,
has been noted that the under heavy radar detect conditions the kernel processes
were starving on those and the Secondary Watch Dog wrongly rebooted the device.
New ETSI DFS & Radar Detect algorithms now avoid the problem.

MAC Addressed Table wrong updated bug
The problem, also known as ARP Bug or Not operating ARP bug has been fixed.

IP Multicast drop bug
The problem, also known as Multicast Bug, related to the wrong dropping of some
Multicast IP packet on the ETH0 and ETH1 Fast-Ethernet ports, has been fixed.

WDS Node Configuration Settings
WDS Node operating mode is now working as expected.

Ad-Hoc Node Configuration Settings
Ad-Hoc Node operating mode is now working as expected.

Radio Trunk Configuration Settings
Radio Trunk Mode is now working as expected also when two (2) adjacent channels
are used.

.11g Mode TX Rate Information Web Display Bug
When Fixed Rate 802.11g mode is operating, the link TX Rate Information is now
correctly displayed in the WEB page.

SNMP Private MIBs Implementation
Essentia SNMP Private MIBs are now fully implemented.

Turbo Mode(s)
FCC Turbo Mode is now working as expected.
ETSI Turbo Mode, as allowed by ETSI EN 301 893 V1.4.1, is now implemented.

Memory Leakage and IRQ Load
Under some circumstances has been noted a memory leakage, and sometimes also
an unexpected increase of the IRQ Load.
A better memory management and the improved Linux OS efficiency solved these
problems.

WMM Aggressive Mode
WMM Aggressive Mode is now working as expected.
To avoid problems by not expert users it is now disabled by default.


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6. Known Bugs and Limitations

Wrong Measurement of SNR and Noise Level
Due to bugs in the new Atheros HAL the SNR and the Noise Level are wrongly
reported. Displayed SNR is about 6 dB lower than the real value and the Noise
Level is about 4 dB lower than the real value. Consequently, also the RSL is
calculated about 10 dB lower than the real.
This problem only affect the displayed/reported values, but it is not service affective.
Workaround: n.a.

Loss of Ping to Bridged Interface
Pinging a device bridged interface may lead to unexpected high rate of ping losses.
This problem is not traffic flow or service affective.
Workaround: n.a.

WMM setting in Trunk configuration
When Trunk configuration is required, WMM must be disabled
Otherwise the Trunk performance are very bad and asymmetric.
in AP and Station
interfaces and the QoS must be managed via the Trunk Logical Interface.
Workaround: Ask for the bug fix yet available from the Wifless Support Team.

Atheros Extended Range
Atheros Extended Range is not fully implemented yet.
Workaround: n.a.

NTP/SNTP Server
NTP/SNTP embedded server current implementation requires to get the reference
time from an other NTP/SNTP.
Current implementation does not allow to get the reference time from the embedded
real time clock/calendar.
Workaround: n.a.

IPERF Server
TCP IPERF Server when enabled in the Web is not working as expected.
Workaround: Use NETPERF or enable IPERF server service via SSH issuing the
command iperf -s (-D option to load it as a service).

IPERF Client
UDP IPERF Client when test started from the Web is not working as expected.
Workaround: Use NETPERF or IPERF client service via SSH.

Single Repeater configuration
Single Repeater configuration (AP and Station created on the same radio physical
interface) is not working as expected.
Workaround: Use Dual Repeater configuration (AP and Station on different physical
radio interfaces).

Fast-Frame setting in PPPoE Server configuration
Performance tests report that the implemented PPPoE Server can deliver up to 150
Mbps of throughput when delivering traffic to/from the Fast-Ethernet ports, while it is
capable to deliver only up to 15 Mbps only of throughput when delivering traffic
to/from the Radio Interfaces when Radio Fast-Frame is enabled.
Workaround: Disable Radio Fast-Frame setting.

Trunk XOR Mode TCP performance
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Throughput tests report that the Trunk XOR mode performances using TCP are not
exactly symmetric as expected.
Workaround: If symmetric performances are required, use Radio Optimized Trunk
mode or use an external device, L2 switch or L3 router, doing the required
aggregation.

Trunk Round-Robin
Trunk Round-Robin Mode is not working as expected.
Workaround: Use a different Trunk mode or an external device.

802.1X with Dynamic WEP
802.1X with Dynamic WEP is not working as expected.
Workaround: If 802.1X is required, use WPA Enterprise mode. If WEP is required,
use Open/Shared WEP.

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User Notes



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User Notes Page 2

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