DESIGN GUIDE: airFiber AF5/AF5U

Best Practices for Installation of the airFiber AF5/AF5U

Ideal Mounting Location: High in Elevation with Custom Frequency and Transmit Power Throughout Optimization with Maximum
Clear Line of Sight Configuration to Fit Your Application Frequency Reuse and Link Symmetry

Selection of Installation Site What is generally true for cellular installations is true for the
AF5. You should mount the AF5 where it can see no reflections
The airFiber® AF5/AF5U, referred to as the AF5 in this Design in the near field, so we recommend the following types of
Guide, features unique functionality that requires you to be mounting sites:
cognizant of the installation environment.
§§ Perimeter mounting on a water tower/structure (best)
For best performance, you must install the AF5 as high up §§ Mounting near the edge of the top of a structure
as possible, with a line of sight free from obstructions. This is
§§ Mounting on an elevated mast or tower
especially true in FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) mode,
as there is a requirement to maximize channel/spectrum reuse. Radios that are mounted anywhere near the surface of a
Any objects in front of or near the front of the AF5 can have a roof or the top of a water tower can be significantly affected
significant impact on overall performance. The AF5 should be by reflections. FDD is more susceptible to the elements
installed 1 m (3.3 ft) below the highest point of the structure of a deployment environment than TDD (Time Division
to reduce the risk of a lightning strike. When the AF5 must be Duplexing) is.
installed above a metallic surface like a corrugated flat roof or
Bad Location:
water tower, then you should ensure that the AF5 is located Reflection off Rooftop
more than 3 m (10 feet) above the metal/reflective surface. and Lip of Building

1 m (3.3 ft)

Good Location Best Location

3 m (10 ft)

Close-up of Installation on Rooftop of Building

Good and bad examples of deployments are depicted in this

Close-up of Installation on Top of Water Tower section, “Typical Deployment Scenarios” on page 2.
Typical Deployment Scenarios
1 m (3.3 ft)

Good Location

Bad Location 3 m (10 ft)

Good Location

Reflective Surface
Minimal Reflective
Surface

Best Location:
No Reflective
Surface

Reflective Surface

Bad Location

Deployment on Water Tower

Good Location

Bad Location: Bad Location:

Too close to rooftop and Too close to rooftop
obstruction in line of sight and lip of building

Best Location

Best Location

Deployment on Rooftop of Building

Frequency Configuration
FDD will be most useful in situations that have plenty of Generally speaking, you can configure shorter-range links
spectrum available and will show the greatest benefit on for less channel separation between uplink and downlink.
shorter-range links. For optimal performance, you should plan You should also use the narrowest channel bandwidth that
out channel pairs that have maximum frequency separation. supports the intended link capacity. This conserves valuable
Since the AF5 uses sophisticated data processing algorithms frequency resources and also maximizes link budgets.
and a special antenna structure to eliminate the need for a Ubiquiti Networks™ is currently developing a configuration tool,
pre‑configured duplexing filter, you should space the 2 duplex the airFiber5 Link Calculator*, that will guide you on how to
channels at either end of the spectrum near the band edges best minimize bandwidth and power/interference based on
for maximum-range applications. the specific requirements of your installation.

airFiber5 Link Calculator

Range 50.0 miles Margin 6.0 dB Min Power 15 dBm Max Power 47 dBm

TDD FDD Transmit FDD Receive

Channel Bandwidth 40 MHz Downlink Bandwidth 40 MHz Uplink Bandwidth 10 MHz

Transmit Power 46 dBm Transmit Power 46 dBm Transmit Power 36 dBm
Aggregate Capacity 204.80 Mbps Downlink Capacity 204.80 Mbps Uplink Capacity 23.04 Mbps
Receive Power -77.83 dBm Receive Power -77.83 dBm Receive Power -87.98 dBm
Modulation Rate 4x <16QAM> Modulation Rate 4x <16QAM> Modulation Rate 2x <QPSK MIMO>

Frequency 5800 MHz Frequency 5800 MHz Frequency 5900 MHz

Capacity 100 Mbps Capacity 100 Mbps Capacity 10 Mbps

Bandwidth 10 MHz Bandwidth 10 MHz Bandwidth 10 MHz

20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz

30 MHz 30 MHz 30 MHz

40 MHz 40 MHz 40 MHz

50 MHz 50 MHz 50 MHz

Calculate

airFiber5 Link Calculator

Range 1.0 miles Margin 6.0 dB Min Power 15 dBm Max Power 47 dBm

TDD FDD Transmit FDD Receive

Channel Bandwidth 40 MHz Downlink Bandwidth 20 MHz Uplink Bandwidth 50 MHz

Transmit Power 23 dBm Transmit Power 20 dBm Transmit Power 31 dBm
Aggregate Capacity 307.20 Mbps Downlink Capacity 149.76 Mbps Uplink Capacity 512.00 Mbps
Receive Power -66.85 dBm Receive Power -69.85 dBm Receive Power -59.00 dBm
Modulation Rate 6x <64QAM> Modulation Rate 6x <64QAM> Modulation Rate 8x <256QAM>

Frequency 5800 MHz Frequency 5800 MHz Frequency 5900 MHz

Capacity 250 Mbps Capacity 100 Mbps Capacity 500 Mbps

Bandwidth 10 MHz Bandwidth 10 MHz Bandwidth 10 MHz

20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz

30 MHz 30 MHz 30 MHz

40 MHz 40 MHz 40 MHz

50 MHz 50 MHz 50 MHz

Calculate

Examples of airFiber5 Link Calculator (available soon)

* The airFiber5 Link Calculator will be available as a new tool in an upcoming firmware update. Check community.ubnt.com/airfiber for firmware announcements.
Transmit Power Configuration Power Balance Optimization for FDD
The AF5 allows for a very high degree of flexibility in In the default state, the AF5 has this configuration:
configuring transmit power, supported constellations, channel §§ TX power: +40 dBm
bandwidths, and duplexing modes. Because of the number of §§ Channel bandwidth: 10 MHz
configuration options, refer to this guideline as you customize §§ Duplexing mode: TDD
your AF5 configuration:
To optimize throughput with maximum frequency reuse:
Depending on the country or region, the AF5 may be 1. Aim the AF5 using the factory default settings and TDD.
configured to support maximum transmit power as high
2. Allow the AF5 to automatically rate-adapt.
as +50 dBm EIRP. Power levels in excess of approximately
+43 dBm will start to affect the maximum supported 3. Configure the AF5 for FDD operation.
constellation. 4. Check the modulation rate and capacity indicators for
asymmetry.
TX Power (dBm EIRP) Supported Constellation 5. You may notice significant asymmetry. If you do, then
43 256QAM this could be due to a poorly aimed AF5 or an AF5 that is
45 64QAM
operating in some sort of reflective Fresnel environment.
Ensure that the AF5 is correctly aimed and free of any
47 16QAM
potential reflections before proceeding to the next
50 QPSK procedure.

For example, if you have a relatively short-range link and you To optimize both ends of the link for the best symmetry:
need to support a maximum constellation of 256QAM, then 1. Test for a local desense condition (possibly due to a
configure the AF5 for less than +43 dBm EIRP. reflection or other disturbance). Begin with the AF5 that is
receiving the lowest RX capacity reading, and decrease the
To minimize interference, you should use the lowest practical
TX power on that AF5 by 1 dB.
power setting that supports the intended target constellation
for a given distance. Looking at the sensitivity values for the a. Check if there is any increase in the RX capacity at the AF5.
given channel bandwidth, you should target a receive signal b. Watch for decreases in the TX capacity of the AF5.
value approximately 3 to 6 dB higher than the sensitivity 2. Perform step 1 iteratively to find out if there is any RX
threshold. capacity sensitivity to the local TX power level.
3. If this condition persists, try the following:
10 MHz 20 MHz 40 MHz 50 MHz
a. Run the lowest transmit power that still allows for the best
8x -70 dBm -67 dBm -65 dBm -64 dBm
balance of performance on both ends of the link.
6x -77 dBm -74 dBm -72 dBm -71 dBm b. Increase the FDD frequency separation and repeat the
4x -84 dBm -81 dBm -79 dBm -78 dBm optimization process. (In general you should run the
lowest power possible to meet the data rate requirements
2x -90 dBm -87 dBm -85 dBm -84 dBm
for the link.)
1x -93 dBm -90 dBm -88 dBm -87 dBm
This link symmetry procedure should be repeated on the
Ultimate -95 dBm -93 dBm -92 dBm -91 dBm opposite end of the link to test for desense on the other side.

To obtain the greatest range performance, you may If desense is not an issue, then try this method to mitigate
want to explore power settings above +43 dBm since the asymmetry: Slightly increase the transmit power on the
the longest‑range links will be limited to the lower-order opposite end of the link. (Note: This should be tried only after
constellations. The best possible range will be achieved with you rule out local desense first.)
a combination of maximum power level, narrowest channel For the best possible FDD performance, use as much
bandwidth, lowest‑order constellation, and TDD. frequency separation as possible to minimize external
coupling of energy.

Online Resources
Support: support.ubnt.com
Community: community.ubnt.com/airfiber
Downloads: downloads.ubnt.com/airfiber

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