Overview - NETGEAR AirBridge WBC502 Hardware Installation Manual

Insight Instant AirBridge WBC502 Hardware Installation Guide

Overview

The AirBridge is intended for environments where you need to extend your network to
another building or across a large outdoor campus or field when no wired network
infrastructure is available.
The AirBridge can provide a long distance, high performance, IEEE 802.11ac WiFi
connection in the following setups:
• Single master to single satellite. Point-to-point setup between two AirBridges in
a configuration with a single master and single satellite with a long-distance reach
of up to 1.8 miles (3 km). This setup requires a line of sight between the main and
detached sites.
• Single master to multiple satellites. Point-to-multipoint setup between multiple
AirBridges in a configuration with a single master and up to four satellites with a
long-distance reach of up to 1.8 miles (3 km). This setup requires a line of sight
between the main and detached sites.
• Outdoor access point. A setup that allows for a long-range WiFi reach in which an
AirBridge functions as an access point that provides connections to WiFi clients,
client bridges, or both.
• Outdoor client bridge. A setup in which an AirBridge functions as a client bridge,
providing a network connection to a wired device, such as an IP surveillance camera.
The client bridge connects to the main network through a backhaul WiFi connection
to a WiFi access point.
Note: For information about application samples, see Applications on page 19.
You can mount the AirBridge outside to a wall or pole and provide power to the
AirBridge through an Ethernet cable that is connected to the provided power adapter,
which must be installed indoors. The AirBridge integrates a high-gain directional antenna
for a line of sight connection to other AirBridges or WiFi clients.
The AirBridge provides two 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 LAN ports for network
connections (see Bottom panel with Ethernet ports on page 15). One LAN port must
be connected to the provided power adapter (see Power adapter on page 16). Use
Category 5e (Cat 5e) or higher-rated Ethernet cables terminated with RJ-45 connectors
to make Gigabit connections.
The AirBridge provides administrative management options that let you configure,
monitor, and control the AirBridge and the WiFi network:
• Using the local browser user interface (UI) you can configure the AirBridge and set
up a WiFi connection between two or more units in any of the supported operation
modes.
Introduction 6 Hardware Installation Guide