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Bridge in a Box™

Quick Start Guide

Introduction Installation
The BRidge-In-a-Box (BRiB) is a complete 2.4 GHz NOTE: All connectors must be properly water-proofed
wireless system that links two Ethernet LANs together. It with all-weather electrical tape, Permagum, or
consists of two high-gain flat panel antennas with built-in equivalent. Do not use Silicon glue.
802.11b wireless LAN devices. They connect to the
LAN's Ethernet Switch on each end with an outdoor- The BridgeAnts are designed to be installed outdoors.
rated Ethernet cable supplied with the kit. The system For maximum range and strongest signal they must
comes pre-configured to work “right out of the box”. It is literally “see” each other in order to be connected. If
ideal for bridging two office LANs together, or for linking they do not have this clear “line of site” (LOS), they will
a WIPOP site to an Internet backbone. not talk to each other.

The new 128-bit WEP-Plus encryption, if enabled, The BridgeAnts can be mounted either vertically or
provides extra security above standard 802.11b WEP. horizontally polarized using the hardware included with
The Bridge-in-a-Box will accommodate virtually an the unit. The label located on the back of the antenna
unlimited number of client MAC addresses on each side contains an arrow indicating the antenna’s polarization.
of the link. Please note that both ends of the link must use the
same polarization. They can be mounted to a mast or
The BRiB is available in two versions: standard, which pipe as shown in Figure 2.
provides a transmit power of 2 Watts EIRP, and Long
Range (-LR), which has the world famous YDI bi- Figure 2 – Outdoors Pole Mount Installation
directional amplifier built-in and provides a transmit
power of 16 Watts EIRP. Assuming clear line of sight
and Fresnel Zone encroachment, distances of up to 3
miles or more (10 miles or more for the –LR version) are
possible, since the radio is built into the antenna.
Extending the Ethernet cable will not affect the
operating range.

The flat panel radio antennas can be mounted either


vertically or horizontally polarized. Selecting the
appropriate polarization for your area will minimize or
even completely eliminate interference from other
outdoor installations in the 2.4 GHz band.

BRiB Kit Contents


1. Two flat panel radio antennas (BridgeAnts) The BridgeAnt has a built-in signal strength indicator
2. Two 100 foot outdoor Ethernet cables (200 ft option which can be monitored by the Bridge Manager
available – can be extended up to 300 ft for the software to help optimize the aiming of the antenna.
standard version, but 100 ft is the maximum length
for the –LR version) Perform the following procedures once you have
3. Two Cat 5 DC Power injectors determined the optimal location for the antenna:
4. Two 110 VAC wall adapter for the standard version
(220 VAC supplies available as an option), OR 1. Use the brackets and screws to mount the flat
Two 110/220 VAC “laptop-type” adapter for the –LR panel antenna to a pole with a maximum diameter
version of up to 1 3/4 inches.
5. Sturdy steel wall/mast tilt-bracket mounting
hardware 2. Ensuring that there is no DC power applied to the
6. Windows-based Bridging Configuration Software on DC Power Injector, plug the round connector of the
CD-ROM disc outdoor Ethernet cable provided into the rear jack
of the flat panel antenna, making sure the notch is
correctly aligned with the tab on the jack as shown
Figure 1 – BRiB Kit
in Figure 3, then turn the round locking nut
2 clockwise as you push in until it securely fastens
5
onto the jack.
3

WARNING: If DC Power is applied while you are


1 4
attempting to insert the round connector into
2
the jack, it is possible that, as you rotate the
plug in an effort to find the key, DC power pins
3 will momentarily touch the Ethernet pins. If this
5 happens the Ethernet circuitry on the board

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Bridge in a Box™
Quick Start Guide
will blow. Any damage caused by this action Figure 4 – BRiB LEDs
will not be covered by the factory warranty and
will be a billable repair.

Figure 3 – Plugging the Round Connector

The BRiB –LR features two additional amplifier LEDs.


The green LED is for Receive and Power: it glows
steady on when DC power is applied and flashes when
the unit is in receive mode. The red LED is for Transmit
and flashes when the unit is in transmit mode.
3. Attach the other end of the outdoor Ethernet cable
to the Cat 5 DC Power Injector at port RJ-45 The Bridge Manager
labeled “To ANT.”
The Bridge Manager (BM) software can be installed on
NOTE: The Cat 5 DC Power Injector is not in a a PC or workstation running Windows 98/ME, 2000, NT,
waterproof enclosure and must be protected or XP. This software is a GUI (Graphical User Interface)
from the weather. It can be permanently which makes it easy to use. The program allows you to
mounted to a surface using the double stick locally or remotely perform the following procedures:
tape found on the back of it.
• Display a list of BridgeAnt units running on the local
4. Connect the Ethernet cable labeled “To PC or network
ROUTER” from the Cat 5 DC Power Injector to your • Display and edit the current configuration of the
computer or PC. If you connect to a router, switch BridgeAnts
or hub, make sure you plug the cable into the • Save and load configurations
Uplink/WAN port, otherwise a cross-over cable or • Update the BridgeAnt firmware
adapter will be needed.
CAUTION: Your BRiB units must be accessible
5. Plug the AC Adapter into an AC outlet and connect on the same subnet as the machine with the
it to the “DC Power” jack on the Cat 5 DC Power Bridge Manager installed in order to use the
Injector. software.

6. Check that the Power and Ethernet Link LEDs are Windows Installation – To install the Bridge Manager in
lit. Your installation is complete. Windows, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the YDI CD-ROM included in the Backhaul-


LEDs
in-a-Box kit into the appropriate drive of your
There are six green LEDs present on the rear of the computer. Using your Windows Explorer, open the
BridgeAnt (see Figure 4): directory \Management\YDI Bridge Manager and
run the Set Up or Installer program.
• Radio Tx, flashes when the BRiB transmits data
• Radio Rx, flashes when the BRiB receives data 2. The YDI splash screen will appear first. Choose
• Wireless Link, steady on when the BRiB has Next to continue the installation or Cancel to
established a wireless connection with its partner terminate.
(i.e., the two units are “associated”)
• LAN Activity, flashes when there is data activity on 3. The Welcome screen will appear. Choose Next to
the LAN continue the installation or Cancel to terminate.
• Ethernet Link, steady on when the Ethernet
interface is active 4. The License Agreement screen will appear. Read
• Power, steady on when power is applied to the the Agreement and click on “I accept the terms in
BridgeAnt the license agreement” button, then choose Next to

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Bridge in a Box™
Quick Start Guide
continue the installation. Choosing Cancel will The General Information screen is shown in Figure 6.
terminate the installation. There are two other buttons at the top of this window,
Configuration and Utilities, and two buttons on the left –
5. The Destination Folder screen will appear next. Save Current Settings, and Get Current Settings. The
You can use the default location or press the Scan button takes you back to the Select EC screen
Change button to specify a different install location. (Figure 5). Lastly, at the top of your screen, several
Choose Next to continue the installation or Cancel drop-down menu items are available. They are: File,
to terminate. Edit, View, Command, Tools, and Help.

6. The Ready to Install the Program screen will The Save Current Settings button will place all changed
appear to display the current settings. If you want parameters into the attached EC. The Get Current
to review or change any of your installation settings, Settings button will restore the parameters that are
click Back. Once you are satisfied with the settings, currently saved in the attached EC.
click Install to begin the installation. You can also
click Cancel to exit the wizard. Figure 6 – General Information Screen
7. The InstallShield Wizard Completed screen will
appear to indicate successful installation of the
Bridge Manager. Click Finish to complete the
installation.

After completing the Bridge Manager installation, you


are ready to configure your BRiB system (commonly
referred to as “EC”). Begin at the Windows Start menu
and choose Programs. You should see a folder called
YDI. Select this folder and click on Bridge Manager.

NOTE: For detailed information about the Bridge


Manager, please refer to the documentation in
your CD ROM. Also, an online help is available
by pressing F1 or clicking Help-> Contents
from the General Information screen. A quick way to configure the BRiB is through the Wizard
Manager. By clicking on this button, the screen shown in
The first screen to appear is the Select EC screen Figure 7 appears. Click on the Start button and let the
shown in Figure 5. Wizard guide you through the configuration process.

Figure 5 – Select EC Screen Figure 7 – Wizard Manager Screen

This screen lists information about any devices


associated in your network. If there are no devices
listed in the table, then you are not connected. Click on
the device you wish to configure. Press the Select
button and you will be taken to the General Information
window for that device. The window will automatically
For manual configuration, click the Configuration button.
update as an EC is discovered. If an EC has been
This features three options:
disconnected, the status for the EC will change to
“Offline.” If any user is logged in to an EC with the
Ethernet Configuration – This screen allows you to
Bridge Manager, the status will change to “Busy’ and no
specify the parameters associated with the EC’s local
other user will be given access to that EC. Once the
Ethernet connection (Figure 8).
logged in user logs out, the status will then reflect
whether it is online or offline.

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Bridge in a Box™
Quick Start Guide
Figure 8 – Ethernet Configuration Screen Figure 10 – Encryption Enabled Screen

Serial Configuration – Although there is an option for Figure 11 – Configure Encryption Key
Serial configuration, the BRiB does not use a serial
interface. All screens for Serial settings should be
ignored since they are not applicable. The Client
Manager grays this option out.

Wireless Configuration – This screen allows you to


specify the parameters associated with the wireless
connection (Figure 9).

You can add, edit, or delete profiles. A profile is a


combination of settings that you can define and then
use over and over. The default profile is called
Infrastructure. The profile used as an example in Figure Finally, the Utilities screen features two buttons:
8 is called test.
Diagnostic Utility – To check the reliability of the radio
Figure 9 – Wireless Configuration Screen link (Figure 12).

Flash Utility – To update the firmware program on the


BRiB (Figure 13).

Figure 12 – Diagnostic Utility Screen

Figure 10 shows a profile called test-enc. In this case,


the Encryption Enabled click button has been set. This
allows you to define up to four different encryption keys
for your network. Clicking on any of the Key buttons will
bring up a configuration window that lets you set up an
encryption key (see Figure 11).

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Bridge in a Box™
Quick Start Guide
Figure 13 – Flash Utility Screen Technical Support
Your primary source of assistance is the support staff of
the organization from which you purchased this product.
The YDI support staff should only be contacted directly if
you purchased this product directly from YDI, or if you
are unable to obtain sufficient assistance from your
primary support contact.

NOTE: Before you contact Technical Support, please


make sure that you have read and thoroughly
understood all instructions outlined on this
manual. Also, be prepared to provide a print-
out specifying the detailed settings for both
units prior to call in. This will make the
assistance process easier and more expedite.

Young Design Inc.


When you press the Update Firmware button you start 8000 Lee Highway
the firmware upgrading process. A Flash Update Falls Church, VA 22046
Progress Screen (Figure 14) will appear showing the USA
different steps as they take place. After the update Tel.: 703-205-0600
process ends successfully, the BM will issue a reset Fax: 703-205-0610
command to the EC that will cause the new program E-mail: tech@ydi.com
image to be loaded into RAM, and return to the Select Website: www.ydi.com
EC Screen. The Firmware Image File should reflect the
latest version that has been just upgraded. The latest software and User’s Manuals can also be
found at:
Figure 14 – Flash Update Progress Screen
http://www.ydi.com/support/downloads.php, and

http://www.ydi.com/support/documents.php.

FCC NOTICE
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure
limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment when
installed as directed. This equipment should be installed
CAUTION: If you power-cycle or turn the unit and operated with fix-mounted antennas that are
off after a faulty update, it will cause the EC installed such that these antennas will have a minimum
to fail and require the unit to be sent back of 2 meters of separation distance between the antenna
to factory for repair. Always log back in via and all persons during normal operation.
the CM and re-run the update process as many
times as needed until it is successful before This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules.
removing power or power-cycling the unit. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and


(2) This device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired
operation.

NOTE: The manufacturer is not responsible for any


radio or TV interference caused by
unauthorized modifications to this equipment.
Such modifications could void the user's
authority to operate the equipment.

To see all our FCC certified systems, please visit:

http://www.ydi.com/deployinfo/fcc-info.php

Rev 1.3 5 March 2003


Bridge in a Box™
Quick Start Guide

March 2003 6 Rev 1.3

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