AP
Overview
This discusses the menus that you can use to monitor the Nebula managed APs in your network and configure settings even before an AP is deployed and added to the site.
Monitor
Use the Monitor menus to check AP information, client information, event log messages and summary report for APs in the selected site.
Access Point
This screen allows you to view the detailed information about an AP in the selected site.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Access point | Select to view device information and connection status in the past two hours, day, week or month. |
 | Click this button to reload the data-related frames on this page. |
Tag | Select one or multiple APs and click this button to create a new tag for the AP(s) or delete an existing tag. At the time of writing, there are two pre-defined tags. The LED tags have priority over the LED setting in the Site-Wide > General Setting screen. • LED_Off: this tag allows you to turn off the LED(s) (except the locator LED) on the selected APs. • LED_On: this tag allows you to have the LEDs stay lit after the selected APs are ready. |
Move | Select one or multiple APs and click this button to move the AP(s) to another site or remove the AP(s) from the current site. |
Search | Specify your desired filter criteria to filter the list of APs. |
Access points | This shows the number of APs connected to the site network. |
Export | Click this button to save the AP list as a CSV or XML file to your computer. |
Status | This shows whether the AP is online (green), acts as a repeater (  ), has generated alerts (amber), goes off-line (red), or has been off-line for at least six days (gray). For example, an alert is created and the status color is amber when the AP is transmitting data at 100 Mbps in full duplex mode. |
Name | This shows the descriptive name of the AP. |
LAN IP | This shows the local (LAN) IP address of the AP. |
Public IP | This shows the global (WAN) IP address of the AP. |
Model | This shows the model number of the AP. |
Client | This shows how many clients connected to the AP within the specified time period. |
Current Client | This shows how many clients are currently connecting to the AP. |
MAC Address | This shows the MAC address of the AP. |
Channel | This shows the channel ID the AP is using. |
Usage | This shows the amount of data consumed by the AP’s clients. |
% Usage | This shows the percentage of the AP’s data usage. |
Tag | This shows the user-specified tag for the AP. |
Serial Number | This shows the serial number of the AP. |
Production Information | This shows the production information of the AP. |
Description | This shows the user-specified description for the AP. |
Configuration Status | This shows whether the configuration on the AP is up-to-date. |
Connectivity | This shows the AP connection status. The gray or red time slot indicates the connection to the NCC is down, and the green time slot indicates the connection is up. Move the cursor over a time slot to see the actual date and time when an AP is connected or disconnected. |
Ethernet 1 | This shows the speed and duplex mode of the Ethernet connection on the AP’s up-link port. It shows Down if the AP is connected to a root AP wirelessly. |
Neighbor Info | This shows the LLDP information received on the up-link port. |
Hop | This shows the hop count of the AP. For example, “1” means the AP is connected to a root AP directly. “2” means there is another repeater AP between this AP and the root AP. |
Uplink AP | This shows the role and descriptive name of the AP to which this AP is connected wirelessly. |
Uplink Signal | Before the slash, this shows the signal strength the uplink AP (a root AP or a repeater) receives from this AP (in repeater mode). After the slash, this shows the signal strength this AP (in repeater mode) receives from the uplink AP. |
Uplink Tx/Rx Rate | This is the maximum transmission/reception rate of the root AP or repeater to which the AP is connected. |
Uplink | This shows whether the AP is connected to the gateway via a wired Ethernet connection or wireless connection. |
 | Click this icon to display a greater or lesser number of configuration fields. |
AP Details
Click an AP entry in the AP > Monitor > Access Point screen to display individual AP statistics.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Configuration Click the edit icon to change the device name, description, tags and address. You can also move the device to another site. | |
Name | This shows the descriptive name of the AP. |
MAC Address | This shows the MAC address of the AP. |
Serial Number | This shows the serial number of the AP. |
Description | This shows the user-specified description for the AP. |
Address | This shows the user-specified address for the AP. |
Tag | This shows the user-specified tag for the AP. |
Status | |
LAN IP | This shows the local (LAN) IP address of the AP. It also shows the IP addresses of the gateway and DNS server. Click the edit icon to open a screen where you can change the IP addresses, VLAN ID number and tagging setting. |
Public IP | This shows the global (WAN) IP address of the AP. |
Usage | This shows the amount of data consumed by the clients. |
Current clients | This shows the number of clients which are currently connecting to the AP. |
Topology | |
Ports | This is available only for the Nebula AP that has one or more than one Ethernet LAN port (except the uplink port). This shows the PVID of the LAN port and the ID number of VLAN(s) to which the LAN port belongs. See Port Setting for how to change the port’s VLAN settings. |
Channel (Band) | This shows the channel ID and WiFi frequency band currently being used by the AP. |
Link | This shows the speed and duplex mode of the Ethernet connection on the AP’s port(s). It shows Uplink: Wireless if the AP is a repeater and connected to a root AP wirelessly. A warning icon displays when the AP is running at 100 Mbps or a lower speed. |
Antenna | This displays the antenna orientation settings for the AP that comes with internal antennas and also has an antenna switch. |
History | Click Event log to go to the AP > Monitor > Event log screen. |
Configuration status | This shows whether the configuration on the AP is up-to-date. |
Firmware | This shows whether the firmware on the AP is up-to-date or there is firmware update available for the AP. |
Map | This shows the location of the AP on the Google map. |
Photo | This shows the photo of the AP. Click Add to upload one or more photos. Click x to remove a photo. |
Live tools | |
Traffic | This shows the AP traffic statistics. |
Ping | Enter the domain name or IP address of a computer that you want to perform ping from the AP in order to test a connection and click Ping. This can be used to determine if the AP and the computer are able to communicate with each other. |
Traceroute | Enter the domain name or IP address of a computer that you want to perform traceroute from the AP and click Run. This determines the path a packet takes to the specified computer. |
Reboot AP | Click the Reboot button to restart the AP. |
Locator LED | Enter a time interval between 1 and 60 minutes to stop the locator LED from blinking. The locator LED will start to blink for the number of minutes set here Click the  button to turn on the locator feature, which shows the actual location of the AP between several devices in the network. |
Access point usage and connectivity Move the cursor over the chart to see the transmission rate at a specific time. | |
Zoom | Select to view the statistics in the past twelve hours, day, week, month, three months or six months. |
Pan | Click to move backward or forward by one day or week. |
Client
This screen allows you to view the connection status and detailed information about clients connected to an AP in the selected site.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Access point - Client | Select to view the device information and connection status in the past two hours, day, week or month. |
| Click this button to reload the data-related frames on this page. |
y-axis | The y-axis shows the transmission speed of data sent or received by the client in kilobits per second (Kbps). |
x-axis | The x-axis shows the time period over which the traffic flow occurred. |
Policy | Select the client(s) from the table below, and then choose the security policy that you want to apply to the selected client(s). |
Search | Specify your desired filter criteria to filter the list of clients. |
Clients | This shows the number of clients connected to an AP in the site network. |
Add client | Click this button to open a window where you can specify a client’s name and MAC address to apply a policy before it is connected to the AP’s network. |
Export | Click this button to save the client list as a CSV or XML file to your computer. |
Status | This shows whether the client is online (green), or goes off-line (red). |
Description | This shows the descriptive name of the client. Click the name to display the individual client statistics. See Client Details. |
Connected to | This shows the name of the Nebula managed AP to which the client is connected. Click the name to display the individual AP statistics. See AP Details. |
SSID Name | This shows the name of the AP’s wireless network to which the client is connected. |
Security | This shows which secure encryption method is being used by the client to connect to the Nebula device. |
MAC address | This shows the MAC address of the client. |
Channel | This shows the channel ID the client is using. |
Band | This shows the WiFi frequency band currently being used by the client. |
Signal strength | This shows the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the client’s wireless connection. |
IPv4 address | This shows the IP address of the client. |
Tx Rate | This shows maximum transmission rate of the client. |
Rx Rate | This shows maximum reception rate of the client. |
Download | This shows the amount of data (in bytes) received by the client since it was last connected. |
Upload | This shows the amount of data (in bytes) transmitted from the client since it was last connected. |
Association time | This shows the date and time the client associated with the Nebula device. |
First seen | This shows the first date and time the client was discovered. |
Last seen | This shows the last date and time the client was discovered. |
Capability | This shows the WiFi standards supported by the client or the supported standards currently being used by the client. |
Manufacturer | This shows the manufacturer of the client device. |
Authentication | This shows the authentication method used by the client to access the network. This shows Unauthorized if the captive portal page displays but the client hasn’t proceeded with the authentication process. The field is blank if web authentication is disabled. |
User | This shows the user’s account information used to log into the NCC via captive portal, using Facebook login or 802.1x with Nebula cloud authentication or an RADIUS server. This field is blank if the user logs in via Facebook Wi-Fi or web authentication is disabled. |
OS | This shows the operating system running on the client device. |
Policy | This shows the security policy applied to the client. |
VLAN | This shows the ID number of the VLAN to which the client belongs. |
Note | This shows additional information for the client. |
| Click this icon to display a greater or lesser number of configuration fields. |
Client Details
Click a client entry in the AP > Monitor > Client screen to display individual client statistics.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Status | This shows whether the client is online (green), or goes off-line (red). It also shows the last date and time the client was discovered. |
SSID | This shows the name of the AP’s wireless network to which the client is connected. |
Access point | This shows the name of the Nebula managed AP to which the client is connected. Click the name to display the individual AP statistics. See AP Details. |
Captive portal | This shows the web authentication method used by the client to access the network. |
Signal | This shows the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the client’s wireless connection. |
User | This shows the number of users currently connected to the network through the client device. |
Device type | This shows the manufacturer of the client device and the operating system running on it. |
Capability | This shows the WiFi standards supported by the client or the supported standards currently being used by the client. |
Note | This shows additional information for the client. Click the edit icon to change it. |
History | Click Event log to go to the AP > Monitor > Event log screen. |
Map | This shows the location of the client on the Google map. |
Period | Select to view the statistics in the past two hours, day, week or month. |
Pan | Click to move backward or forward by two hours or one day. |
y-axis | The y-axis shows the transmission speed of data sent or received by the client in kilobits per second (Kbps). |
x-axis | The x-axis shows the time period over which the traffic flow occurred. |
Network | |
IPv4 address | This shows the IP address of the client. |
MAC address | This shows the MAC address of the client. If you applied a security policy to a client using the Add client button in the AP > Monitor > Client screen, and the client has never been connected to the AP’s network, an edit icon appears allowing you to modify the client’s MAC address, |
Ping | Click the button to ping the client’s IP address from the Nebula AP to test connectivity. |
Loss rate | This shows the rate of packet loss when you perform ping. |
Average latency | This shows the average latency in ms when you perform ping. |
Event Log
Use this screen to view wireless AP log messages. You can enter the AP name, a key word, select one or multiple event types, or specify a date/time or even a time range to display only the log messages related to it.
Wireless Health
This screen lets you know health of wireless networks for your APs and connected wireless clients. You can take actions by enabling DCS, changing channel bandwidth and/or client steering to reduce interference and improve wireless network performance.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
AP wireless health overview Move the cursor over the information icon to view the supported AP model list. | |
Good/Fair/Poor | This shows the number of supported APs that are currently online, using the specified frequency band and in good, fair or poor wireless health. |
AP radio health | Select to view the health of all supported AP wireless networks using the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band. You can select to view the health report for the past day, week or month. |
y-axis | The y-axis represents the state of wireless health. |
x-axis | The x-axis shows the time period over which the AP health state is recorded. |
Top APs by health alert | |
Name | This shows the descriptive name of the AP. |
Model | This shows the model number of the AP. |
Alert | This shows how many times the AP is in a poor state of wireless health. The NCC generates a log when the AP is in poor wireless health. You can view the log messages in the AP > Monitor > Event Log screen. |
5G auto optimization action | Select ON to enable and specify how the AP improves the wireless network performance. Otherwise, select OFF to disable it. • DCS - select this option to have the AP scan and choose a radio channel that has least interference. • Adaptive channel width - select this option to have the AP change the channel bandwidth from 80 MHz to 20 MHz to reduce the radio interference with other APs. |
2.4G auto optimization action | Select ON to enable and specify how the AP improves the wireless network performance. Otherwise, select OFF to disable it. • DCS - select this option to have the AP scan and choose a radio channel that has least interference. |
Client wireless health overview | |
Good/Fair/Poor | This shows the number of connected wireless clients that are currently online, using the specified frequency band and in good, fair or poor wireless health. |
Client health | Select to view the health of all wireless clients which are connected to the supported APs using the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band. You can select to view the health report for the past day, week or month. |
y-axis | The y-axis represents the state of wireless health. |
x-axis | The x-axis shows the time period over which the client health state is recorded. |
Top clients by health alert | |
Description | This shows the descriptive name of the client. |
Alert | This shows how many times the client is in a poor state of wireless health. The NCC generates a log when the client is in poor wireless health. You can view the log messages in the AP > Monitor > Event Log screen. |
Clients auto optimization | Select ON to have the AP try to steer the wireless clients in poor health to an AP or SSID with a strong signal every 30 minutes. Otherwise, select OFF to disable steering. |
Summary Report
This screen displays network statistics for APs of the selected site, such as bandwidth usage, top clients and/or top SSIDs.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Access Point - Summary report | Select to view the report for the past day, week or month. Alternatively, select Select range... to specify a time period the report will span. You can also select the number of results you want to view in a table. |
Email report | Click this button to send summary reports by email, change the logo and set email schedules. |
Usage | |
y-axis | The y-axis shows the transmission speed of data sent on this port in megabits per second (Mbps). |
x-axis | The x-axis shows the time period over which the traffic flow occurred. |
Top APs by usage | |
This shows the index number of the Nebula AP. | |
Name | This shows the descriptive name of the Nebula AP. |
Model | This shows the model number of the Nebula AP. |
Usage | This shows the amount of date transmitted or received by the Nebula AP. |
Client | This shows how many clients are currently connecting to the Nebula AP. |
Location This shows the location of the Nebula APs on the map. | |
Top SSIDs by usage | |
This shows the index number of the SSID. | |
SSID | This shows the SSID network name. |
Encryption | This shows the encryption method use by the SSID network. |
# Client | This shows how many WiFi clients are connecting to this SSID. |
% Client | This shows what percentage of associated WiFi clients are connecting to this SSID. |
Usage | This shows the total amount of data transmitted or received by clients connecting to this SSID. |
% Usage | This shows the percentage of usage for the clients connecting to this SSID. |
Clients | |
Total | This shows the total number of clients connected to the Nebula device within the specified period of time. |
Daily Average | This shows the average daily number of clients within the specified period of time. |
Clients per day | |
y-axis | The y-axis represents the number of clients. |
x-axis | The x-axis represents the date. |
Top clients by usage | |
This shows the index number of the client. | |
Description | This shows the descriptive name or MAC address of the client. |
Usage | This shows the total amount of data transmitted and received by the client. |
% Usage | This shows the percentage of usage for the client. |
Usage details | |
Top operating systems by usage | |
This shows the index number of the operating system. | |
OS | This shows the operating system of the client device. |
# Client | This shows how many client devices use this operating system. |
% Client | This shows the percentage of top client devices which use this operating system. |
# Usage | This shows the amount of data consumed by the client device on which this operating system is running. |
% Usage | This shows the percentage of usage for top client devices which use this operating system. |
Top client device manufacturers by usage | |
This shows the index number of the manufacturer. | |
Manufacturer | This shows the manufacturer name of the client device. |
# Client | This shows how many client devices are made by the manufacturer. |
% Client | This shows the percentage of top client devices which are made by the manufacturer. |
# Usage | This shows the amount of data consumed by the client device. |
% Usage | This shows the percentage of usage for the client device. |
Configure
Use the Configure menus to set the wireless and WiFi security settings for APs of the selected site.
SSIDs
This screen allows you to configure up to eight different SSID profiles for your APs. An SSID, or Service Set IDentifier, is basically the name of the wireless network to which a wireless client can connect. The SSID appears as readable text to any device capable of scanning for wireless frequencies (such as the WiFi adapter in a laptop), and is displayed as the wireless network name when a person makes a connection to it.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Show all/Hide disabled SSIDs | Select to display all SSID profiles or the active SSID profiles only. |
Name | This shows the SSID name for this profile. Click the text box and enter a new SSID if you want to change it. |
Edit | Click this button to go to the Authentication screen and configure the advanced settings, such as SSID availability, WiFi security, L2 isolation, intra-BSS traffic blocking and walled garden settings. See Authentication. |
Enabled | Click to turn on or off this profile. |
Tagging | Enter a tag and click Add new to create a new tag. Alternatively, enter the tag(s) you created for APs in the AP > Monitor > Access Point screen. The SSID profile will only be applied to APs with the specified tag. If you leave this field blank, this SSID profile will be applied to all APs in the site. |
Guest Network | Select On to set this wireless network as a guest network. Layer 2 isolation and intra-BSS blocking are automatically enabled on the SSID. Wireless clients connecting to this SSID can access the Internet through the AP but can not directly connect to the LAN or the wireless clients in the same SSID or any other SSIDs.  In your VLAN-enabled network, if the SSID's gateway MAC address and the AP's gateway MAC address are different and belong to different VLANs, you need to manually add the SSID's gateway MAC address to the layer 2 isolation list. See Authentication. |
Authentication | |
WLAN security | This shows the encryption method used in this profile. |
Captive portal method | This shows the authentication method used in this profile. |
Captive portal | |
Enabled | This shows whether captive portal is enabled for the SSID profile. |
Theme | If captive portal is enabled, this shows the name of the captive portal page used in this profile. |
Band | Select to have the SSID use either 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band. If you select Concurrent operation, the SSID uses both frequency bands. You can then turn on Band Select to have the dual-band AP steer the wireless clients to the 5 GHz band. |
VLAN ID | Enter the ID number of the VLAN to which the SSID belongs. |
Rate limiting | Set the maximum incoming/outgoing transmission data rate (in kbps) on a per-station basis. Click a lock icon to change the lock state. If the lock icon is locked, the limit you set applies to both inbound and outbound traffic. If the lock is unlocked, you can set inbound and outbound traffic to have different transmission speeds. |
SSID Schedule
Use this screen to view and configure the schedules which can be applied to the SSIDs. The SSID is enabled or disabled at the specified time.
The table shows the name of the existing schedules and the number of SSIDs to which a schedule is applied. Click a schedule’s edit icon to modify the schedule settings or click the Add button to create a new schedule. See Create new schedule.
Create new schedule
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Name | Enter a descriptive name for this schedule for identifying purposes. |
Schedule templates | Select a pre-defined schedule template or select Custom schedule and manually configure the day and time at which the SSID is enabled or disabled. |
Day | This shows the day of the week. |
Availability | Click On to enable the SSID on this day. Otherwise, select Off to disable the SSID. |
From - To | Specify the hour and minute when the schedule begins and ends each day |
Time display | Select the time format in which the time is displayed. |
Close | Click this button to exit this screen without saving. |
Add | Click this button to save your changes and close the screen. |
Authentication
Use this screen to configure the WiFi security, L2 isolation, intra-BSS traffic blocking and walled garden settings for the SSID profiles.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
SSID | Select the SSID profile to which the settings you configure here is applied. |
SSID availability | |
Visibility | Select Hide this SSID if you want to hide your SSID from wireless clients. This tells any wireless clients in the vicinity of the AP using this SSID profile not to display its SSID name as a potential connection. Not all wireless clients respect this flag and display it anyway. Otherwise, select Broadcast this SSID. When an SSID is “hidden” and a wireless client cannot see it, the only way you can connect to the SSID is by manually entering the SSID name in your wireless connection setup screen(s) (these vary by client, client connectivity software, and operating system). |
Schedule | Select a schedule to control when the SSID is enabled or disabled. |
Network access | You cannot enable MAC authentication, 802.1X authentication and web authentication at the same time.User accounts can be created and authenticated using the NCC user database. See Cloud Authentication. |
WLAN security | Select Open to allow any client to associate this network without any data encryption or authentication. Select WPA2 Pre-shared key and enter a pre-shared key from 8 to 64 case-sensitive keyboard characters to enable WPA2-PSK data encryption. • Turn on 802.11r to enable IEEE 802.11r fast roaming on the AP. 802.11r fast roaming reduces the delay when the clients switch from one AP to another by allowing security keys to be stored on all APs in a network. Information from the original association is passed to the new AP when the client roams. The client doesn’t need to perform the whole 802.1x authentication process. • Turn on MAC-based Authentication with to authenticate wireless clients by their MAC addresses. You can select My RADIUS server to use an external RADIUS server or select Nebula cloud authentication to use the NCC for MAC authentication. Select WPA2-Enterprise with to enable 802.1X secure authentication. You can select My RADIUS server to use an external RADIUS server or select Nebula cloud authentication to use the NCC for 802.1X authentication. • Turn on 802.11r to enable IEEE 802.11r fast roaming on the AP. 802.11r fast roaming reduces the delay when the clients switch from one AP to another by allowing security keys to be stored on all APs in a network. Information from the original association is passed to the new AP when the client roams. The client doesn’t need to perform the whole 802.1x authentication process. |
Captive portal | • Select Disable to turn off web authentication. • Select Click-to-continue to block network traffic until a client agrees to the policy of user agreement. • Select Sign-on with to block network traffic until a client authenticates with the NCC (Nebula cloud authentication) or an external RADIUS server (My RADIUS server) through the specifically designated web portal page. • Select Facebook to block network traffic until a client authenticates with the NCC using Facebook Login. Facebook Login is a secure and quick way for users to log into your app or website using their existing Facebook accounts. If you get the App ID for your app at the Facebook developers site, you can enter your Facebook App ID to obtain more information about your users using Facebook Analytics, such as user activity, age, gender, and so on. • Select Facebook Wi-Fi to let users check in to a business on Facebook for free Internet access after connecting to the AP’s wireless network. Users then have the option to like the Facebook fan page. You should already have set up a Facebook fan page associated with the business location. Click here to open the Facebook Wi-Fi configuration screen in a new window, where you can select the Facebook Page associated with your location and configure bypass mode and session length.  When the NCC license of the organization expires, the SSID configured with Facebook Wi-Fi will be disabled automatically. To enable the SSID again, change its authentication method or register with a new license key. |
RADIUS server | This field is available only when you select to use MAC-based Authentication with My RADIUS server or WPA2-Enterprise with My RADIUS server in the WLAN security field, or when you select Sign-on with My RADIUS server in the Captive portal field. Click Add a server to specify the IP address, port number and shared secret password of the RADIUS server to be used for authentication. |
NAS Identifier | If the RADIUS server requires the AP to provide the Network Access Server identifier attribute with a specific value, enter it here. |
RADIUS accounting | This field is available only when you select to use WPA2-Enterprise with My RADIUS server in the WLAN security field, or when you select Sign-on with My RADIUS server in the Captive portal field. Select RADIUS accounting enabled to enable user accounting through an external RADIUS server. Select RADIUS accounting disabled to disable user accounting through an external RADIUS server. |
RADIUS accounting servers | If you select RADIUS accounting enabled, click Add a server to specify the IP address, port number and shared secret password of the RADIUS server to be used for accounting. |
Assisted roaming | Select to turn on or off IEEE 802.11k/v assisted roaming on the AP. When the connected clients request 802.11k neighbor lists, the AP will response with a list of neighbor APs that can be candidates for roaming. When the 802.11v capable clients are using the 2.4 GHz band, the AP can send 802.11v messages to steer clients to the 5 GHz band. |
U-APSD | Select to turn on or off Automatic Power Save Delivery. This helps increase battery life for battery-powered wireless clients connected to the AP. |
Walled garden | Select to turn on or off the walled garden feature. This field is not configurable if you set Captive portal to Disable. With a walled garden, you can define one or more web site addresses that all users can access without logging in. These can be used for advertisements for example. |
Walled garden ranges | Specify walled garden web site links, which use a (wildcard) domain name or an IP address for web sites that all users are allowed to access without logging in. |
Captive portal access attribute | |
Self-registration | This field is available only when you select Sign-on with Nebula Cloud authentication in the Captive portal field. Select Allow users to create accounts with auto authorized or Allow users to create accounts with manual authorized to display a link in the captive portal login page. The link directs users to a page where they can create an account before they authenticate with the NCC. For Allow users to create accounts with manual authorized, users cannot log in with the account until the account is authorized and granted access. For Allow users to create accounts with auto authorized, users can just use the registered account to log in without administrator approval. Select Don’t allow users to create accounts to not display a link for account creation in the captive portal login page. |
Login on multiple client devices | This field is available only when you select Sign-on with My RADIUS server or Sign-on with Nebula Cloud authentication in the Captive portal field. Select Multiple devices access simultaneously if you allow users to log in as many times as they want as long as they use different IP addresses. Select One device at a time if you don’t allow users to have simultaneous logins. |
Strict policy | Select Allow HTTPS traffic without sign-on to let users use HTTPS to access a web site without authentication. Select Block all access until sign-on to block both HTTP and HTTPS traffic until users authenticate their connections. The portal page will not display automatically if users try to access a web site using HTTPS. They will see an error message in the web screen. |
NCAS disconnection behavior | This field is available only when you select Click-to-continue or Sign-on with in the Captive portal field. Select Allowed to allow any users to access the network without authentication when the NCAS (Nebula Cloud Authentication Server) is not reachable. Select Limited to allow only the currently connected users or the users in the white list to access the network. |
Layer 2 isolation | |
Enable layer 2 isolation | Select to turn on or off layer-2 isolation. If a device’s MAC addresses is NOT listed, it is blocked from communicating with other devices in an SSID on which layer-2 isolation is enabled. Click Add to enter the MAC address of each device that you want to allow to be accessed by other devices in the SSID on which layer-2 isolation is enabled. |
Intra-BSS traffic blocking | |
Enable Intra-BSS traffic blocking | This field is not configurable if you enable Layer 2 isolation. Select On to prevent crossover traffic from within the same SSID. Select Off to allow intra-BSS traffic. |
Captive Portal
Use this screen to configure captive portal settings for SSID profiles. A captive portal can intercepts network traffic until the user authenticates his or her connection, usually through a specifically designated login web page.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
SSID | Select the SSID profile to which the settings you configure here is applied. |
Themes | Click the Copy icon at the upper right corner of the default theme image to create a new custom theme (login page). Click the Edit icon of a custom theme to go to a screen where you can view and configure the details of the custom theme page(s). See Custom Theme Edit. Click the Remove icon to delete a custom theme page. |
Click-to-continue/Sign-on page | |
Logo | This shows the logo image that you uploaded for the customized login page. Click Upload a logo and specify the location and file name of the logo graphic or click Browse to locate it. You can use the following image file formats: GIF, PNG, or JPG. |
Message | Enter a note to display below the title. Use up to 1024 printable ASCII characters. Spaces are allowed. |
Success page | |
Message | Enter a note to display on the page that displays when a user logs in successfully. Use up to 1024 printable ASCII characters. Spaces are allowed. |
External captive portal URL | |
Use URL | Select On to use a custom login page from an external web portal instead of the one built into the NCC. You can configure the look and feel of the web portal page. Specify the login page’s URL; for example, http://IIS server IP Address/login.asp. The Internet Information Server (IIS) is the web server on which the web portal files are installed. |
Captive portal behavior | |
After the captive portal page where the user should go? | Select To promotion URL and specify the URL of the web site/page to which the user is redirected after a successful login. Otherwise, select Stay on Captive portal authenticated successfully page. |
Custom Theme Edit
Use this screen to check what the custom portal pages look like. You can also view and modify the CSS values of the selected HTML file.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Back to config | Click this button to return to the Captive portal screen. |
Copy of Modern | This shows the name of the theme. Click the edit icon the change it. |
Custom themes color | Customize the colors on the selected custom portal page (HTML file), such as the color of the button, text, window’s background, links, borders, and etc. Select a color that you want to use and click the Choose button. |
HTML | This shows the HTML file name of the portal page created for the selected custom theme. Click an HTML file to display the portal page on the right side of the screen. You can also change colors and modify the CSS values of the selected HTML file. |
Stylesheets | This shows the name of the main CSS file created for the selected custom theme. |
Edit/Preview | Click Edit to view and modify the CSS values of the selected HTML file. It is recommended that you do NOT change the script code to ensure proper operation of the portal page. Click Preview to display the corresponding portal page. |
Save | Click this button to save your color settings for the selected HTML file. |
Apply | Click this button to apply your color settings to the selected HTML file. |
Popout | Click this button to display the corresponding portal page in a pop-up window. |
Radio Setting
Use this screen to configure global radio settings for all APs in the site.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Country | Select the country where the AP is located/installed. The available channels vary depending on the country you selected. Be sure to select the correct/same country for both radios on an AP and all connected APs in order to prevent roaming failure and interference to other systems. |
Maximum output power | Set the maximum target output power of the radio (in dBm). |
Channel width | Select the wireless channel bandwidth you want the AP to use. A standard 20 MHz channel offers transfer speeds of up to 144Mbps (2.4GHz) or 217Mbps (5GHZ) whereas a 40MHz channel uses two standard channels and offers speeds of up to 300Mbps (2.4GHz) or 450Mbps (5GHZ). An IEEE 802.11ac-specific 80MHz channel offers speeds of up to 1.3Gbps. 40 MHz (channel bonding or dual channel) bonds two adjacent radio channels to increase throughput. A 80 MHz channel consists of two adjacent 40 MHz channels. The wireless clients must also support 40 MHz or 80 MHz. It is often better to use the 20 MHz setting in a location where the environment hinders the wireless signal. It is suggested that you select 20 MHz when there is more than one 2.4GHz AP in the network. |
DCS setting | |
DCS time interval | Select ON to set the DCS time interval (in minutes) to regulate how often the AP surveys the other APs within its broadcast radius. If the channel on which it is currently broadcasting suddenly comes into use by another AP, the AP will then dynamically select the next available clean channel or a channel with lower interference. |
DCS schedule | Select ON to have the AP automatically find a less-used channel within its broadcast radius at a specific time on selected days of the week. You then need to select each day of the week and specify the time of the day (in 24-hour format) to have the AP use DCS to automatically scan and find a less-used channel. |
DCS client aware | Select ON to have the AP wait until all connected clients have disconnected before switching channels. |
Avoid 5G DFS channel | Select ON to force the AP to select a non-DFS channel if your APs are operating in an area known to have RADAR devices. |
2.4 GHz channel deployment | Select Three-Channel Deployment to limit channel switching to channels 1,6, and 11, the three channels that are sufficiently attenuated to have almost no impact on one another. In other words, this allows you to minimize channel interference by limiting channel-hopping to these three “safe” channels. Select Four-Channel Deployment to limit channel switching to four channels. Depending on the country domain, if the only allowable channels are 1-11 then the AP uses channels 1, 4, 7, 11 in this configuration; otherwise, the AP uses channels 1, 5, 9, 13 in this configuration. Four channel deployment expands your pool of possible channels while keeping the channel interference to a minimum. Select Manual to select the individual channels the AP switches between. |
5 GHz channel deployment | Select how you want to specify the channels the AP switches between for 5 GHz operation. Select Auto to have the AP automatically select the best channel. Select Manual to select the individual channels the AP switches between. The method is automatically set to Auto when no channel is selected or any one of the previously selected channels is not supported. |
Allow 802.11ac/n stations only | Select ON to have the AP allow only IEEE 802.11n/ac clients to connect, and reject IEEE 802.11a/b/g clients. |
Edit | Click this button to modify the channel, output power, channel width and smart steering settings for the selected AP(s). On the AP that comes with internal antennas and also has an antenna switch, you can adjust coverage depending on the orientation of the antenna for the AP radios. Select Wall if you mount the AP to a wall. Select Ceiling if the AP is mounted on a ceiling. You can switch from Wall to Ceiling if there are still wireless dead zones, and vice versa. If you select Hardware Switch, you use the physical antenna switch to adjust coverage and apply the same antenna orientation settings to both radios. |
DCS Now | Click this button to have the selected APs immediately scan for and select a channel that has least interference. |
List | Click this to display a list of all connected APs. |
Map | Click this to display the locations of all connected APs on the Google map. |
2.4 GHz | Click this to display the connected APs using the 2.4 GHz frequency band. |
5 GHz | Click this to display the connected APs using the 5 GHz frequency band. |
Hide transmit circles | Click this button to not show the transmission range on the Map. |
Access point | This displays the descriptive name or MAC address of the connected AP. |
Radio # | This displays the number of the connected AP’s radio. |
Model | This displays the model name of the connected AP. |
Channel | This displays the channel ID currently being used by the connected AP’s radio. |
Transmit power | This displays the current transmitting power of the connected AP’s radio. If the AP is off-line, this shows the maximum output power you configured for the AP. |
Channel width | This displays the wireless channel bandwidth the connected AP’s radio is set to use. |
Smart steering | This displays whether smart client steering is enabled or disabled on the connected APs. |
Antenna | This displays the antenna orientation settings for the AP that comes with internal antennas and also has an antenna switch. |
Client Steering
Use this screen to configure network traffic load balancing between the APs and enable smart client steering on all APs in the site.
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
Load balancing | |
Disable | Select this option to disable load balancing on the AP. |
Enable "By client device number" mode | Select this option to balance network traffic based on the number of specified client devices connected to the AP. |
Maximum client device number | Enter the threshold number of client devices at which the AP begins load balancing its connections. |
Disassociate client device when overloaded | Select ON to disassociate wireless clients connected to the AP when it becomes overloaded. Select OFF to disable this option, then the AP simply delays the connection until it can afford the bandwidth it requires, or it transfers the connection to another AP within its broadcast radius. The disassociation priority is determined automatically by the AP and is as follows: • Idle Time - Devices that have been idle the longest will be kicked first. If none of the connected devices are idle, then the priority shifts to Signal Strength. • Signal Strength - Devices with the weakest signal strength will be kicked first. |
Enable "Smart Classroom" mode | Select this option to balance network traffic based on the number of specified client devices connected to the AP. The AP ignores association request and authentication request packets from any new client device when the maximum number of client devices is reached. The Disassociate client device when overloaded function is enabled by default and the disassociation priority is always Signal Strength when you select this option. |
Maximum client device number | Enter the threshold number of client devices at which the AP begins load balancing its connections. |
Smart Steering | Select ON to enable smart client steering on the AP. Client steering helps monitor wireless clients and drop their connections to optimize the bandwidth when the clients are idle or have a low signal. When a wireless client is dropped they have the opportunity to steer to an AP with a strong signal. Additionally, dual band wireless clients can also steer from one band to another. Select OFF to disable this feature on the AP. |
ADVANCED OPTIONS | Click this to display a greater or lesser number of configuration fields. |
2.4G/5G Setting | |
Station Signal Threshold | Set a minimum client signal strength. A wireless client is allowed to connect to the AP only when its signal strength is stronger than the specified threshold. -20 dBm is the strongest signal you can require and -76 is the weakest. |
Disassociate Station Threshold | Set a minimum kick-off signal strength. When a wireless client’s signal strength is lower than the specified threshold, the AP disconnects the wireless client. -20 dBm is the strongest signal you can require and -105 is the weakest. |
Allow Station Connection after Multiple Retries | Select the check box to allow a wireless client to try to associate with the AP again after it is disconnected due to weak signal strength. |
Station Retry Count | Set the maximum number of times a wireless client can attempt to re-connect to the AP. |
Port Setting
Use this screen to enable or disable a port on the managed AP and configure the port’s VLAN settings. The port settings apply to all Nebula APs that are assigned to the site and have one or more than one Ethernet LAN port (except the uplink port).
The following table describes the labels in this screen.
Label | Description |
|---|---|
LAN x | This is the name of the physical Ethernet port on the AP. This section lets you configure global port VLAN settings for all APs in the site. To modify port settings for a specific AP, use its Edit button in the table below. |
ON/OFF | Select ON to turn on the LAN port of the AP. Select OFF to disable the port. |
PVID | Enter the port’s PVID. A PVID (Port VLAN ID) is a tag that adds to incoming untagged frames received on a port so that the frames are forwarded to the VLAN group that the tag defines. |
Allowed VLANs | Enter the VLAN ID number(s) to which the port belongs. You can enter individual VLAN ID numbers separated by a comma or a range of VLANs by using a dash, such as 1,3,5-8. |
Access Point | This displays the descriptive name or MAC address of the connected AP. Only the AP that has an extra Ethernet LAN port will be listed, such as NAP203 or NAP303. |
Status | This shows whether the AP’s Ethernet LAN port is enabled or disabled. |
Port Setting | This displays the port’s VLAN settings for the managed AP. |
Edit | By default, all APs in the site use the global port settings. Click this button to change the port settings on a per-device basis. You can turn on or off the port, modify its PVID or update the ID number of VLAN(s) to which the port belongs. |