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Troubleshooting: Dell™ TrueMobile™ 1150 Series AP1000 User's Guide

Introduction
Rebooting Access Points

Introduction

Problems experienced in wireless LAN operation can be related to:

Problem-Solving Approaches

To resolve a configuration mismatch, you must compare the configuration parameter settings of both TrueMobile access points and all TrueMobile stations involved.

To determine a component failure, check the LED activity of the access point. Refer to the "LED Error Table" to determine if a problem has a hardware-related cause (component failure). This table may also help you diagnose and solve operational problems that might have other possible causes.

When your access point appears to have stopped responding to normal bridging requests, you may try to reboot the device as described in "Rebooting Access Points".

In exceptional cases, you may need to perform a forced reload procedure as described in "Forced Reload Procedure".

LED Error Table

Power
 		Ethernet
 		Wireless interface A

Wireless interface B1

 Description/Action:

 

Continuous Green

Flicker Green

Flicker Green

Flicker Green

Normal operation where flickering indicates interface activity

No action required.

Off

Off

Off

Normal operation that indicates there is no LAN activity

  • No action required.

  • (Optional) Check if all Ethernet connections are properly installed

Off

Off

Off

Off

No power

  • Check the power cord

  • Check the power supply.

Continuous Green

Flicker Green

Amber

-

Network overload

The Ethernet connection sends more traffic to wireless stations than the TrueMobile access point bridge can forward to the TrueMobile interface2.

Run the TrueMobile AP Manager Remote Statistics program to investigate network performance.

If possible, try to eliminate redundant traffic by one of the following ways:

  • Filtering protocols

  • Setting storm threshold

  • Shut down defect Ethernet stations that transmit excessive data

-

Amber

Green

Amber

Amber

Continuous Green

Flash Red

-

-

Frames are rejected because of an unknown cause

  • Run the TrueMobile AP Manager Remote Statistics program to investigate the number of packets in error.

  • If this number is relatively high, run a remote link test to determine which station is causing the packet loss.

-

Flash Red

-

-

Flash Red


1 This column is only applicable for the AP1000, as the AP500 has only one (integrated) wireless interface.

2 When traffic load exceeds the wireless throughput capacity (>11MB/s), the TrueMobile access point will buffer such requests. In this situation, the buffer is full and packets are ignored.

Power

Ethernet

Wireless interface A

Wireless interface B

Description/Action:

 

Amber

Off

Off

Off

Forced reload state

Amber

Amber

Amber

Amber

Flicker Green

Off

Off

Forced reload state

The flickering LED indicates LAN activity on the specific LAN interface. This activity is typically caused by the LAN administrator station that is performing the forced reload.

Off

Flicker Green

Off

Off

Flicker Green

Red

-

-

-

General hardware failure

  • Reboot the access point as described in this "Rebooting Access Points".

  • If the problem persists, contact TrueMobile technical support.

-

Amber

-

-

Ethernet hardware failure

  • Reboot the access point as described in this Appendix.

  • If the problem persists, contact TrueMobile technical support.

-

Amber

-

TrueMobile hardware failure

  • Reboot the access point as described in this Appendix.

  • If the problem persists, contact TrueMobile technical support.

-

Amber

Off

Off

Amber

Off

(Only for the AP1000) The PC Card in the access point is not recognized. This problem might occur in situations where:

  • The access point is loaded with outdated software.

  • The inserted PC Card is not the TrueMobile PC Card.

  • The inserted PC Card is broken.

To resolve this issue, you need to:

  • Update the embedded software of the device as described in
    "Upgrading Access Point Software".

  • Replace the PC Card.

  • Consult the readme.txt file of the AP Manager software for more information.

If the PC Card is broken, which can be tested by inserting the card into the TrueMobile computer, return the card to your authorized reseller.

Off

Amber

Rebooting Access Points

If a particular TrueMobile access point has stopped responding to normal bridging requests, you can reboot (reset) the access point. You can reboot access points either manually on-site or remotely.

When you reboot, the TrueMobile access point will run the startup diagnostics and start bridging operation using the configuration parameters as they were stored in the access point prior to the reboot. For out-of-the-box access points, these parameters will be as identified in the "Startup Configuration - Access Point" table.

Manual Reboot

To reboot the TrueMobile access point manually on-site:

  1. Remove the cover of the access point (see the Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series AP1000 Quick Start Guide).

  2. Locate the two small holes on the bottom of the processor module, marked Reset and Reload as shown the "Reset Button" figure.

Reset Button

  1. Use a small pointed object, such as the tip of a ball-point pen, to press the Reset button.

    The access point will restart and run the startup diagnostics, characterized by a LED sequence where the LEDs change color from red to amber to green.
  1. When the Power LED is green, and other LEDs are off or flickering (indicating LAN activity), you can attach the cover of the access point.

After approximately 15 seconds, the unit starts bridging operation using the configuration parameters that were stored in the access point before you rebooted.

Remote Reboot

To reboot the TrueMobile access point from a remote location:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Programs—> Dell TrueMobile 1150, click AP Manager, and select the access point.

  2. Open the access point menu.

  3. Click Reboot Access Point.

    The AP Manager program now prompts you to enter the password required to reboot the device.
  1. Enter the Read/Write password and click OK.

    The access point restarts and runs the startup diagnostics.

After approximately 15 seconds, the unit starts bridging operation using the configuration parameters that were stored in the access point before you rebooted.

If you want to display the configuration file or monitor the access point's performance after a reboot, you may have to wait until the unit completes the startup diagnostics before you can access the access point again.

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