Linktest

You need to have the TCP/IP protocol installed to run this linktest. See the Help section of Windows 95/NT for more information on installing and setting up TCP/IP on your machine.

In addition, you must have an IP Address for your Access Point configured.

The linktest is used to assess the performance of the RF link at various places in your area. The results of the link test can be used to determine the RF Network coverage, which can be used to figure out the required number and placement of Access Points. This helps eliminate ‘dead spots’, where low RF signal levels (either due to the RF signal being attenuated by the environment or from multipath interference) can result in the loss of the connection between the Cisco Wireless LAN Adapter Card and the Access Point.

You can specify the number of packets to send, as well as the packet size. Be aware that the TCP/IP stack that comes with Windows 95 will fragment packets into 512 byte frames, so specifying a packet size greater than 512 bytes will cause the linktest packets to be fragmented.

Once you have entered the following parameters, click on the Start button at the bottom of the dialog box to start the linktest. When the linktest is running, necessary statistics will be displayed and updated periodically. To stop the linktest, click on Stop, OK, or Cancel at the bottom of the dialog box. Once the linktest has sent the number of packets specified in the number of packets parameter, the Stop button at the bottom of the dialog box will change back into a Start button.

Overall Link Quality - This is an indication of the ability of the Cisco Wireless LAN Adapter to successfully communicate with an Access Point. Ratings are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. It is derived from the Current Signal Strength and Current Signal Quality. Excellent: Both values greater than 75%; Good: Both values greater than 40% but one (or both) less than 75%; Fair: Both values greater than 20% but one (or both) less than 40%; Poor: One or both values less than 20%

NOTE: If you choose to display the Signal Strength in dBm from the Preferences menu selection, the Signal Strength will be displayed in dBm. In addition, the Signal Quality display will be replaced by Noise Level (also shown in dBm), and the Overall Link Quality will be replaced by the Signal to Noise Ratio.