Setup Ubiquiti NanoBeam M5

We were faced with the task of throwing the Internet to a remote place, to where it was impossible to throw

Fiber, nor even UTP cable. At the same time it was necessary to remain in the same local network. After studying the issue, it was decided to use a Wi-Fi bridge.
The choice fell on the device company Ubiquiti,the manufacturer assured that their devices transmit a signal up to 5 kilometers. Namely, we purchased two wireless Wi-Fi radio bridges Nanobeam M5. I will not describe the detailed specifications, they can be viewed on the manufacturer's website. In this article I will tell you how the Ubiquiti NanoBeam M5 was configured.

Main advantages

One of the advantages is the transfer of power byPower over Ethernet (PoE) technology, which allows you to transmit an electrical signal up to 60 meters (and maybe more), that is, there is no need to organize an outlet right next to the antenna. It was personally checked at 12 meters.
The transmission speed of this radio bridge according to the stated specifications is 150+ Mbps, which should be enough for the organization of video surveillance at a remote object.
Easy to configure. It is configured in 20 minutes.
Not expensive enough.

The first radio bridge was configured as a station, tothe Internet and the local area network of our enterprise came to him via fiber through the converter for the switch. Accordingly, the second radio bridge was configured as an access point and connected directly to the workstation.

By default, devices have an address of 192.168.1.20, in order to change it to an address found in our subnet, you need to connect the “bridge” directly with a cable to the network card of your computer. Then in the settings of the network card, change the ip-address to any in the range 192.168.1.ХХХ, in our example it is 192.168.1.88.

rice 1 Setting the network card address

And in the browser to enter the standard address of our bridge 192.168.1.20. During the initial configuration, we will be asked to indicate the country in which we are located, the password, the user, etc. I recommend choosing a country “Compilance test”as at its choice more flexible settings of frequencies of the bridge open.

Setting up the station (the node from which we transmit the Internet to a remote point)

It is necessary to change the address of the bridge, from the standard192.168.1.20 for what we need. In our network, addresses are distributed automatically by DHCP, so we will configure to obtain an address dynamically, and there is also an option of static address acquisition. To do this, go to the tab “Network”, in the area of “Management Network Settings” change the string “Management IP Address:“ on DHCP. Line “DHCP Fallback IP” sets the last address of the range to receive the IP address. The remaining settings can not touch and leave as in Fig. 2

fig.2 Point “Network”, setting the address of the bridge

In the tab “Advanced” we do everything as in figure 3.

rice 3 “Advanced” tab

“Wireless” tab. Here we select the mode of operation. “Station” in line Wireless Mode. Set the security type in the string Security, at your discretion and enter the key that will be used in the future. And choose the frequency in the line “Frequency Scan List, MHz:” on which your bridge will work. The remaining settings are left as in Figure 4.

rice 4 “Wireless” tab

At this station setup is completed, applyall changes and reboot our bridge. Change the settings of the network card to the original. Now our station is ready to work, and has a new IP address, either static, which you specified, or automatic, which our DHCP server issued to us (this can be seen in the settings of the DHCP server or in the statistics of your router).

Configure an access point (remote point that accepts internet)

The settings here are exactly the same as in the previous paragraph at the station, except for the “Wireless” tab. Here in line “Wireless mode” choose an item Acces point.

Acces Point Wireless settings Ubiquiti Nanobeam M5

Well, if you set the bridge address static, change it in the tab “Network”, it must be different from the address of the first station. After all the settings, save them and reboot the device.

Now that all devices are configured, go to the web interface of the first device, which we have the role of a station “Station” and in the tab WIRELESS press the button “Select ...”, the device will scan the frequency and find our second point Acces point, press Select and save the settings.

Scanning frequency NanoBeam M5

You can also test the speed between two bridges, for this you need to go to the section Tools

Tab Tools NanoBeam M5

and choose Speed test. In it, select the node to which the testing will be performed. Password and login specify the same as in the web interface.

Speed Test Utility in NanoBeam M5

It remains to establish bridges so that they lookagainst each other, it is desirable that there are no obstacles between them, turn them on and everything will work. That's all the Ubiquiti NanoBeam M5 setup is complete. Other models NanoBridge M5, M2 settings should not differ.