Signal power level (eth0 and msh0)

[James Cameron]

On Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 08:14:20PM -0500, Arjun Sarwal wrote:
> * Why is the signal level indicated by iwconfig in eth0 and msh0
> different ? There is one module which is tuned to one frequency, so I
> can't understand why it should be different ?

I don't know.  But the signal level for managed mode is the path from
the access point to the receiver, and for mesh mode will vary instant by
instant according to which mesh node is transmitting.  Perhaps the data
is averaged.  The snr for each mesh neighbour can also be found with
iwpriv.

I suspect that the Linux network interface simplication simply does not
hold true for this novel design.

> * What does the noise power level indicate in physical terms ? The
> module is tuned to one particular frequency, how does this relate to
> noise power and/or how it this being calculated ?

I don't know.  But in my tests noise level represents the expectation of
interference from other radio sources, therefore it goes up with
solar flux, temperature and proximity to population clusters.  There has
to be sufficient difference between the noise level and the signal level
before the signal can be used.

-- 
James Cameron    mailto:quozl at us.netrek.org     http://quozl.netrek.org/