Understanding Ambient Noise in Radio Frequency Topology

Plasma Cloud defines ambient noise as radio frequency interference from non-WiFi sources, including Bluetooth devices, microwaves, radar signals, and other electronic emissions that can disrupt network performance.

Impact of Ambient Noise

Ambient noise can affect the quality and stability of your wireless network. Identifying and mitigating these interference sources is essential for ensuring optimal connectivity. Plasma Cloud Access Points can quickly scan their surrounding RF environment for ambient noise, with the results displayed directly in the RF Topology popup.

This article explains how to access and read ambient noise data. For a general overview about Radio Frequency topology, please refer to this article. Detailed information about all other fields and functions in the RF popup can be found in here.

How to Access Ambient Noise Data

To view ambient noise data, follow these steps:

1. 1. Log into the Plasma Cloud console;
   2. Select the Organisation and Network of interest from the top right menu;
   3. Navigate to Topology > Radio Frequency in the main menu on the left;
   4. Click on a Device Map Marker to open the RF popup.
   5. In the RF popup, use the Filter drop-down menu and select Ambient Noise.

Selecting the "Ambient Noise" filter will display only the ambient noise graph, providing a clear and focused view of ambient noise data.

View Ambient noise and WiFi interference

To view ambient noise alongside RF interference from WiFi signals, choose the "Disabled" filter option.

You can find "Ambient Noise" in the box below the graph, where it appears grayed out by default. Click on it to enable the ambient noise graph alongside WiFi-related RF graphs.

Interpreting the Data

The RF popup graph provides a detailed visualization of ambient noise across WiFi channels:

• Horizontal Axis: Lists all available WiFi channels for the selected band.
• Vertical Axis: Represents measured signal strength in dBm, ranging from -100 dBm (weakest) to -20 dBm (strongest).

The yellow graph indicates ambient noise levels for each channel, helping you identify interference sources.

• Signal strength is classified as:
  • Strong: Above -50 dBm
  • Medium: Between -50 dBm and -70 dBm
  • Weak: Below -70 dBm

Hover over the graph to see the exact signal strength for any specific WiFi channel.

Ambient noise detection is supported on the following Plasma Cloud Access Points with the corresponding firmware versions: Firmware 4.0 and higher: PA1200, PA2200, PAX1800v2 Firmware 4.1 and higher: PAX5400 When ambient noise detection is not supported, the feature will be hidden in the RF popup.