What Do RSSI & RSRP Mean in Your Network Setup?
Teltonika Networks devices with wireless connection support display RSSI and RSRP signal strength, enabling you to obtain better control and understanding of your networking solution’s performance. Familiarise yourself with these metrics to enhance your next steps.
Once, wired connections held dominance in IoT applications, but it’s evident that wireless networks are becoming the preferred choice for IoT connectivity. Currently, prevailing networking solutions largely depend on Wi-Fi or mobile networks – a trend that’s expected to rise as the wireless connectivity market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% in the next three years.
This isn’t surprising at all, given the versatility and convenience offered by wireless connectivity. Freed from the limitations of physical wiring, you can efficiently manage, monitor, and even configure network devices remotely, regardless of whether they’re located in a different city, country, or continent.
On top of that, wireless technology enables the improvement of Internet coverage and resilience without necessitating permanent alterations to the network device’s location or the existing network setup. So, you see, the benefits of wireless connection are indisputable.
The primary wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi and mobile technologies. Wi-Fi operates on the IEEE 802.11 standard, supporting multiple protocols like 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac, which determine the connection’s speed and range. Meanwhile, mobile technologies have evolved from 3G to 4G and now to 5G, each of them also defining the connection’s speed and capacity available to users.
WHERE DO RSSI & RSRP COME IN, THEN?
When checking out your network device that operates on Wi-Fi or mobile technologies, you’ll inevitably be stumbling upon the terms RSSI and RSRP. Fairly so, as these play a crucial role in displaying each connection’s strength and power.
What is RSSI?
RSSI stands for received signal strength indicator. It measures radio frequency power and quality at the moment it reaches the receiver, such as an antenna or a network device. RSSI signal strength is not exclusive to any particular wireless technology, meaning that RSSI can be used to gauge the signal strength in any wireless system.
RSSI provides data on received signal strength across different types of radio frequency communications, including both Wi-Fi and mobile technologies. So, no matter what wireless connection your networking solutions rely on, RSSI can be a good indicator of whether or not your network devices are equipped with robust connectivity.
RSSI signal strength measurements are indicated in negative values, which are relative. Usually, the closer the value to zero is, the stronger and higher the quality of the signal there is. However, it’s important to consider that RSSI values aren’t standardised across industries. This means that the interpretation of these values can differ from one network device manufacturer to another.
Teltonika Networks devices that support mobile technologies indicate RSSI values like this:
What is RSRP?
Now, focusing on networking solutions that rely on mobile technologies, like 4G, 5G, and so on, RSRP becomes especially relevant. RSRP stands for reference signal received power and is a type of RSSI measurement. But with RSRP particularly, it’s used to measure the power of mobile signals spread over the full bandwidth and narrowband.
By measuring RSRP over the full bandwidth, you can see your network's overall signal coverage and capacity across all frequencies used for your networking solutions. Measuring RSRP over a narrowband can help assess the quality of the connection in specific frequency ranges. This is relevant for optimising network performance and troubleshooting specific issues that might affect signal quality.
Essentially, the RSRP signal strength indicates a more precise measurement of the cellular connectivity the receiver network device obtains. This information can help you make informed decisions about your networking solution’s network infrastructure, its further improvements, and quality of service (QoS) assessments.
Similar to RSSI, RSRP signal strength is also relative and can differ according to the scale set by each manufacturer. Additionally, it’s measured in negative values. For devices from Teltonika Networks, RSRP values look like this:
THE NEXT STEP FOR YOU?
All Teltonika Networks devices equipped with Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity display both RSSI and RSRP signal strength indicators, which you can access via RutOS. Oh, and did you know that with the 7.06 version of RutOS, our R&D team enhanced data visualisation for mobile connections?
To see it for yourself, here’s a quick walkthrough!
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