Country and Regulatory Domain Settings

What this chapter covers

This chapter is about keeping a wireless network inside the law.

Every country sets rules for which channels may be used and how strong the signal may be. Some 5 GHz channels also have to give way to radar. RouterOS applies these rules through the country setting and a few related parameters.

Because the chapter is about CAPsMAN, it also shows where those settings live when a manager controls many access points. The same ideas apply to a single router with its own radio.

How the topics fit together

The two topics are two halves of one compliance check.

The country code chooses the rule list. The antenna gain and EIRP topic explains how to stay within the power part of that list. The country code and DFS topic explains the channel part, including the radar protection that applies to some 5 GHz channels.

• Antenna gain and EIRP shows how to add transmit power and antenna gain, subtract cable loss, and compare the result with the limit.
• Country code and DFS explains what the country setting changes and how an access point behaves on a DFS channel.

How to use these pages

Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.

• What it is: the idea in plain words.
• How it works: the mechanism, with diagrams and example commands.
• What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorise.
• Common mistakes: the classic traps.
• Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.

Start with EIRP, because it is a short calculation that you can practise on paper. Then read the DFS page and make sure you can describe the three steps in your own words.

Revisit the decibel page in the RF chapter if the arithmetic feels slow. The EIRP formula uses exactly the same adding and subtracting.