Looking at factors that will affect your Wi-Fi speed and how you can better design your installation for better performance

1. What affectsWiFi speed
In a businessorenterprise,there maybe variousfactorsregardingwhataffectsWiFi speed.
Furthermore,performance,coverage,orconnectionspeed.Some are easytofix,othersrequire
troubleshootingora high,technical level of investigation.Wi-Fiisnow the wayof the worldand itis
a necessityinthe majorityof buildings.WhenyourelyonWi-Fi,performanceissuescancause
problemswithyourefficiency.Unfortunately,Wi-Fiperformance issuesare notalwayseasyto
diagnose due tothe way Wi-Fi works.Anunknownchangeable couldpotentiallyaffectyourWi-Fi
speed.
Many factors distressthe value of yourWi-Fi connection.Seeminglytrivial things,suchasturningthe
routeror placingit higher,canmake the difference betweenagoodvideoWiFi connectionanda
brokensequence of cut-indialogues.
Here are just a fewkey factors ofWhat affects WiFi speed
Antennas,Impact Coverage & WiFi Transmissions
The antennain yourservice equipmentmayaffectWi-Fi coverage.Antennashave asignificanteffect
on the Wi-Fi coverage yourbusinessorcompanyreceives.WhenlookingatWi-Fi performance,make
sure the antennais deployedorbuiltintoyourWi-Fi accesspointscorrectly.Thisisespeciallytrue
withaccesspointswithadditional externalantennas.Antennasare usuallylocatedinsideabuilding
or office.However,theycanalsobe setup from the outside.If yourantennaisclose toany
structure,suchas a metal gridor cementbeam, itcan affectWi-Fi transmission.
EquipmentPower LevelsAffectWiFi Performance
The powerlevel of yourWi-Fi equipmentaffectsspeed.It'snotalways goodwhenitcomesto WiFi
powerlevels.The powerlevelstransmittedthroughyouraccesspointsare importantanddo not
needtobe sufficientforcoverage.Powerisnotalwaysspecifiedonthe datasheetorsettingsthat
come withyour Wi-Fi equipment.WiFi coverage problemscanbe causedby low levelsof electricity.
Improvementscanbe made withthe WiFi equipment'sautomaticpowercontrol algorithm.
Therefore,detectinganyneighbouringaccesspoints.Therefore,lowerlevelsof transmissionwhich
thencorrupts neighbouringaccesspointsresultsinincreasedperformance.
EquipmentQuality and Build
Industrial andgovernmentstandardshave strictrequirementsonthe radioparametersof
networkingdevicesbutdonotmeetspecificperformance requirements. Asaresult,the qualityand
performance of Wi-Fi networksalsodependonthe manydesignchoicesthatmanufacturersmake.
Some of these are deliberate choices,asmanufacturersseektocoverthe full scope of the price-
performance spectrum.Othersare specifictohow the unitsare designsandbuiltandwhat the
manufacturercan do.
The RF Chain
An RF chainisthe part of a smartphone,tablet,laptop,Wi-Fiaccesspoint,etc,whichencodes,
transmits,receives,anddecodesradiosignals.Thisqualityisimportantforthe qualityandstrength
of the wirelesssignals,andthe qualityof the networkconnectiontheyare carrying.Sometimes,RF
chainstandardsare not veryconsistent.Forexample,ahigh-qualitysmartphone'snetwork
performance will be negativelyaffectedbyapoor qualityWi-Fi AP.

2. Environmental Factors
Hardware aside,practical knowledgeshowsthatdeployingthe same toolsindifferentenvironments
resultsindifferentperformance characteristics.Some environmental factors,suchaswhenyou
install awirelessaccesspoint,are firmlyunderyourcontrol.Others,suchasRF noise and
interference,are notentirelyuptoyou,so youneedto keepthese inmindwhendesigningaWi -Fi
network.Differentenvironmentswill create differentchallenges. Furthermore,those challengeswill
affectthe performance of yourWIFIsystem
RF Noise and Interference
All Wi-Fi devicesoperate inmultiple frequencybandsinthe 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrum.The "all"
part is verybroad:it includesyourWi-Fi devices,yourneighbour'sWi-Fi devices - theyall workin
thisspectrum,andsometimestheycaninterfere witheachother.Thishurtsthe qualityof Wi-Fi
signals.Notall interventionissuitableforWi-Fi strategy.Otherwirelessprotocols,suchasBluetooth
and ZigBee,runinthe same frequencybandasWi-Fi.Andsometimesinterferenceiscompletely
accidental:USB 3.0 cableswitha bad screen,forexample,canproduce significantRFnoise.Unusual
casessuch as a staff canteenmicrowave have alsobeenknowntoaffectdatanetworks
The presence of RF interference reducesthe performance of the Wi-Fi network,anditseffectsare
due to the proximityof the Wi-Fi accesspoint.Asa result,wirelessaccesspointsare placedsothat
theyare close enoughtoanyclient'sequipment,evenif theydonotinterfere witheachotheryet.
WiFi UnitsPositioning
Most people donotunderestimatethe importance of choosingagoodlocationfora Wi-Fi access
point.Evena small change inpositioningcanmake a huge difference inperformance.
High vs Low. PlacingyourWi-Fi routeronthe flooror behindotherthingsusuallyleadstopoor
performance.Instead,keepthe routerashighaspossible toincrease the transmissionrange of the
radiowaves.Italso helpstoclearthe router of possible interference.The unitmustalsobe
orientatedinthe correctwayto maximise the antennasof the unit,Thisisregardlessof thembeing
internal orexternal antennas
Objectsinthe way suchas concrete,plaster,andespeciallymetal resultsinanegative effectthat
blocksWi-Fi waves.Therefore,withwirelessaccesspoints,the closeryoublockyourself toan
obstructionlike abrickwall,the more youblockitssignal.
The furtheryou are from yourrouter,the weakerthe Wi-Fi signal.Therefore,the bestoptionisto
keepyouraccesspointsas close to yourdevicesaspossible.Anin-depthWIFIsurveyanddesignwill
calculate the optimumnumberof unitstocoveryour deviceswithoutoverpopulating
Device Installation
Beingplacedinthe rightplace is notthe onlyfactor that affectsperformance.Manyotherfactors
relatedtothe positionof the accesspointhave importantconsequences.Forexample,anantenna
doesnotcirculate RF signalsevenly.Justabove the antenna,there isanarrow region,where the
signal strengthisverylow.Anantenna'sfamiliaritywithclientequipmentandthe surrounding
environment(walls,structural elements) canaffectthe qualityof the Wi-Fi signal.

3. UplinkSpeedand Load
LocationswithWi-Fi accessstill needtoconnecttothe rest of your networkandthento the
Internet.Forexample,trafficbetweendifferentdepartmentswillpassthroughmore devicesthan
justone Wi-Fi accesspoint.And,of course,InternettrafficpassesthroughyourISP.
The performance of yourWi-Fi connectiondependsonhow fastandbusythe networkisonthe
"otherside"of the wirelessaccesspoint.It'snotsomethingyoucanunderestimate inthe wireless
aspect,but it'ssomethingyouhave tokeepinmind.Wi-Fi trafficisverydiverse.Forexample,
smartphonescandownloadhundredsof megabytesof firmwareupgradeswithoutevenknowing.
Therefore,whenmultipliedbyawhole officethisaddsupveryquickly.
Therefore,whenconsideringwhataffectsWiFi speedyouneed toconsiderall the elementsinvolved
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
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