This document discusses the purpose and process of conducting a wireless network site survey. The key points are: 1. A site survey helps optimize wireless network performance by determining optimal access point placement and identifying issues like coverage gaps and interference. 2. The site survey process involves preparation, on-site testing, analysis, and reporting. Testing examines RF signal strength and quality across a facility. 3. Analysis identifies coverage problems, interference sources, and recommends network design changes like adding or moving access points. The output is a report and map to guide network deployment.

1. INB 47403 WIRELESS
NETWORK

2. PREPARED FOR:
PREPARED BY:
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3. Purpose of doing Site Survey
 It helps define the contours of RF coverage in a particular facility.
 It helps us to discover regions where multipath distortion can occur, areas
where RF interference is high
 Predicting network capability and throughput.
 Determine the number and placement of access points that provides adequate
signal coverage throughout a facility or city area.

4. Benefits of doing site survey
Optimized number of access Diagrams the network and defines the appropriate
points network topology to optimize the number of
required access points.
QoS evaluation Identifies areas that require higher concentrations
of access points to increase aggregated throughput
in geographical areas.
Minimized network Allocates the areas RF interference is high and find
interferences solutions to eliminate such issues.
Shortened implementation provides the starting point and takes the guesswork
cycle out of the implementation process, reducing the
overall implementation timeframe and the time
spent on troubleshooting.

5.  Design and deploy wireless LANs for optimal performance,
security and compliance
 802.11a/b/g/n and 4.9 GHz site surveying of indoor and
outdoor networks .
 “Real-world” measurements provide accurate deployment
guidance.
• 802.11n, voice & spectrum surveys.

6. Site Surveying Phases
1. Preparation
2. Site Survey
3. Analysis
4. Reporting & Sign-off
5. Periodic Site Surveys

7. Phase 1: Preparation Phase
• Preparation checklist – Questions to ask
– Do you know all the stakeholders?
– Is wireless access needed for indoors or outdoors or both?
– Are any building blueprints or street maps available?
– Where do you require coverage?
– What type of business is it?
– Is this a new deployment or an add-on to the existing one?

8. Phase 1: Preparation Phase
(Continued)
– If adding to an existing wireless network:
• Are you unhappy with it? Are users complaining? Or is your
business expanding?
• What equipment have you installed? Where are they
installed?
– Think about capacity
• How many users require wireless service and what
applications will they use?
• What is the geographical distribution for the users?
• Will they be using applications where they need to roam?
What are their throughput requirements?

9. Phase 1: Preparation Phase
(Continued)
– Are there any known major non Wi-Fi interfering sources? Do you
know their locations?
– Is this a multi-floor deployment?
– What are the security requirements?
– Where are the power and Ethernet drops throughout the facility? Is
the customer open to installing new drops?
– What is the anticipated growth for the future?

10. Phase 1: Preparation Phase (for
802.11n)
• Questions to ask for 802.11n networks
– Am I deploying an 802.11n Greenfield network or do I
need to support legacy 802.11a/b/g devices?
– Will the 802.11n devices be deployed in the 2.4 GHz or
5 GHz Band? Or do you want the Site Survey product to
recommend the choice?
– What type of clients will be connecting to the network?
– Will I deploy 802.11n devices for my Guest Network?
– Do I see coverage overlap from APs that belong to my
neighbor? Is that coverage from 802.11n or legacy
802.11a/b/g devices?

11. Phase 2: Site Survey
• Load floor plan maps
– Supported format
– Simple, black and white plans
– Calibrate your floor map scale
• Survey tips and tricks
– Perform a visual inspection of the facility
• Can I get everywhere I need to?
– Figure out where you require coverage and where
you don’t including areas that obscure results
– Perform survey during “normal” business hours
– Don’t scan unwanted channels

12. Phase 2: Site Survey
• Survey tips and tricks
– Make good judgement on the “Signal
Propagation Assessment” value
– “Measurement intervals” accuracy
• Auto Logging Data Period
• No further than what your Signal Propagation
Assessment is set to
– Take readings on both sides of the wall
– Also take readings along the perimeter of the
rooms
– Recommendation: Plan your walking path
• Results in more accurate clicking

13. Phase 2: Site Survey
• Survey tips and tricks
– Take readings around the outside of your
building
– Place your man where you are headed for and
then click when you reach that location
– Don’t try and do it all in one go
• Enable you to “retract” when necessary
– Switch between auto sampling and click only
sampling as you walk around
• Auto sampling for straight line walks (i.e. corridors)
• Click only for points within a room
– Size of hashing at click points indicates range of
Signal Propagation Assessment

14. Phase 2: Site Survey
• Perform your surveys
– Passive Surveys
• Collect signal data from all APs &
Stations in the area
– Active Surveys
• Collect actual performance
metrics (data rate, retries, etc)
• Mandatory for 802.11n
deployments
– Iperf Surveys
• Collect uplink/downlink
performance statistics

15. RF Spectrum Site Survey
• Gather RF Spectrum Data
– Non Wi-Fi devices operate in
the same spectrum as Wi-Fi
– Cause interference and
severely degrade the overall
network performance
– Even more important for
time sensitive applications
– Locate interfering devices on
floor map
– Preferred method: Collect RF
data at the same time as a
Wi-Fi Survey

16. Phase 3: Analysis Phase
• Visualize Wi-Fi signal
coverage
• Visualize real-world user
performance metrics
– Data
rates, retries, losses
– Uplink/downlink
performance
• Visualize Roaming areas
• Visualize areas that suffer
from Channel Interference

17. RF Coverage Analysis
• Visualize Wi-Fi
signal coverage at
every location
• Locate “dead spots”
in your coverage
• Know coverage for
your “backup” APs

18. RF Coverage Analysis
• 3D view
– Displays signal strength using height
instead of heat map
– Visual representation of where there
may be issues (valleys, mountains)
• “Overlap” shows area (in red) where 2 or
more APs meet certain conditions
– On SSID – good
– On Channel – bad
• Multiview
– Bleed from multiple floors
– Bleed from outside to inside
– Between buildings

19. Simulate “What-if” scenarios
• Optional step in the site
survey process
• Simulate different scenarios
and AP settings to minimize
“dead zones” and
“interference”
• No need to walk the floor
again
• Visualize how simulating a
new AP, plugs the “coverage
hole”
• Simulate noise in the
environment
• Helps determine the optimal
AP configuration settings

20. Visualize real-world user performance
• Why do you need this?
– Visualize what real users will experience
• AirMagnet Solution
– Visualize data rates, packet retries & losses
– Accounts for conditions at every location
– Obtain uplink/downlink performance metrics
• Critical for 802.11n networks

21. Network Design Validation
• Design validation
– “Certify” if the installed
Wireless LAN actually meets
the initial design specifications
– Mitigates against
troubleshooting ‘tail chasing’
– Critical for specialized
applications such as voice and
video

22. Design Validation example for voice
Non-green areas
indicate regions
that do not meet
the design
requirement
Green area
indicate regions
that meet the
design
requirement

23. RF Security
• RF Security
– Minimize RF spillage outside
corporate boundary
– Visualize if neighbors or
attackers in the parking lot can
see your network
– Conduct site survey outside
the corporate office boundary
– APs may need re-location,
different antennas or
configuration changes to
minimize leakage

24. Phase 4: Reporting & Sign-off
• Most important output for a Site
Survey product or in many cases -
the “only output”
• Serve as a map for the current
recommendations
• Act as a future reference for surveys
and other deployment changes

25. Phase 5: Periodic Site Surveys
• Critical to account for changes in the
environment, interference
sources, user behaviour, obstacle
changes, etc.
– Introduction of a new microwave in
the cafeteria
– Introduction of new access points by
neighbours