Wireless Basics
When it comes to wireless, whether in a warehouse or office environment, there will be the same considerations:
- How can you best plan for 100 % wireless coverage for your facilities?
- How can you get the most performance on wireless?
- How can your company get the most Return on Investment by deploying new wireless?
The most important phase in any successful deployment is the planning phase. The wireless design is the most important aspect of any successful wireless deployment. There are 2 types of wireless surveys your company can conduct to get a good wireless design:
- Predictive Wireless Site Survey
Cost-effective and can be done from an architectural drawing and photos, etc., and requires no travel.
- On-Site Wireless Site Survey
Requires the engineer to travel to the site and deploy temporary wireless equipment placed in key locations then measure around each placement to understand the wireless behavior in the environment. Complex environments like manufacturing warehouse facilities and certain office buildings.
Predictive Wireless Site Survey
Predictive Wireless Site Surveys are simulated using sophisticated software to model the environment. Loss of signal (attenuation) when wireless passes through walls, racks etc. is configured in the software. Each unique radiation pattern for each access point radio is shown in colorful “Heat Maps” allowing the engineer to create a solid design in 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz / 6 GHz. Converge and performance is detailed in a report providing all the information needed to deploy the wireless design.
On-Site Wireless Site Survey
The engineer will arrive on-site with equipment used to stage access points in key locations. The engineer will walk the area around each temporary access point placement taking measurements. This process may be repeated many times depending on the size and complexity of the facility. Once done, the engineer will have a good idea as to how wireless behaves in that environment and how to create a design for 100% coverage.
Whether your company purchases a Predictive Wireless Site Survey or an On-Site Wireless Site Survey, you will receive a report detailing the design and basic information needed for deployment
Wireless Site Survey Report
The primary deliverable for either wireless site survey is the Survey Report. This report will include many Heat Maps, diagrams, and tables as follows:
- Access Point Placement Diagram
- Photos if the On-Site Survey is performed
- Bill of Material for deployment
- Installer Instructions
- Heat Maps in 2.4 GHZ / 5 GHz / 6 GHz for each of the following:
- Signal Strength
- Throughput (performance)
- Physical Data Download Rate (PHY)
- Channel Planning (optional)
Network Support Professionals has extensive experience having done well over 130 Predictive Wireless Survey Designs. We have also traveled all the United States in North America doing On-Site Wireless Survey work including Design and Troubleshooting.
Network Support Professionals can work closely with your IT team during the deploy to ensure a quality result.
Looking for a Turn-Key partner to help with deployment? We do that too!
