Wireless is easy, you just put up a couple access points in areas you need coverage and walk away. You might even just have a single access point mounted on top of your IT rack to cover the office and call it good. This may work with up to a few access points in a simple office but when you get beyond just a couple access points or your wireless network becomes a business-critical piece of infrastructure such as one in a warehouse or hospital setting you may want to consider a professional wireless site survey to ensure your wireless network runs at peak performance. In this blog post, we'll explore what a site survey is, the different types of wireless site surveys, when a company would need one, and why investing in these surveys is a wise decision.
What is a Wireless Site Survey
A wireless site survey is performed by a wireless engineer to gather radio frequency information at a site. This information can be used to design and deploy or troubleshoot a wireless network.
Types of Wireless Site Surveys
Predictive Site Survey:
· Utilizes specialized software to simulate the wireless network environment.
· Useful for planning before any physical installations.
· Typically used in pre-deployment surveys to model the entire network.
· Takes into account building structures, materials, and potential interference.
Passive Site Survey:
· Involves physically walking through the area with survey tools.
· Measures signal strength, interference, signal-to-noise ratios.
· Provides insights into the current wireless network and its operational conditions.
· Typically used in pre and post deployment scenarios to gather data and validate network configurations are tuned properly.
Active Site Survey:
· Involves physically walking through the area with survey tools.
· Measures signal strength, interference, round-trip time, and data rates in real-time.
· Provides accurate insights into the actual wireless conditions.
· Typically used in troubleshooting scenarios
Pre-Deployment Site Survey:
· Conducted before setting up a new wireless network.
· Assesses the physical environment, potential interference, and optimal access point locations.
· Helps in planning the network layout for maximum coverage and performance.
· Use of AP on a Stick (APoS) to gather coverage data for understanding wireless patterns in the environment before any access points are mounted.
· Use of predictive survey technology can also be used to model the environment and speed the process of a pre-deployment survey.
Post-Deployment Site Survey:
· Performed after the wireless network is set up.
· Validates the effectiveness of the deployed network.
· Identifies any dead zones or areas with poor connectivity.
These all produce a heat map like the one below to show the different health aspects of a wireless network.
When Does a Company Need a Wireless Site Survey?
Office Relocation or Expansion:
When moving to a new location, a wireless survey will help plan optimal access point locations and any potential interferers from outside your walls. This is important when moving into a shared building with other tenants that will likely have their own Wi-Fi so you know how yours can best fit into the overall environment.
Wireless surveys are especially important for expansions to ensure access points are placed optimally to stitch them into your existing network for seamless roaming and fewer dead-zones.
Network Upgrades:
If you’re moving to a new access point vendor/model or planning to utilize the 6GHz spectrum instead of only using the legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrums, a site survey helps identify potential issues and optimize the network.
Troubleshooting Connectivity Issues:
In the case of poor wireless connectivity or dead zones, a survey with spectrum analysis can pinpoint the root causes and provide solutions that will enhance your wireless experience. Without a survey it can be very hard to identify certain interferers in an area like a set of lights that’s emitting radiation in an office and causing poor performance.
Increased Device Numbers:
With the increasing use of personal devices in the workplace, a site survey helps accommodate the additional load on the network. This is not only true for just BYOD but is incredibly helpful when adding any type of device to the network in larger quantities.
Periodic Health Check:
Wireless environments are constantly changing, so it’s a good idea to perform a periodic health check of your wireless network. When a periodic survey is completed, the new survey can be compared to a previous one to ensure there are no issues like new interferers or access point radios that are dying that could impact the integrity of your network.
The Benefits of Wireless Site Surveys
Optimized Network Performance:
A survey ensures the wireless network is designed to suit your needs whether it’s high capacity for many devices, broad coverage for large areas with few devices, or a more complex site that requires both.
Cost Savings:
Helps in avoiding unnecessary expenses by planning the network effectively and preventing post-deployment issues. The cost of troubleshooting and productivity loss due to a sub-optimal wireless deployment can add up quickly in both time and money wasted.
Improved User Experience:
Enhances the overall experience for employees, clients, and visitors by providing reliable and high-speed connectivity.
Future-Proofing:
Anticipates potential challenges and prepares the network for future technology advancements. This is especially important with the introduction of the 6GHz spectrum for use in wireless networks. If an old access point layout is used when 6GHz access points are introduced there could be dead-zones within the 6GHz spectrum because its waves don’t penetrate objects as well as the lower bands.
In conclusion, wireless site surveys are a crucial step in establishing and maintaining a robust wireless network. By investing in these surveys, companies can optimize their network performance, reduce downtime, and ensure a seamless digital experience for all stakeholders. The airwaves may be invisible, but with a wireless site survey, you gain the visibility needed to create a connected and efficient work environment.
If you need help with planning a new network, expanding an old one, or just need help troubleshooting something in your environment Vertex Networks is here to help. Contact us today to get the conversation started!
Comments