bad wi-fi - ekahau webinar - july 2014
DESCRIPTION
In this webinar we discussed difficult to deploy Wi-Fi environments. Wi-FI planning (predictive surveys), site surveys, and troubleshooting were all discussed. Presented by Jussi Kiviniemi, Ekahau Vice President of Wi-Fi ToolsTRANSCRIPT
Challenging Wi-Fi Deployments
Bad Wi-Fi
Jussi Kiviniemi, Vice President, Wi-Fi ToolsTwitter: @jussikiviniemiMail: [email protected]
…We will start soon…
Agenda
1. Why are we here?
2. Warehouses & retail
3. High density
4. Outdoor
+ hands-on demos
Jussi@JussiKiviniemi
11 years at Ekahau
Sales slide of the day
Site Survey & Planning
Mobile SurveyTroubleshooting
Spectrum AnalyzerFight interference
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• 3-day hands-on Wi-Fi training & certification
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• Designing a network
• Performing active & passive surveys
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• Trained Wi-Fi for 10+ years
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• Deployed Wi-Fi from arctic circle to antarctica
• Knows how to fix your Wi-Fi
Keith Parsons “Dr. Dre of Wi-Fi”
Bad Wi-Fi
• Some Wi-Fi deployments are
more challenging than
others.
• Office with low capacity
= straightforward
• Warehouses, retail stores,
stadiums = not so easy
Warehouse
Retail
Warehouse / Retail designs
• Dynamic environment
• Tall shelves, clients close to floor level
• Legacy client devices
• Typically low bandwidth
• High speed vehicles
• Interferers likely
Standard Omni = Not Great
Directional or Downtilt Omni = Better
Tall shelves block some, not all
Choice of antennas
• Standard omni = not the best with high
ceilings
• Highly directional = flexible
• Downtilt omni = easy, deterministic
• Don’t go with max power
Warehouse / Retail: Keep in Mind
• Aim for high SNR
• Know your client devices:• Make a list of clients & their radios & supported rates
• Low-power clients avoid max power in APs
• Check if low data rates are required
• 802.11b = Astronomical airtime consumption
• Account for ceiling height, shelf height
• Low data rates may also be good for
reliability
What about channel overlap?
• Exotic AP locations increase the risk for
excessive overlap
• Visualize overlap on a map and find a
trade-off between high signal strength
and low overlap (=good SNR, good
capacity)
Get Help!
• There are folks who know a lot:
• Charlie Clemmer @charlieclemmer
• Andrew Von Nagy @revolutionwifi
Demo:
Warehouse design
Spectrum Analysis – Warehouse / Retail
• Perform spectrum checks here & there• Microwave ovens
• Bluetooth barcode scanners
• Wireless security cameras
• Leave analyzer running for hours during
peak hours
On-site surveys
• In “RF difficult environments”, an on-site survey is
vital
• Survey carefully between the shelves
• Active and passive surveys
Passive = signal levels, SNR
Active = packet loss & delay
Observe roaming areas, use Survey Inspector
• 2.4 AND 5GHz
• For quick surveys, use multiple adapters at once
Demo:
Analyzing surveys
Survey inspector
Stadiums
About Stadium Deployments
• Ultra-high capacity requirements
• Tons of unassociated (probing)
clients
try to get them on the network
• Limited possibilities for AP
placement
• Open environment• A single AP can hear 100 other APs
• A single client can hear 100 APs
Planning Stadium Deployments
• First and foremost: Ask for
help!• Wi-Fi vendor, Twitter, online resources
• Industry has its experts: AT&T: Kevin, Cisco: Matt
and Josh, Aruba: Chuck
• Plan 3D on a 2D map
• Under seat, through
concrete, etc
• Aesthetic restrictions
Surveying Stadium Deployments
• First and foremost: Ask for help!• Wi-Fi vendor, Twitter, online resources
• Industry has its experts: AT&T: Kevin, Cisco: Matt and Josh, Aruba: Chuck
• Empty vs full stadium = huge difference
• Multiple surveyors at once
• Survey direction can make a difference
Outdoor Deployments
Planning Outdoor Deployments
• Account for height of buildings
• Limited AP placement locations
• Antenna considerations• Height
• Direction
• Downtilt
• If mountainous terrain, specialized tools
are required
Surveying Wide Areas
• GPS plots your location
no clicking on the map
• Drive through surveys require fast
scanning during surveys
Use multiple adapters
• Use external antenna on survey adapter?
Demo:
Outdoor Coverage Planning
High Capacity
“Capacity planning sucks,because it’s complex”
Capacity calculations 101
How many users? x How many devices per user? + How many other devices?---= Devices and their types
x Which applications are run on the devices?===================== Total capacity required
- Areas to cover - Types of end user devices - Types of access points - Channels/bands used - Single / multiple floors - Wall materials
What else affects capacity?
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