Challenging Wi-Fi Deployments

Bad Wi-Fi

Jussi Kiviniemi, Vice President, Wi-Fi ToolsTwitter: @jussikiviniemiMail: jussi@ekahau.com

…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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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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