802.11 Wireless Network Site Surveying and Installation

Automatic and Assisted Site Survey Tools 243

Figure 10-27 Ping Testing

Automatic and Assisted Site Survey Tools

Automated surveys include both assisted and totally automatic surveys. As suggested

earlier, the assisted survey is really a mix between a manual and a totally automatic survey,

providing benefits of both. Here the discussion focuses on only one of each type, using the

Aruba Networks to discuss automatic surveys and the Cisco SWAN framework for dis-

cussing the assisted survey. Although the actual implementation of these types of surveys

will vary somewhat between vendors and is unique to each product type, they are similar.

The intention of this section is to give an idea of how they work in general terms, and the

pros and cons of each type.

Aruba

Aruba Networks offers a WLAN system that includes a network switch acting as the

WLAN controller, and APs that are managed by the switch. When installing an Aruba

network, you must first install the APs and WLAN. The initial reaction to an installation

like this is often, “Where do you place the APs? Isn't that what a site survey is for?” The

answer is to use a best-guess process based on user density and location (similar to the

coffee cup survey discussed earlier), and to place enough APs to feel certain there will be

more than enough RF coverage in the desired areas. This means using more APs than might

be necessary based on user density. This overengineering enables you to cover any RF holes

that might result from RF shadows and multipath interference.