WiFi Wireless Network Design
(Non-CAD)

Wireless planning and wireless network design has evolved over the years. The evolution of the 802.11 design and deployment process has led to the recognition of various manufacturer's best-practice guidelines and recommendations for successful 802.11 WLAN implementation. To design a secure, reliable wireless network requires a preliminary design evaluation, careful planning and design, an on-site or virtual site survey, and consideration of numerous factors to complete the planning and design. Different installation environments present different RF challenges. The suitability of a design for a general office space will be different that that needed for a hospital or medical location. A WiFi network in a school or university has different challenges and requirements than an 802.11 WiFi warehouse or manufacturing design. Wireless network design in healthcare, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, K-12 education, university and school campus environments, and outdoor venues each have differing requirements in terms of user density, user expectations, throughput requirements, security, and access control. A well thought-out, detailed WiFi design and complete set of installation plans ready to be handed to the wireless network installation technician or contractor, are critical pieces of successful WLAN implementation.

802.11 wireless access point placement is critical for a successful WLAN deployment. There are many factors that can impact the success of a wireless network implementation but WiFi access point placement is the most critical factor in a wireless design. Good AP placement takes into consideration proper in-scope area coverage, user density, application requirements, security, and building construction characteristics. For optimal wireless LAN performance you need optimal 802.11 wireless AP placement. When you plan your AP placement there are two services that Connect802 uses to create a set of Installer's Working Plans (AP location plans to hand to your installer). For the most critical and demanding projects, especially where a building is not yet constructed, we use computer-aided design software to create a Predictive RF CAD design (also called a Virtual Site Survey). You can read more about the Connect802 predictive RF CAD modeling design services here. Creating an accurate RF CAD model can be time consuming and costly. This is why Connect802 provides Non-CAD Wireless Network Design. 

From a comparison standpoint, you'll find that some manufacturers make free AP placement and planning software available. In general, this software does not have the sophistication of a full computer-aided-design virtual AP planning tool. These free tools are intended to support a particular manufacturer's equipment and often err either on the side of too many APs or too few APs. These tools seldom consider signal attenuation and reflection from various types of building construction materials. If you're going to have a CAD design prepared for your WLAN you need to have it done with appropriate software tools. The Connect802 Non-CAD Wireless Network Design, by contrast, is based on our engineering team's expertise and experience coupled with your descriptions of you wireless requirements. In some cases we recommend an on-site Physical Site Assessment to ascertain the RF propagation characteristics of the in-scope areas. We can create an accurate, cost-effective Non-CAD design because we've created designs, isolated WLAN problems, worked with a variety of manufacturer's equipment, and worked in a wide range of environments since the first 802.11 products entered the market in 2000. In those days WiFi design targeted basic connectivity, minimum data rates, and low-density, non-mission-critical applications. AP density in 2000 was as much as 1 AP per 8,000 square feet of interior space. As needs changed and user requirements became more stringent, AP technology kept pace; moving through 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and into the 802.11ax realm. At each step in the enhancement of technology the recommended and required AP density increased. An 802.11ac or 802.11ax indoor WiFi network may have 1 AP per 900 square feet, almost 10 times more APs than when 802.11 originated. It's the increased AP density that makes it possible to create Non-CAD WiFi designs and approprate wireless network installation plans. In essence, if an experienced designer and RF engineer follows recommended guidelines and bases a design on real-world characteristics of a site and an end-user community the design will work properly.

Professional wireless network design and WiFi design consulting services are driven by some fundamental AP placement guidelines that, when considered, help avoid wireless LAN problems after installation.

When it comes to creating a wireless network design, there are some fundamental AP placement guidelines that must be considered to maintain best practices in wireless network design. Placing wireless access point in the correct locations is the way to help assure maximum wireless throughput, performance, and capacity. Below are just a few of the design considerations used by Connect802 when creating a wireless network Non-CAD WiFi Design. This is NOT A COMPLETE, EXHAUSTIVE LIST - these are only a few examples presented to help you understand the scope and depth of consideration that's needed for WiFi design.

The power level of an AP is adjusted automatically by commercial-grade, enterprise class wireless LAN controller systems. A Ruckus Cloud WiFi or ZoneDirector wireless LAN controller system, a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller, a Mist Systems Learning WiFi cloud-based WLAN controller - they all share one thing in common: they can only base their automated configuration capabilities on what they can measure and detect with their monitoring capabilities. You, on the other hand, can measure, detect, monitor, and consider a much wider range of factors. You can predict the future:"there's going to be a very high user density in the auditorium this afternoon", "we'll be deploying Voice-over-IP on the network later this year", and so forth. By carefully considering the reality of an overall wireless network environment the controller configuration can be appropriately adjusted.