Wireless Networks Lab 01 1.

Objective

To understand the external factor will affect the link quality of wireless networks. E.g. distance, obstacle,
other existence wireless networks

Experimental procedure

(1) Build up a wireless network Options:

a. A general wireless AP to build up WiFi.

b. A notebook as a wireless AP.

c. A smartphone as a mobile hotspot.

d. Access point

(2) Connection Options:

a. smartphone(recommended) Install the “Wifi Analyzer”app to gather signal information. Get on

Android Play store: “Wifi Analyzer”

b. notebook Install the WiFi analyzer program to gather signal information.

Experiment

a. Observe the signal change at different environment (e.g. classroom, lawn, laboratory…) and different
distance (e.g. 3 meters, 6 meters…)

b. Observe the signal change at high interference environment (e.g. Aisle of laboratory with many other
WiFi signal)

(4)Gather data

So where do you place your wireless access points to support maximum wireless

performance? 

Here are 3 common wireless network design mistakes you should avoid when trying to
decide where to place your WLAN’s access points.

Placing AP’s in the Hallway

The first question you have to answer is where do your users spend most of their time,
in the hallways or in the rooms? Although this is an easy question, so many people still
seem to ignore the answer of inside each room.
Location has a big part to do with it but so does the type of access point. Today’s
newest standard of 802.11ac and the performance features it packs has led to new best
practices like room placement over hallway placement.

Here are a few reasons why:

Channel Interference

By placing your 802.11ac APs in the room you can limit or completely avoid both co-
channel and adjacent channel interference associated with older less efficient 802.11n
APs. Room installation also provides a natural buffer to the signal by using the walls to
further reduce channel interference.

Low Powered Devices

We always recommend designing to the lowest powered devices, in today’s world those
would include smartphones, tablets like iPads, and wearables. These types of devices
need to be closer to the AP to get the best performance from them.

RF Management

802.11ac has many new features, one of which is the ability to send out RF signal
everywhere. Because of this these new APs have the ability to automate their power
levels to avoid adding interference.

This is great but it does reduce the RF in terms of coverage and thus signal to your
users. By placing your APs in the room you can solve this problem for good.

Ultimately room placement provides better performance for your users where they need
it the most as well as providing ample coverage in your hallways as seen in the graphic
below.
 It should said that in some cases hallway placement can be acceptable, usually in an
office where coverage is your main objective and your APs wouldn’t be too close
together.

Placing AP’s on Walls

Let’s just get this out of the way no access point or antenna is perfect for all locations.
Some manufacturers say access points can be deployed both on the wall and on the
ceiling but this typically isn’t the case without sacrificing performance.

From what we’ve seen placing AP’s on the ceiling provides the best experience to your
users. Mostly because there are less things that can get in the way of the RF signal,
providing a clean, direct path to the devices below.

However, sometimes there are situations where the ceiling isn’t an option, in this case
you have to be more strategic with the type of antenna you choose, as well as where
you place it on the wall.

For example, you might want to place your AP’s on two adjacent walls so you can
ensure your end users still have a direct signal path.

Placing AP’s Above the Ceiling

In almost every scenario where this question comes up our answer is going to be to
place your access points below the ceiling.

Why?

Mostly this is because of what we’ve seen in the field, but also it’s from what the
manufacturers recommend in terms of best practices.

Installing your access points below the ceiling has many advantages and benefits, for
example, placing an AP below the ceiling limits obstructions from things like HVAC
ducts, utility pipes, and various metal fixtures that can negatively impact your RF signal
and therefore your wireless performance.

Below the ceiling installations also allow you to avoid placing your APs in a harmful
environment full of dust, warmer temperatures and unshielded electrical components.
All of these things can lead to poor performance and potentially broken access points.

Ultimately there are several things to think about when determining where to place your
access points. Success starts with proper planning and a proper assessment of your
current environment.
A proper wireless site survey will ensure you have the perfect design to support your
needs, including the right type of access point and how many you’ll need.