WLAN SITE SURVEYS by Sienar Systems Limited

With wireless systems, it is very difficult to predict the propagation of radio waves and detect the presence of interfering signals without the use of test equipment. Walls, doors, lift shafts, people, and other obstacles offer varying degrees of attenuation, which cause the Radio Frequency (RF) radiation pattern to be irregular and unpredictable.  

As a result, it is normal to perform an RF site survey to fully understand the behaviour of radio waves within a facility, before installing wireless network access points.

Wireless LAN Planning considerations

The ultimate goal of a Wireless LAN Plan is to supply enough information to determine the number and placement of access points, so that there is adequate coverage throughout the facility.

In most implementations, "adequate coverage" means support of a minimum data rate to the required areas. An RF site survey can also detect and identify the presence of interference coming from other sources, which could degrade the performance of the wireless LAN.

The requirement for and complexity of a Wireless LAN site survey, will vary depending on the facility. For example, a small three room office may not require a full site survey. 

Small Offices

In this scenario a single access point located anywhere within the office and still maintain adequate coverage. If this access point encounters RF interference from another nearby wireless LAN, it is possible to choose a different channel and eliminate the problem.

Larger Facilities

A larger facility, such as an office complex, apartment building, hospital, or warehouse, will generally require an extensive site survey. Without a survey, users will probably end up with inadequate coverage and suffer from low performance in some areas.

What is a "Wireless LAN Site Survey"

A Sienar Systems Wireless Site Survey determines the optimal number, placement, and configuration of access point to provide the required radio frequency (RF) coverage in the desired areas of your facility.

While it is true that many of today’s access points and other components of the wireless infrastructure are close to being “plug and play”, and will work adequately “out of the box” in very simple, RF interference-free environments, it is also true that in today’s world, there are very few RF interference-free environments!

Ensure Integrity

There is only one way to be sure that what you want is what you will get—a guaranteed-results Wireless LAN Site Survey. And if your critical business activities depend on the integrity of the performance and coverage of your wireless infrastructure, you need to be sure.

Complex Environments

Complex, radio frequency-rich multi-story, multi-building, multi-campus environments such as hospitals, industrial production facilities, retail and office complexes, freight-handling facilities and distribution centers offer particular challenges to the uninterrupted wireless flow of critical data.

Who can you trust your operation’s integrity to? Who can provide the level of detail and site engineering skill backing the implementation of the WLAN infrastructure of a critical-care hospital, for example, so that radio waves from a nearby monitor don’t interfere with the transmission of vital records to the attending physician? Or that the RF emissions from an industrial printer, and the density and absorptive properties of the roll of paper don’t “stop the presses”. These are only a couple examples of what can go wrong.