We perform a lot of assessments to help businesses optimize their technology strategy, including surveys of Wi-Fi networks. Wireless networks are typically tolerant to less-than-optimal conditions. However, if enough issues arise, wireless performance can be dramatically curtailed. That’s where wireless surveys come in. Everything from poor signal strength to device interference can be found through a wireless survey, which makes conducting periodic surveys critical to maintain productivity and employee satisfaction.

How a Wireless Survey Works

An active wireless survey captures wireless data in the spaces where wireless coverage is desired. This is typically performed by a technician who carries around a dedicated device with on-board radios to measure and record many wireless parameters while the engineer plots where the captured data should be presented in relation to a set of floor plans. During this process, snapshots of the overall spectrum are taken for later review. These spectrum snapshots reveal device interference from things like microwaves, wireless cameras, medical imaging equipment, and malfunctioning electrical devices.

After the wireless survey, an engineer reviews the data while looking for issues such as too few access points (APs), too many APs, rogue APs, interfering devices, high spectrum utilization, and channel assignments. This data is then used to generate a set of heat maps overlayed onto floor plans. Each heat map usually shows one parameter of the captured data, for example, signal strength. The heat maps are paired with the engineer’s recommendations to form a report that provides a clear path to remediation.

Sometimes, an active survey can’t be completed, such as with a new construction. In this scenario, the engineer will use prospective floor plans along with provided information on wall thickness and construction materials to create a predictive wireless model. Using typical attenuation figures, the engineer can create a design showing all necessary details for access point ordering and cabling teams prior to beginning construction.

What You Can Do After a Wireless Survey

Many of our customers relate wireless surveys to new wireless deployments only. It would certainly be recommended to perform a wireless survey before deploying new APs, but wireless surveys can also be advantageous to improve an existing deployment. It’s not uncommon to move existing APs and make configuration changes to alleviate issues. In the past we’ve seen wireless networks where every AP is on the same channel and using 80 MHz channels on 5 GHz. This issue was resolved with configuration alone.

Overall, wireless surveys are a great tool. They can be used for assessing an existing deployment or planning a new deployment. In either case, reach out to us to get started with the next steps.

This post was contributed by Spencer Boyd, one of our Network Engineers and our wireless site survey specialist.