To start the wireless planning right, you'll need to set the coverage and capacity goals, create a predictive model that calculates how many access points (APs) you'll need and what their ideal placement should be, verify the accuracy of the WiFi planning predictions with the help of a manual site survey, and be ready to adjust as you go.
A good WiFi network plan is supposed to answer these questions:
With NetSpot WiFi planning tool the aforementioned questions can be answered pretty precisely by creating a predictive design.
Even if you have developed quite a good eye and can predict where the access points will go, it may not be a good plan for a large network that will be using multiple routers and may spread out to several floors of the building. In such case it is better to make precise calculations and develop a solid WiFi network design. The best part - you don't need tens of routers to plan any size of WiFi network - one is enough!
WiFi network planning tools generally work like this: load the floor plan, set the scale of the plan, and perhaps define wall materials on the floor plan. With this data a software app will be able to estimate how far Wi-Fi signal can travel in each direction of the plan.
This is how you plan and set up a new network with NetSpot WiFi planning site survey tool: start a new project and define your survey zone, place your hotspot in the designated location, take several samples, create a new zone snapshot, move on to another location and take samples there. Once done with the whole space, merge your survey snapshots and they will appear as one complete project just as if you were measuring an existing network with multiple access points in place.
By performing WiFi network planning site survey with NetSpot WiFi planning tool, you'll get the most precise data for the most efficient hotspot placement that meets and exceeds coverage and capacity requirements. This WiFi network planning site survey takes all important factors into consideration including the existence of neighboring WLANs, adjacent and co-channel interference, and the existence of electromagnetic signals from non-WiFi devices, which can affect the SNR of devices on the WLAN.
Some helpful tips to keep in mind when making a predictive WiFi design:
Once you are done with your off-site design, time to do the pre-deployment and post-deployment surveys on site with NetSpot WiFi planning tool to ensure the best result is achieved.
