A wireless site survey provides valuable information regarding potential sources of interference, ideal access point (AP) placement, and cabling specifications. Without this information, networks can perform below optimum levels.
A wireless site survey typically drives network hardware refreshes to reduce latency and improve productivity. However, there are other reasons to conduct a survey.
Improved Performance
A thorough wireless site survey New England will identify dead spots or weak areas impacting network performance. Using the results from the survey, technicians can create an efficient network design that meets user demands while providing optimal performance.
The survey can help avoid unnecessary hardware purchases by accurately determining the number and placement of APs required for full coverage. This allows you to reduce your network’s overall cost while ensuring it can handle future growth without compromising stability or capacity.
In addition, a predictive survey can help to mitigate issues like RF interference from neighboring networks. This can be especially important in large buildings with multiple tenants, which can cause bleed-through and performance degradation. The onsite evaluation will also allow you to verify that the planned AP locations in your plan will work as intended. This helps to prevent unforeseen costs like facility requests for tenting or hard deck ceilings, labor for relocating APs, and expensive cabling and installation requirements.
Reduced Costs
Having a survey performed is a great way to avoid costly mistakes in your wireless network installation. Not only does this save you time and money, but it also ensures your network is optimized for your business.
With a site survey, it is easier to determine the correct number of access points needed for your space. This could result in unnecessary expenses if too few access points are installed, requiring more equipment to fill the space and improve connectivity.
Predictive designs help predict where to place APs, but onsite surveys allow you to verify these AP locations in the live environment. Variables like exposed HVAC ducting or walls can affect how signals travel through the environment, requiring a change in AP placement. A validation survey lets you observe the RF spectrum to identify nearby RF noise that can negatively impact your network performance. This enables you to optimize channels and limit interference from other networks.
Increased Reliability
With a site survey, you’ll be able to ensure that your wireless network can handle the amount of traffic that will be coming from your employees. This will reduce latency and ensure your employees can complete their tasks without delays.
During the survey, engineers will check for sufficient signal overlap between access points, which can eliminate dead spots and improve roaming capability. Additionally, they will determine the best channel overlap to ensure that uplink data doesn’t experience packet loss and retransmissions, which can decrease performance.
During an active survey, a WiFi engineer will use wireless adapters not associated with your network to measure round-trip times, throughput rates, packet loss and retransmissions, and other variables. These results are then used to optimize APs for maximum performance. This prevents the unnecessary purchase of hardware and helps your business stay within budget. Also, it prevents the installation of too many access points that can negatively impact your network’s reliability.
Enhanced Security
A Wireless Site Survey provides a detailed look at the RF behavior of a space. This information translates into a comprehensive network design and implementation plan, which helps businesses reduce costs in the long run. A trained network technician visits the location to walk through the space and capture radiofrequency measurements with a wireless device. This survey can take a few hours to several days to complete and requires access to any locations considered in the project scope.
A professional will ensure your wireless signal is strong enough to support your business goals while providing a secure network environment for your employees and guests. Whether you’re planning to refresh your hardware for increased productivity or your existing infrastructure is approaching its EOSL, this data-driven approach will help you make the best decisions for your network.
