Wi-Fi installations keep growing. Not every IT department has the knowledge and experience to implement Wi-Fi without some problems: problems they create often due to having expectations of the technology that are simply not realistic. As with any IT endeavor, planning is critical.
I recently attended a one day seminar presented by Adtran on planning a successful wireless deployment. It provided an in depth approach to Wi-Fi technology and deployment. This blog focusses on the Wi-Fi planning.
There are four important conditions that can affect the operational success of a Wi-Fi installation:
Before you buy and implement the network, you need to know how it will be used and what success means to the users. There will be different requirements depending on the type of business environment (i.e. campus, hotel, hospital, or business office). Some installations require low security, like a classroom, while others, such as a hospital, require high security.
A good first step is to determine how the network will be used. Questions you should ask yourself could include:
The Wi-Fi network is for the users, so you should ensure that the users are involved in the planning cycle. Ask questions that the users can answer. Do not be overly technical. If the questions are technical, educate the users about the technology question so they can understand the question and deliver well-considered answers. Here are some sample questions you should strive to answer:
The instructor for the Adtran seminar I referenced earlier emphasized one key point: The network planners must document everything -- requirements, restrictions, and budget. Wireless networks can encounter unexpected difficulties. The APs' locations may not be available or work as expected. The users may add devices that were not anticipated. Building materials may be incorrectly specified. Where wallboard is expected, there may be concrete instead. The actual AP Ethernet cable paths may be longer than allowed (over 100 meters). All of these potential roadblocks make the documents the definition of success.
If the network is not working properly, it may have nothing to do with the IT planning. Conditions may have changed, so the measure of success will also change.
