WLAN Surveys

[ianegould]

I have a client who uses (250) 802.11b Cisco 1200 AP's already installed and is having various issues and requires a new RF survey to be completed.
Which PDA and what software would you recommenend for detailed survey of the current infrastructure client has 25 separate buildings ?
I have been reading a lot about Yellowjacket and Birds eye are these products easy to use ?

[M/Q]

YellowJacket is a very nice product. AirMagnet is another one that I would recommend. Have not had much experience with BirdsEye. I would be comfortable with the YellowJacket/AirMagnet getting the job done. Both pretty much has all the software you need. The only other issue I always ask about is if there are any intense bandwidth type programs being used, if so I always try to duplicate those to get a more realistic throughput bandwidth at the perimeters of the coverage areas.

I was curious about your plan for the survey? Are you going to run the survey with the AP's active or start fresh with everything turned off. I have done it both ways and have not formulated an opinion as to what is the best. But in the CWNA study manual and various other white papers it is always mentions to shut the existing system off. Since this seems like an ideal situation (250 AP's whew), I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

[ianegould]

This client is already using the AP's so I don't have a choice and have to run the survey along side the current infrastructure.
I think the reason they recommend you switch off the existing AP's is they will interfere with the survey. Interesting point.

[M/Q]

I agree with you, that is why I would consider this a really good test. I have not had the priviledge of surveying that large of a wireless network. I was wondering how you would work around the fact of all that RF confusing the issue. I just find it a very interesting topic and the better I get at surveys the better the systems I install get.

[ianegould]

Thanks for the advice, I have arranged for a demo of the AirMagnet Handheld and the Reporting tool later this week. This looks like it will do the job. I will quiz the techie when he's doing the demo as to any recommendations he has for performing a survey with an existing WLAN, I will let you know the outcome.

[FlaWireless]

For indoor and outdoor you may want to look into Ekahau software.
I didn't really care for Airmagnets for indoor site surveys indoors, but I havent spent much time with it either.

[ianegould]

Thanks, I have a good look at the Ekahau software it look pretty good. I also found the Prosurvey software which is a similar price and look slightly better.

[Admiral]

What are the hardware and software needs for a WLAN survey. This will be a preliminary survey for AP installation.

I have a PDA IPAQ2215 and an access point. In terms of analyzing the signal strength (throughput ??? and db???), what do I need to do this.