Installation guide

3
Wi-Fi Location-Based Services—Design and Deployment Considerations
OL-11612-01
Executive Summary
Using Wi-Fi RFID Tags with the Cisco Location Appliance 94
Compatible RFID Tags 94
Using 802.11b Tags in an 802.11g Environment 95
Enabling Asset Tag Tracking for L2 Multicasting Asset Tags 96
Configuring Asset Tags 99
The SOAP/XML Application Programming Interface 104
SOAP/XML Partner Location Client Example—PanGo Locator 105
Caveats 108
CSCse14724—Degraded Location Accuracy with Monitor Mode APs 109
CSCse15237—Calibration Data Point Locations Mismatched with Cross-Hair Locations 109
Appendix A—Polling Traffic 2700 <-> 4400 WLAN Controller 110
Appendix B—AeroScout Tag Manager Version 2.1 111
Appendix C—Large Site Traffic Analysis 117
Appendix D—PanGo Locator LAN Tag Association and Signaling 118
Executive Summary
Target Audience
This white paper is intended for individuals interested in designing and deploying indoor Cisco wireless
LAN (WLAN) solutions that include the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance, the Cisco Wireless Control
System (WCS), and other components of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network (UWN).
Introduction
802.11 wireless has truly blossomed in the past decade, moving from a technology that was primarily a
productivity enhancement for verticalized industries to one now pervasive in the modern
technology-aware society. The wide-spread acceptance of Wi-Fi networks has fueled this dramatic
adoption, from deployments in offices and distribution centers to homes and ever-multiplying wireless
metropolitan areas. Maturing rapidly and reaching critical mass, this widespread adoption has driven
down the cost of wireless infrastructure dramatically and has resulted in the availability of higher quality
equipment at lower cost.
The rapid increase in the adoption rate of Wi-Fi coupled with the availability of high quality
infrastructure at reasonable cost are key factors behind the flurry of commercial and academic activity
regarding Wi-Fi location-based services. Not to be confused with passive RFID solutions or solutions
using non-802.11 active RF tags and readers, research and development progress in Wi-Fi location
prediction techniques have facilitated the emergence of indoor RF location tracking systems based
entirely on IEEE 802.11 infrastructure. In combination with the frenetic race to implement RFID
systems in the consumer and distribution supply chains, these have all combined to form a “perfect
storm” of sorts, transforming what was once a general market passing interest in location-based services
into one that looks upon 802.11-based Location-Based Services (LBS) as potentially the next “killer
application” for Wi-Fi wireless.