User`s guide

RF Coverage Area
RoamAbout Switch Manager User’s Guide 2-3
RF Coverage Area
What is an RF coverage area?:AnRFcoverageareaisthegeographicalareainwhichIEEE
802.11radiosprovidewirelessservices.
Purpose of this section:TodescribethethreetechniquesyoucanuseforRFcoverage.
Why is this important?:ByunderstandingavailableRFcoverageplanningtechniques,youcan
usethetechniquethatmeetsyourorganization’srequirements.
Therearethreetechniquesyoucanusetostartyourwirelessnetwork:
• RFAuto‐Tuningletsyouusethedefaultautotuningfeaturetoselectpowerandchannel
settingsforRFsignalsin
yourRFcoveragearea.YouuploadtheRoamAboutswitchesinto
RASM,configuretheAPs,enableRFAuto‐Tuning,anddeploy.
• RFAuto‐TuningwithModelling,aswiththeRFAuto‐Tuningtechnique,letsyousettheauto
tuningfeaturetoadjustpowerandchannelsettingstoprovideRFsignalsto
thecoveragearea
foryourusers.Enhancetheautotuningfeaturebyprovidingmodellinginformationabout
yourgeographiclocation.Byprovidingsomeinformationaboutyourbuildingsandfloors,
addenoughdetailsintoRASMsothatyoucanbettervisualizeyournetworktopologyand
supportimprovedmonitoringatyoursite.
• RF
Planningisatechniqueyoucanusetocreateadetailednetworkplanthatprovides
powerfulmonitoringandvisualizationbenefits.UnlikeRFAuto‐TuningorRFAuto‐Tuning
withModelling,youdonotrelyontheautotuningfeature.Instead,youfullymodelyour
geographiclocationwithdetailedinformationabout
yourfloors,andspecifyyourRF
coverageareasandyourRFobstacles.
Eachofthesemethodsisdescribedinthesectionsthatfollow.
RF Auto-Tuning
PerformthefollowingstepstousetheRFAuto‐Tuningtechnique:
1. PhysicallyplaceRoamAboutswitchesandtheAPsintheirdesiredlocations.
2. UploadaRoamAbout switchconfigurationanddeployit.
3. EnabletheRFAuto‐Tuningfeature.
ThisisagreatwaytoinstallaRoamAboutswitchandsomeAPs,andobservehow
thenetwork
operates.TheRFAuto‐TuningplanisbestsuitedtonetworkscontainingfewerAPs.
RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling
TousetheRFAuto‐TuningwithModellingtechnique,youaddtotheRFAuto‐Tuningtechnique
byprovidingsomegeographicalmodellingaboutyourbuilding,floors,andRFcoveragearea.You
alsoaddRFobstacleinformationformajorobstacles(likeconcretewalls,windows,andelevator
shafts)thataffectattenuation—thequalityof
RFsignalsemittedfromandreceivedbytheAPs.By
addinggeographicalmodelling,youwillbeabletomanageyournetworkinthecontextofthat
geographicalinformation.Forexample,youwillbeabletomanageyournetworkoverlaidona
floorplan,versusmanaginganabstractlogicalgroupof
switchesandAPs.