User`s guide

RF Coverage Area
2-4 Planning and Managing Your Wireless Network
RF Planning
TodoRFPlanning,youprovidedetailedinformationaboutyoursiteandbuildingsbyimporting
AutoCADDXF™,AutoCADDWG,JPEG,orGIFfloorplanfilesofthebuildingsintoRASM.As
youimportthefloorplans,youcanmodifythemtoaddorremoveRFobstacles.YoudefineRF
obstaclesby
specifyingtheattenuationfactorindecibelsfortheobstacle.Inaddition,RASM
includesalibraryofattenuatorsforbuildingobstacles.Thelibraryincludesdoors,walls,ceilings,
andotherphysicalobstructionsthatyoucanselect.RASMfactorsintheimpacttheseobjectshave
onhowtheradiofrequency(RF)signalsflow
throughagivensite.
Ifthenetworkcontainsthird‐partyAPsorpre‐ins talledAPs,youcanenterinformationforthese
APssothatRASMtakestheAPsintoaccountwhencalculatingtheplacement(andoptionally,the
channelandpowersettings)oftheEnterasysAPs.
Byusingthistechnique,youreceive
thefollowingbenefits:
•Insteadofyoumakinga“bestguess”astohowmanyAPsyourequireforthedesired
coverageandwhereAPsshouldbeplaced,RASMautomaticallycalculateshowmanyAPs
youneedandwheretoplaceAPsforoptimalpositioning.
•Youcangenerateadeployableworkordertohelp
installersplaceRoamAboutswitchesand
APs.
•Youautomaticallyreceiveadeployableconfigurationthatincludesoptimumpowerand
channelsettings.
•Youenjoymoreaccuratemonitoringoptionsandnetworkvisualizationbasedonthe
additionalgeographicmodellinginformationloadedintoRASM.
Which Planning Method Should I Use?
Themoredetailedyournetworkplan,thebetteryouwillbeabletomanageandmonitorthe
network.However,thereareotherrequirementsthatorganizationsshouldconsider.
WesuggestyouusetheRFAuto‐TuningtechniqueifyouareinstallingAPswithoutconsideration
toblanketcoverage,throughputconcerns,orthenumber
ofusersforwhomservicewillbe
provided.RFAuto‐Tuningisidealforsmallareas;forexample,coveragethatonlyrequiresafew
APs,orwidelydispersedareasinabuilding,suchasconferencerooms.
UsetheRFAuto‐TuningwithModellingtechniqueifyouwanttobettermonitoryour
wireless
networkintermsofbuildings,floors,orcoverageareas.Youmightbeabletolocateinaccurateor
incompletebuildingandfloorplans(perhapsonlyaJPEGfile),butwithevenabitmore
geographicmodellingofyoursite,youboostyourabilitytomanageandvisu alizeyournetwork.
UseRF
PlanningwhenyouwanttouseallthetoolsprovidedinRASMtodeploy,manage,and
monitoryournetwork.Youlikelyhavemultipleconstituenciesofusersyouneedtoconsider;for
example,setsofusersthataremobileandwirelessthathavespecificthroughputandbandwidth
needs.Onegroupof
usersmaybemobileandrequirehighthroughputperformance(ahigher
bandwidth),whileanothergroupofusersaremorestationaryandrequirelessthroughput.
Additionally,youmaybeplanningforfuturecapacity,andneedtoaddasmuchdetailed
informationasyoucanaboutyoursiteinordertoplanfor
thefuture.