Specifications

GENERAL DATA COLLECTION
Contact Information
Getting a complete list of contacts upfront will save time later in the project. One of the most
important contacts is the person or persons that will allow you to gain access to all of the
areas needed to perform the initial walkthrough, the installation and then later the validation.
Organizational Structure
Here we collect data about the organization. We find out who has the authority to approve
network design or implementation related questions. This is also where we identify the stake
holders. We need to identify who will be signing off on the project. We need to identify the
technical contacts that we will to work with from various departments.
GETTING TO KNOW THE INSTALLATION SITE
BPG_11n_v1.0 | Page 5
Another critical aspect of design process is getting to know the building or the physical
environment where the network will be installed. This process typically involves, getting a
copy of the floor plans, a site walkthrough and/or interviewing those that know what
materials were used in the construction of the building. The goal here is to know what
materials we are dealing with. Wrong assumptions made here could turn out to be very time
consuming and costly.
Floor Plans
Before we can come up with an AP placement plan we’ll need accurate (to scale) floor plans.
Sometimes getting a hold of up to date plans is not so easy. At times we have resorted to
getting fire escape plans that are posted on the walls of building in the US. A word of caution:
sometimes the fire escape diagrams are not to scale.
Network Topology
Understanding the wired network is obviously important as the Meru network rides over the
wired network (as an overlay). One must understand speed and feeds as well as L2 and L3
domains. Meru 11n APs have 10/100/1000 Ethernet interfaces. Will the existing switching
infrastructure be able to provide enough capacity to handle the potential through put of an
11n network?
While it is not a requirement that all 11n APs be connected via gigabit Ethernet it is
recommended.
MERU BEST PRACTICES GUIDE | 11n Design, Implementation and Optimization