Network Communications News (NCN) April 2016 | Page 28

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

wireless networks

Software can assist with getting a basic understanding of layout and coverage.

In which areas of the building is
Wi-Fi coverage required? For example,
kitchens, stairwells and toilets may not
require coverage.
Of what materials are the walls,
partitions and floors constructed? The
more comprehensive software tools

Kevin Drinkall is a
technical pre-sales
consultant ay ZyXEL
and is an experienced
network and solutions
professional with over 10
years’ experience within
the IT industry.
Prior to joining ZyXEL,
Kevin was a technical
director at Quickline
Communications an
independent Internet
Service Provider with
over 5,000 WiMAX
subscribers. Before
Kevin joined Quickline
he was a technical
manager and then technical director at Vixsoft Systems and
a junior network architect with the Centralised Network
Initiative. Kevin started his career as a web developer and
Linux System Administrator in 2001.

allow you to select the material and
thickness for each of these.
How many concurrent client
connections (peak client device density)
need to be supported in each coverage
area and how fast might this number grow?
Note, this may be several times the number
of users due to their usage of smartphones,
tablets, and other Wi-Fi connected devices,
such as printers and TVs.
What applications must these
wireless connections carry, and how is
this expected to change over time? This
is especially critical since bandwidth and
latency demands vary considerably from
those of basic email and web-browsing
at one end, to real time voice and video
communications at the other. This will
determine whether to opt for 802.11n
or 802.11ac technology – although
we would recommend the latest 11ac
technology in the majority of cases for
the best performance.
What other electronic devices that
might cause interference will be in
operation around the site? Pagers, handsfree wireless speakers, two way radios,
wireless cameras/ motion detectors,
and even microwave ovens can interfere

with your Wi-Fi coverage. While most of
these may be exposed during your walkthrough survey, it’s always worth checking
whether any other equipment will be in
use at other times of the day.
What is the overall budget for
the deployment? Although the last
on our list, this is perhaps one of the
first questions to be answered, since
it impacts almost every other decision
concerning technology and equipment.
Ideally, for the sake of future proofing,
we would design all new networks to
take advantage of the latest standards
and highest possible performance
available, but if this takes your customer
significantly over budget, then some
level of compromise is inevitable.
Armed with the above information,
the results of a pre-deployment survey,
and some of the aforementioned software
tools, organisations will be able to predict
with a high degree of accuracy how many
of any given type of access point will
be required and where they should be
positioned for maximum coverage. This
will help ensure the Wi-Fi network can
stand up to the increasing demands of
your users and keep them happy.

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26-28 Wireless – Zyxel.indd 28

17/03/2016 15:50