Introduction
to
WLAN
Planning
and
Planner
3Com
®
AirProtect
Planner
User
Guide
2
Chapter
2
Introduction
to
WLAN
Planning
and
Planner
Wireless
Local
Area
Networks
(WLANs)
connect
you
instantly
even
while
you
are
moving.
They
provide
convenient
and
increasingly
flexible
productivity
in
today’s
corporate
and
industrial
environment.
However,
WLANs
need
to
be
properly
planned
for
adequate
coverage
and
security
to
get
these
benefits.
This
chapter
discusses
the
disadvantages
of
poorly
planned
WLANs
and
presents
Planner
as
the
solution
to
such
problems.
Planner
plans
the
entire
network
with
the
help
of
various
outdoor
objects
namely,
buildings,
trees,
water
bodies,
indoor
building
objects
namely,
walls,
windows,
doors,
elevator
shafts,
furniture,
concrete
columns,
and
metal
objects;
and
devices
such
as
Access
Points
(APs)
and
Sensors.
The
initial
input
to
Planner
is
a
layout
image
in
any
graphical
format.
As
an
output,
it
generates
various
RF
views
and
then
assembles
these
views
into
a
comprehensive
RF
planning
report.
2.1
What
is
Wi
‐
Fi?
Wi
‐
Fi
is
another
name
for
IEEE
802.11
based
WLANs.
These
networks
operate
at
and
use
802.11a,
5
GHz,
802.11b/g,
2.4
GHz
and
the
emerging
802.11n,
2.4
and
5
GHz.
Wi
‐
Fi
is
promulgated
by
the
Wi
‐
Fi
Alliance.
Products
certified
as
Wi
‐
Fi
compatible
by
Wi
‐
Fi
Alliance
are
interoperable
with
each
other
even
if
they
are
from
different
manufacturers.
You
can
use
any
brand
of
AP
with
any
other
brand
of
Client
hardware
that
is
built
to
the
Wi
‐
Fi
standard.
Wi
‐
Fi
has
gaining
acceptance
in
homes,
offices,
and
public
places
like
coffee
shops,
hotels,
and
airports.
2.2
Disadvantages
of
Poorly
Planned
WLANs
Poorly
planned
WLANs
have
the
following
risks:
•
Low
Performance:
Lack
of
coverage,
capacity,
and
throughput
planning
results
in
poor
connectivity
speeds
in
certain
areas.
This
could
result
in
low
performance
of
the
network.
•
High
Security
Risk:
RF
signals
spill
due
to
the
very
nature
of
the
wireless
network
environment.
For
example,
hackers
could
tap
into
the
WLAN
from
the
parking
lot
or
the
street.
This
can
lead
to
serious
security
breaches.
•
Bad
User
Experience:
Low
performance,
throughput,
or
coverage
lead
to
bad
user
experience.
•
High
Operational
Expenses
(OPEX):
Network
administrators
have
to
spend
a
lot
of
time
and
effort
in
troubleshooting
issues,
quality
of
service,
and
security
exposure
after
the
deployment
of
networks.
This
leads
to
higher
operational
expenses.
•
Lower
Return
on
Investment
(RoI):
A
poorly
planned
network
results
in
a
lower
RoI
as
the
productivity
gains
are
not
as
high
as
predicted.
The
current
state
‐
of
‐
the
‐
art
is
to
carry
out
a
site
survey
(also
called
radio
survey),
use
best
practices
for
AP
placement,
or
even
perform
deployment
on
ad
hoc
basis.
These
methods
have
the
following
limitations:
•
Site
surveys
are
time
consuming,
expensive,
and
prone
to
errors.
•
Ad
hoc
deployments
pose
difficulty
in
visualizing
network
coverage,
lead
to
security
exposure,
and
cause
channel
interference.
•
‘What
‐
If’
scenarios
are
not
possible
in
site
survey
or
ad
hoc
deployment
methods.
There
is
no
established
practice
for
planning
WLAN
security
networks,
an
essential
part
of
IT
security
in
today’s
network
environment.
Pre
‐
deployment
enables
successful
WLAN
deployments
by:
•
Maximizing
network
coverage
and
throughput
•
Minimizing
channel
interference
•
Minimizing
security
exposure
by
ensuring
minimum
signal
spillage
outside
the
designated
area
of
WLAN
operation
•
Providing
‘What
‐
If’
scenarios
for
trade
‐
off
between
security
exposure
due
to
signal
spillage
and
network
coverage
•
Maximizing
the
detection
and
prevention
range
of
WLAN
security
Sensors
•
Planning
Sensors
to
ensure
reliable
location
tracking
of
unauthorized
devices
•
Ensuring
that
even
the
weakest
transmitter
is
detected
and
prevented
by
the
Sensors
•
Planning
to
enable
live
24x7
RF
monitoring
•
Troubleshooting
remotely
•
Restructuring
the
whole
plan
especially
while
extending
the
existing
office
space
or
deploying
new
equipments
