3Com 8000, User Manual

Page: 38 / 52

32 C
HAPTER
5: C
ONDUCTING A
S
ITE
S
URVEY
Electrical Requirements The access point draws power over Category 5 Ethernet cabling using a power
brick. Because erratic electrical power can lead to serious transmission problems
and loss of data, 3Com recommends using one of the following power
alternatives.
■
Preferred: Isolated ground circuit with online, uninterruptable power supply
(UPS) that also acts as filter and surge suppressor
■
Good: Isolated ground circuit with surge suppressor
■
Fair: Dedicated circuit with UPS
■
Acceptable: Dedicated circuit with surge suppressor
If you must use a nondedicated circuit, avoid using the following types of devices
on that circuit, because they can affect the reliability of the circuit:
■
Devices with components intended or known to produce heat (such as space
heaters, laser printers, heat guns, or soldering irons)
■
Single devices drawing more than 20% of the rated value of the circuit
■
Multiple devices drawing a total of more than 60% of the rated circuit value
Summary of the
Survey Procedure
Following is a summary of the basic procedure for setting up and running the site
survey tests. For details, see the topics indicated in the steps.
■
Set up the access point in the first trial location and set up a client in the first
work area.
See “Setting up Equipment” on page 33.
■
Launch the Site Survey tool, configure the site survey, and run the tests from
the first work area.
See “Launching the Tool” on page 33, “Configuring the Site Survey” on
page 33, and “Running the Tests” on page33.
■
Move the client to the next work area and run the Site Survey tool again.
Repeat this step for each work area.
■
Set up the access point in the next trial location and run the Site Survey tool
again from each of the work areas.
Repeat this step for each trial location.
■
At the end of the testing, use the results from the Site Survey tool to help you
decide on the best location for the access point.
Based on the tests, the Site Survey tool lists the locations in descending order
from best to worst. For more information, see “Interpreting Test Results” on
page 35.
Using the
Site Survey Tool
If you have set up more than one access point, make sure that only the access
point you are testing is powered on, or make sure that each access point has a
unique WLAN Service Area.
The access point must be powered 24 hours a day. 3Com recommends that you
avoid providing power to the access point from an energy management system.