About AP Location
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Using GUI
By default, the Sitesurvey page is displayed when you connect to the AP via browser. The
Sitesurvey page among other pre-configured values displays key information about the con-
nectivity experience of your Wi-Fi client.
Note:
The GUI page shows Sitesurvey results of only ONE client (the last connected client)
connected to the AP. To view Sitesurvey results from all connected clients, use options from
CLI
About AP Location
The AP should be placed at a clear empty location on the Ceiling or side walls. Avoid mount-
ing the AP near heavy metal objects such as refrigerator and microwave, which will block the
radio waves, impact the antenna radiation patterns and interfere with the radio receiver.
AP Placement Plan
Developing an AP placement plan does not always require the use of a planning/survey tool
such as Ekahau sitesurvey. There will be installations where placing 11ac APs every 50-100
feet (depending on the signal strength, client density, and throughput capacity requirements)
will be sufficient. These simple installations are characterized by a uniform structure where it is
relatively trivial to predict coverage patterns of 11ac APs.
When coverage planning is required due to highly irregular building designs, contractual
agreement, or some other reason, the recommendation is to use the planning tools available
in Ekahau Site Survey.
A post-AP-installation sitesurvey is generally recommended. The recommendation is to use a
sitesurvey tool like Ekahau sitesurvey.
One-for-One AP Replacement
One question that is often asked related to migrating from non-11ac networks to 11ac net-
works is whether the network would work if a one-for-one swap is performed (i.e., replacing
the 11n APs with 11ac APs). Assuming that the 11n network was designed to provide -65 dBm
coverage or greater everywhere, the simple answer is yes. In addition, as mentioned previ-
ously, if the network is composed of mostly 11n clients, the network will likely perform even
better with 11ac APs. Of course, the network will perform considerably better if the majority of
clients are of the 11ac variety; however, if the network is to be optimized to deliver optimal per-
formance for 11ac clients, higher AP densities will be required (as compared to a typical 11n
network).
