The long-held belief with wireless deployments has been to enable full site coverage by correctly spacing the least number of Access Points (AP) at their highest power settings.
This design template, while cheap, has a long list of caveats that are starting to be seen more and more as the workforce shifts to a more mobile-centric usage. The main issue with deploying a “Maximum RF Footprint” network is that it doesn’t take into account the number of devices that will be in each AP’s signal range, what type of applications they are using, and the bandwidth/latency requirements that application has.
The new rule of thumb for client density calculations is 3 devices per employee or customer, and this number may be shifting higher with the proliferation of mobile-devices, wearable tech, tablets and laptops, and other WiFi-dependent devices.
Additional concern is for the amount of web connectivity reliant applications an average user depends on, another handy rule of thumb is an average employee uses 5 unique web-based applications to do their job, so not only are we seeing significantly higher client density per AP, but these clients are much more “needy” about signal strength, mobility, and throughput.
Capacity-based wireless designs utilize more access points in a smaller area, set to a lower power level to eliminate signal overlap, and maximizes the ability of each AP to deliver better quality network connectivity to a greater number of devices. The real benefit to this type of deployment comes when using a strong application-aware wireless technology.
With technologies like ClientMatch, Adaptive Radio Management (ARM), Co-Channel Interference Mitigation, and Non-WiFi Interference Immunity working behind the scenes to ensure that clients are connecting to the AP best-suited for optimum performance while keeping the RF signal space uncluttered with minimized “dead zones”, wireless vendors are developing the strongest experience-driven wireless technology possible.
When reviewing your company’s wireless infrastructure it is vital to keep a few questions in mind:
- Are my APs deployed to deliver top-quality wireless connectivity or to “cover” an area?
- Does the wireless technology deployed actively learn and change to support new demands?
- Will my wireless support the move to 802.11AC Wave 2?
- Would my employees benefit from outdoor or campus connectivity?
These are important concepts to verify if your wireless infrastructure is forward-facing or more likely degraded and business efficiency impacting. Often a wireless review and consultation will reveal many small and cheap fixes that can bridge the gap between a weak wireless network and a strong one, such as changing the antenna types to change an AP’s RF signal shape, or re-deploying existing APs to focus on areas of higher use; many times little to no additional investment is needed to vastly improve your wireless client experience! ▪