Users Guide

Dell PowerConnect ArubaOS 5.0 | User Guide RF Plan | 71
Chapter 3
RF Plan
RF Plan is a wireless deployment modeling tool that helps you design an efficient Wireless Local Area Network
(WLAN) that optimizes coverage and performance, without complicated WLAN network setup. RF Plan
provides the following critical functionality:
z Defines WLAN coverage.
z Defines WLAN environment security coverage.
z Assesses equipment requirements.
z Optimizes radio resources.
RF Plan provides a view of each floor, allowing you to specify how you want to provide wireless coverage for each
area. RF Plan also generates coverage maps with AP and AM placement.
Unlike other static site survey tools that require administrators to have intricate knowledge of building materials
and other potential radio frequency (RF) hazards, RF Plan calibrates coverage in real-time through a
sophisticated RF calibration algorithm. This real-time calibration lets you characterize the indoor propagation of
RF signals to determine the best channel and transmission power settings for each AP. You can program the
calibration to occur automatically or you can manually launch the calibration at any time to quickly adapt to
changes in your wireless environment.
This chapter discusses the following topics:
z “Supported Planning” on page71
z “Before You Begin” on page72
z “Launching the RF Plan” on page74
z “Using the FQLN Mapper in the AP Provision Page” on page94
z “RF Plan Example” on page95
Supported Planning
All the features included in the WebUI RF Plan tool will aide you in the planning 802.11n standard compliant
deployments.
This WebUI RF Plan supports planning of the following types of deployments:
z 802.11n Deployments—The RF Plan now supports planning of network environments that use the Dell’s AP-
12x series of indoor access points, which are 802.11n compliant. RF Plan supports the planning of these APs in
the following capacity: 802.11a/n, 802.11b/g/n, or 802.11a/b/g/n.
z 802.11n Hotspot Deployment within an Existing Environment—This type of environment requires that AP/
AM locations be fixed at the building level, see “Fix All Suggested AP/AMs” on page90. If you set and fix the
location of APs prior to planning for the 802.11n APs, the APs will not move when you initialize/optimize the
802.11n AP locations.
z 802.11n Hotspot Deployment and New Environment—The RF Plan allows you to plan for a new
deployment that uses an 802.11n hotspot and 802.11a and/or 802.11 b/g support outside of the hotspot.
To plan for this type of deployment, start by planning your 802.11n hotspot. When you initialize and optimize
the APs planned for the hotspot, the 802.11n APs are placed within the hotspot area. However, the same AP
type will also be placed outside of the hotspot area with 802.11n support disabled.