User's Manual

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