Aerohive Wireless 802.11a/b/n Planning Tool
Posted by Tony Meister on Tue, Jul 12, 2011
You may think that setting up coverage for a wireless network is a snap, but it surely isn’t if you don’t have the right tools. Defining the proper access point location is critical. If you get the right placement you’re not only saving costs by optimizing space, but also ensuring solid coverage. There is a tool that we believe can help you from Aerohive Networks.
Last year Aerohive introduced a FREE, revised edition of the web-based planning utility that can be used to plan you’re your organization’s Wi-Fi deployments. The following features help to make it easy:
Auto Placement
After downloading the latest Online Wi-Fi Planner Application you’ll find a very natural user interface for auto placement. You simply upload a map (or define the perimeter) and then place APs in specific coverage scenarios identifying specified signal strength, transmit power, and AP type. It is very flexible allowing you to drag APs on the map to determine coverage impact. Selecting auto deploy will also move the user through the planning process much faster.
Ease of Reporting
They’ve made the reporting much better than in previous versions. The planner can create PDF reports providing AP locations, RF settings, AP inventory and heat maps. Then you simply distribute the reports right from the planner to the wireless engineer, CIO, or any other stakeholder providing an easy mechanism for communication.
Tell a Friend
As an addition to the reporting, a tool that is included with the Online Wi-Fi Planner aides with collaboration. The “Tell a Friend” option allows IT Managers to open up their deployment plan to confirm the layout is correct so feedback can be provided to make sure that it fits the requirements of the each department.
Although it must be noted that this is not a full blown RF spectrum analysis tool, it is able to identify all you need to know to plan most deployments if you’re not encountering extraneous circumstances or hindering the transmission environment. At NetSolutions we’ve encountered plenty of scenarios where there are freezers, material in the walls, or other inhibiting factors that have required further research and planning. However, we’ve used the Aerohive tool for a number of situations (business, academic, healthcare, etc.) and it has proven to be a great planning tool.
Contact us at NetSolutions (Toll Free 888-711-0077) if you have any questions about wireless in general and we can help you get started, or help you upgrade to the latest wireless technology.