Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] WiFi survey tools

2019-09-11 Thread GT Hill 
Agreed - But please don't forget the training component. There are two
(IMO) mandatory fields of study - Wi-Fi Design and your chosen site survey
software. One without the other will likely result in less than desired
performance.

GT

On Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 2:50 PM Price, Jamie G 
wrote:

> I second GT Hill, but you really need Ekahau to be effective. It’s not
> cheap- but down/spotty/unreliable networks aren’t either.
>
>
>
> *From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Community Group Listserv <
> WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU> *On Behalf Of *GT Hill
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 11, 2019 1:34 PM
> *To:* WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] WiFi survey tools
>
>
>
> It would be hard for me to comment on that software as I haven't used it.
>
>
>
> Avoiding expensive hardware / software for site surveys is possible but
> the trade off is time. A site survey can be done with a map, AP on a stick
> (tripod) and signal strength meter on a handheld devices such as some
> Android phones.
>
>
>
> What that doesn't solve for is the design aspect. How many APs are needed
> for dense areas? What if something changes? What are the goals of the
> installation?  Doing a proper design without good software is VERY time
> consuming but again, it's possible.
>
>
>
> Another consideration is the skill level of your people. Hope that doesn't
> come off as bad, but designing a Wi-Fi network is more complicated than
> just making sure you have the right signal in all desired areas.
>
>
>
> Getting the longest life out of a Wi-Fi network is more about design than
> the hardware standard used (11n, 11ac 11ax / Wi-Fi 6 etc.) - In my opinion.
>
>
>
> That's a long way to say... don't skimp too much here. If you want to DIY,
> good software / hardware and training for your people is the investment.
> Or, good Wi-Fi design knowledge / training and the longer process of a
> manual site survey. Again, manual is fine if time isn't an issue.
>
>
>
> I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thanks!
>
>
>
> GT Hill
>
> CWNE #21
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 9:37 AM Sidharth Nandury 
> wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
>
> We have historically depended on vendors to do wireless surveys for us,
> and any signal related issues have been tackled with signal strength
> configurations. We are at a stage now, where we believe our WAP placements
> will need to be changed. We are trying to build a case to present to our
> management, and a wireless survey of these locations is probably needed.
>
>
>
> My question is what tools are folks using to do in-house wireless surveys
> and/ or troubleshooting low signal wireless tickets? We don't really have a
> big budget for the tool and are looking for something that we could
> potentially install on a phone/ computer. We came across
> https://www.netspotapp.com/ and were wondering if anyone has used this?
>
>
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Sid
>
>
>
> --
>
> [image: Denison University Logo] <https://denison.edu>
>
> *Sidharth S. Nandury*
> *Network Engineer*
> Information Technology Services
>
> 100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023 <https://deniso.nu/2qF6h7M> | 
> Fellows
> 003C <https://denison.edu/map>
> Office: 740-587-5533 <https://dialpad.com/launch?phone=740-587-5533> |
> Mobile: 516-314-4413 <https://dialpad.com/launch?phone=516-314-4413>
> nandu...@denison.edu
> https://denison.edu/campus/technology
>
> *Please consider the environment before printing this email.*
>
> **
> Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire
> community list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the
> message, copy and paste their email address and forward the email reply.
> Additional participation and subscription information can be found at
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>
> **
> Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire
> community list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the
> message, copy and paste their email address and forward the email reply.
> Additional participation and subscription information can be found at
> https://www.educause.edu/community
>
> **
> Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire
> community list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the
> message, copy and paste their email address and forward the email reply.
> Additional participation and subscription information can be found at
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RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] WiFi survey tools

2019-09-11 Thread Price, Jamie G 
I second GT Hill, but you really need Ekahau to be effective. It’s not cheap- 
but down/spotty/unreliable networks aren’t either.

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Community Group Listserv 
 On Behalf Of GT Hill
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 1:34 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] WiFi survey tools

It would be hard for me to comment on that software as I haven't used it.

Avoiding expensive hardware / software for site surveys is possible but the 
trade off is time. A site survey can be done with a map, AP on a stick (tripod) 
and signal strength meter on a handheld devices such as some Android phones.

What that doesn't solve for is the design aspect. How many APs are needed for 
dense areas? What if something changes? What are the goals of the installation? 
 Doing a proper design without good software is VERY time consuming but again, 
it's possible.

Another consideration is the skill level of your people. Hope that doesn't come 
off as bad, but designing a Wi-Fi network is more complicated than just making 
sure you have the right signal in all desired areas.

Getting the longest life out of a Wi-Fi network is more about design than the 
hardware standard used (11n, 11ac 11ax / Wi-Fi 6 etc.) - In my opinion.

That's a long way to say... don't skimp too much here. If you want to DIY, good 
software / hardware and training for your people is the investment. Or, good 
Wi-Fi design knowledge / training and the longer process of a manual site 
survey. Again, manual is fine if time isn't an issue.

I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thanks!

GT Hill
CWNE #21

On Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 9:37 AM Sidharth Nandury 
mailto:nandu...@denison.edu>> wrote:
Hello All,

We have historically depended on vendors to do wireless surveys for us, and any 
signal related issues have been tackled with signal strength configurations. We 
are at a stage now, where we believe our WAP placements will need to be 
changed. We are trying to build a case to present to our management, and a 
wireless survey of these locations is probably needed.

My question is what tools are folks using to do in-house wireless surveys and/ 
or troubleshooting low signal wireless tickets? We don't really have a big 
budget for the tool and are looking for something that we could potentially 
install on a phone/ computer. We came across https://www.netspotapp.com/ and 
were wondering if anyone has used this?

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Sid

--
[Denison University Logo]<https://denison.edu>

Sidharth S. Nandury
Network Engineer
Information Technology Services

100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023<https://deniso.nu/2qF6h7M> | 
Fellows 003C<https://denison.edu/map>
Office: 740-587-5533<https://dialpad.com/launch?phone=740-587-5533> | Mobile: 
516-314-4413<https://dialpad.com/launch?phone=516-314-4413>
nandu...@denison.edu<mailto:nandu...@denison.edu>
https://denison.edu/campus/technology

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

**
Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire community 
list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the message, copy and 
paste their email address and forward the email reply. Additional participation 
and subscription information can be found at https://www.educause.edu/community

**
Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire community 
list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the message, copy and 
paste their email address and forward the email reply. Additional participation 
and subscription information can be found at https://www.educause.edu/community

**
Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire community 
list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the message, copy and 
paste their email address and forward the email reply. Additional participation 
and subscription information can be found at https://www.educause.edu/community

Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] WiFi survey tools

2019-09-11 Thread GT Hill 
It would be hard for me to comment on that software as I haven't used it.

Avoiding expensive hardware / software for site surveys is possible but the
trade off is time. A site survey can be done with a map, AP on a stick
(tripod) and signal strength meter on a handheld devices such as some
Android phones.

What that doesn't solve for is the design aspect. How many APs are needed
for dense areas? What if something changes? What are the goals of the
installation?  Doing a proper design without good software is VERY time
consuming but again, it's possible.

Another consideration is the skill level of your people. Hope that doesn't
come off as bad, but designing a Wi-Fi network is more complicated than
just making sure you have the right signal in all desired areas.

Getting the longest life out of a Wi-Fi network is more about design than
the hardware standard used (11n, 11ac 11ax / Wi-Fi 6 etc.) - In my opinion.

That's a long way to say... don't skimp too much here. If you want to DIY,
good software / hardware and training for your people is the investment.
Or, good Wi-Fi design knowledge / training and the longer process of a
manual site survey. Again, manual is fine if time isn't an issue.

I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thanks!

GT Hill
CWNE #21

On Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 9:37 AM Sidharth Nandury 
wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> We have historically depended on vendors to do wireless surveys for us,
> and any signal related issues have been tackled with signal strength
> configurations. We are at a stage now, where we believe our WAP placements
> will need to be changed. We are trying to build a case to present to our
> management, and a wireless survey of these locations is probably needed.
>
> My question is what tools are folks using to do in-house wireless surveys
> and/ or troubleshooting low signal wireless tickets? We don't really have a
> big budget for the tool and are looking for something that we could
> potentially install on a phone/ computer. We came across
> https://www.netspotapp.com/ and were wondering if anyone has used this?
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Regards,
> Sid
>
> --
> [image: Denison University Logo] 
>
> *Sidharth S. Nandury*
> *Network Engineer*
> Information Technology Services
>
> 100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023  | 
> Fellows
> 003C 
> Office: 740-587-5533  |
> Mobile: 516-314-4413 
> nandu...@denison.edu
> https://denison.edu/campus/technology
>
> *Please consider the environment before printing this email.*
>
> **
> Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire
> community list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the
> message, copy and paste their email address and forward the email reply.
> Additional participation and subscription information can be found at
> https://www.educause.edu/community
>

**
Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire community 
list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the message, copy and 
paste their email address and forward the email reply. Additional participation 
and subscription information can be found at https://www.educause.edu/community