The easiest way to start a site survey is to pick one area of the facility
that needs coverage. Choose a corner and place the AP there
. Survey the
coverage of that AP and make a note of where the farthest point of coverage is
from the AP. Then move the AP to that point. If the AP was placed in the
corner, as much as 75 percent of the coverage cell might be wasted on covering
an area outside of the building, which does not require coverage.
After
the AP has been moved, survey the coverage of the AP. It may be necessary to
move the AP several times in order to find the best placement. After
determining the best location for the AP, move to a different corner of the
facility and repeat the process. In a simple warehouse like the one shown in
the figures, the process would be repeated four times. The survey of the RF
coverage would then be complete.
In a more advanced survey, repeating
the process four times might only provide coverage around the perimeter of the
facility. Any holes must then be filled. This process requires experience and
judgment. Some SEs might choose to survey the perimeter and then fill in the
center. Remember that if seamless coverage is required, the coverage cells must
overlap
.
For a standard survey, 15 percent overlap is usually sufficient to provide
smooth, transparent handoffs. If intending to use repeaters, then the repeaters
will need to have a 50 percent overlap with a wired AP.
Another approach
is to survey the first two APs and determine their coverage areas
. Then place an
AP at the edge of the first AP cell, and survey the coverage. Then move the AP
out further to utilize the entire cell. This allows for a rough judgment of the
size of the cell. Survey the new location to determine feasibility and adjust
if necessary. After the AP location has been decided, the SE continues this
process until the entire facility is covered.