The Aironet Client Utility (ACU) Site Survey tool operates at the RF level
and is used to determine the best placement and coverage or overlap for the
network APs
. During the site
survey, the current status of the network is read from the client adapter and
displayed four times per second so the network performance can be accurately
measured. The feedback that is received can help eliminate areas of low RF
signal levels that can result in a loss of connection between the client
adapter and its associated AP.
The Site Survey tool can be operated in
two modes:
- Passive Mode – This is the default site survey mode. It does not initiate
any RF network traffic. It simply listens to the traffic that the client
adapter hears and displays the results.
- Active Mode – This mode, shown in Figure
, causes
the client adapter to actively send or receive low-level RF packets to or from
its associated AP and provides information on the success rate. It also enables
the parameters such as the data rate to be set in order to govern how the site
survey is performed.
The following guidelines should be kept in mind when preparing to
perform a site survey:
- Perform the site survey when the RF link is functioning and all other
systems and noise sources are operational.
- Execute the site survey entirely from the mobile station.
- Conduct the site survey with all variables set to operational values when
using the active mode.