Site survey

Site survey is the process of planning and measuring the wireless network, and it should precede every design proposal. Additionally, it should be conducted after the installation or any modifications to the wireless infrastructure. Site surveys are also essential after any changes made to the building's floor plans where wireless infrastructure already exists.

The main goal of the site survey is to determine the optimal distribution of access points to achieve ideal signal coverage, the required data rate, sufficient capacity, and seamless roaming for clients between the access points. Therefore, site surveys can be utilized both when designing a new wireless network and when addressing existing issues within an already established network.

Predictive site survey

A predictive site survey is a special type of site survey that involves simulating the signal coverage of a wireless network. This simulation is based on the floor plans provided by the client. This procedure is typically carried out during the early planning stages, primarily to assess the time and expenses involved in making a proposal. The simulation's accuracy is later confirmed by conducting a physical scan of the area.

Passive site survey

Passive site survey is the most common type of measurement for Wi-Fi signal strength and noise level. The site surveys are called passive because your Wi-Fi network adapter is simply listening to packets while performing the task. Hence, it provides a basic overview of the active access points (including the rogue APs), signal strength, and noise floor.

Active site survey

Active site survey adds performance measurement to the existing wireless network using an additional wireless adapter. The outcome may include a map of round-trip time, throughput rates, or echo rates.

Hybrid site survey

Hybrid site survey combines both of the previously mentioned site surveys along with spectrum analysis. Spectrum analysis identifies possible high-frequency interference sources, such as industrial installations, resonators, LTE networks, radars, etc. This interference could have a negative impact on the performance of the entire wireless network.

The most advanced technologies that we utilize include:

• Ekahau Site Survey – this tool provides predictive, active, and passive site surveys
• Ekahau Sidekick – this tool is used for active and passive site surveys and also helps in searching for high-frequency interference sources