WLAN planning process:

Demand Collection

1. Detailed drawings of the coverage area are the basic requirement.

2. Different projects have different requirements. The preceding requirements are the basic requirements of most projects. If customers have any special requirements, the requirements must be taken into consideration.

Site Survey Information

Based on different scenarios and requirements, site surveys are classified into simple site surveys and detailed site surveys with consideration of the investment cost.

Simple site survey: Applicable to simple scenarios or some pre-sales projects that do not have detailed requirements on the solution.

Detailed site survey: Applicable to complex scenarios or post-sales network planning projects that have high requirements on the solution.

Planning and Design

Since different projects have different scenarios and requirements, there may be differences between the network planning solutions and focuses. Based on project support experience, planning of most of the outdoor projects is not complicated. Product selection, capacity design, and deployment design must be taken into consideration.

Device Selection

AP selection:

1. When the upstream distance is long, and optical interfaces must be used, select AP6610DN.

2. When only local AC power can be provided, select AP6610DN.

3. When PoE power is provided, select AP6510DN.

Antenna selection:

1. Antenna type:

a) When the coverage distance is within 300 m, the coverage area is circular or square, and antennas can be deployed in the central area, select omnidirectional antennas.

b) When the coverage distance is longer than 300 m, select directional antennas.

c) When the coverage area (for example, a scenic spot road, street, and underground tunnel) is strip-shaped, select directional antennas.

2. Antenna gain:

a) When there is no clear requirement on bandwidth and the coverage distance is less than 300 m, select antennas whose gain is 11dBi ± 3dBi.

b) When there is no clear requirement on bandwidth and the coverage distance is equal to or longer than 300 m, select antennas whose gain is 18dBi ± 3dBi.

c) In outdoor environments where there is no obstacle, when APs are connected to 11dBi antennas, terminals are planned to connect to upstream devices in the following manner: laptop: 300 m; mobile phones: 200 m

d) Both upstream and downstream signals of antennas must comply with the following formula:

Signal field strength - System margin > Sensitivity of receiving antennas

The system margin is related to the signal transmission environment. Usually, the system margin value is 10dB.

4. Antenna angle:

Capacity Design

Basic principle: A single-band AP supports 20 access users. A dual-band AP supports 40 access users. The recommended value is applicable to customers who have no clear requirements on bandwidth.

Coverage design:

Deployment Design

1. Site design

a) There must be no obstacle between the aggregation point and relay point, and the relay point and endpoint.

b) Reliable power must be provided for a site.

c) When the backhaul distance is longer than 3 km, select antennas whose gain is 28 dBi to ensure lossless bandwidth of backhaul links.

2. Power supply and cable layout

a) The length of cable from an AP to a switch must be within 90 m.

b) Approximately 5 m must be reserved for the network cable for subsequent adjustment.

c) Keep sites away from strong current and strong magnetic fields.

d) Make confirmations with customers in advance to avoid customers' disagreement on construction due to factors such as property and appearance.

3. Anatenna deployment

When the distance between the AP site and its coverage area is long, raise the antenna or reduce antenna tilt for long distance coverage. Lower the antenna or increase antenna tilt for short distance coverage.

Channel design:

a). Search available channels in the channel compliance table and make confirmation with local customers.

b). Prevent co-channel interference: The same channel cannot be used in any two directions.

Scenario Introduction:

Business Streets and Pedestrian Street

The main part of a business street is a road, along which various stores are distributed. Most buildings are one-story or two-story. The typical architecture is a single narrow and long room of a great depth. Store walls are generally made of reinforced concrete. As a result, WLAN signals are shielded.

Most of the users are shop operators and customers. The access user density is not high. The user concurrence rate and the data flow are at medium levels. Signal coverage is the focus of WLAN construction.

Squares and Parks

At squares and parks as well as scenic spots, there are vast public activity places with high population mobility. Both single-user traffic and concurrent user traffic are low. As a result, various WLAN products and antennas can be flexibly selected based on the coverage area and site location.

Schools and Residential Communities

Indoor wireless coverage system is the best choice for indoor scenarios. If the building owner does not allow indoor installation of APs, outdoor APs and antennas are selected for covering the indoor area.

Suburbs and Rural Areas

In general, rural areas, towns, and suburbs are vast. Buildings in these areas are low and orderly. As a result, wireless signals can be transmitted easily. These scenarios put high requirements on wireless signal coverage and signal capacity.

It is recommended that directional antennas be used in these scenarios and the coverage range be within 500 meters. Customer premises equipment (CPE) can be installed to enhance coverage effectiveness in areas out of the visibility range or users' houses where signals are weak.