Wireless Installations
Thinking of installing a new wireless network?
Do you have a wireless network that you suspect
is under performing, but
don’t know why??
Asctec Online Ltd have the tools and the expertise to help you investigate the performance of your wireless environment to ‘fine tune’ the network for maximum performance. Either as an existing network of proposed!!
We have invested in state of the art wireless network planning and surveying/auditing equipment to be able to provide you with an in depth and complete analysis of your wireless environment – either proposed or installed.
The vast majority of installed wireless networks are designed using the most basic tools available, usually consisting of a laptop with onboard wireless and an access point. Undoubtedly this will provide indication of connectivity however it will fail to indicate issues that may arise such as;
- Available Bandwidth.
- Blue tooth connectivity application issues.
- Mobile device interference.
- Electrical device interference.
- Implications of industrial plant.
- Implications of office desk and cabinet layout.
- Network crossover.
- Channel usage.
- Affects on any neighbouring wireless networks.
- Other sources of Interference.
- Re-planning after office refurbishment.
We can achieve this as our equipment concentrates primarily on the underlying physical layer. This means it can detect not just WLAN devices, but any device that is using RF spectrum, which gives it the ability to expose almost any interference-causing device that may be causing network problems, instead of providing data about 802.11's protocol layer like most spectrum analysers.
We can help to minimise these issues and provide you with detailed evidence gained from our survey/audit that will prove you have addressed these issues in order to provide the best solution for your business. As wireless networks by their very nature, are not ‘static’ installations, it is vital to ensure you have a reference point from which your wireless environment can develop.
Knowing what type of device is causing interference is of course good start, but of course it doesn't do any good unless you can actually find it!! That isn't always easy -- you might trace your problem to a microwave or a Bluetooth headset, but which one? To find out, our equipment acts as a sort of wireless Geiger counter, Highlight the device we wish to find and as we walk around, its signal strength and proximity is measured and plotted on a green/yellow/red bar graph.
We can provide you with credible documentation of your proposed or existing environment which can be viewed in much the same way as test results for a structured cable installation – proof performance and a baseline reference point.
We think of this in terms of a Category 5+ or Cat 6 cable installation where every cable is tested for performance and then documented.
Typical screen shot.
Identifying Interference problems
The screen shot below was taken at a customer site where they were having wireless performance problems. The columns on the graph indicate the wireless channels available (6-11). The brown vertical bars indicate wireless availability whereas the black bars indicate interference from other RF devices. Using this tool it was possible to quickly identify the cause of the problem and correct it.
The effect of other devices on a wireless network.
It is not always realised that a leaky microwave oven can have a serious impact on wireless networks. The screen shot below shows how a leaky microwave situated in an office kitchen area was causing considerable interference to a customer's wireless network. It also shows the impact of other Bluetooth devices in the vicinity.
For more information about ASCTEC's Wireless solutions and to arrange a wireless survey, please contact us.