Wireless Network Design

[dupas]

I was asked to design a wireless network for a school. I need to make sure that there are enough access points integrated into their existing network. Is there any design programs out there that can help me with the layout so Im not to far from each one?

Thanks!

 

[ADB100]

There are 2 aspects you need to consider, not just the physical side of things.

You need to perform a Wireless Survey to indicate where you will physically need to install the Access Points. You can use freeware tools such as NetStumbler to do this or a commercial product. I think there is free Surveying tool you can download from Cisco which works with their Wireless Adapters.

http://www.netstumbler.com/

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk722/tk809/technologies_q_and_a_item09186a00805e9a96.shtml

Following the physical design you then need to understand how these devices will connect to the network - i.e. will they just link into the existing network as if they were PC's? Will you want multiple SSID's for different purposes such as Students, Staff, Guests etc?. If the AP's are being connected over a large area will there be multiple access switches that they will connect to, if so how is the network currently made up - VLAN's, Layer-3 routed etc.

You also need to choose whether you go for a LightWeight AP (LWAP) solution with a central controller or whether you use intelligent Autonomous AP's.

You also need to choose your Authentication & Encryption methods and what clients you will support.

some good reading material on Microsofts website regarding deploying Wireless networks:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/wifi/default.mspx

HTH

Andy