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Ekahau released a cool feature called “Optimizer” to provide you an expert view on your wireless environment based on validation data collected. It is based on general best practices of Wi-Fi deployments and comes in 10 different criteria that we used in Wi-Fi design.
- Primary Coverage
- Secondary Coverage
- SNR
- MBR – Min Basic Rate
- PMF – Protected Mgt Frames
- Band Specific SSIDs
- Channel Width
- Rogue APs
- Encryption
- Channel Interference
As a starting point these best practices will provide you great insight to improve given wireless environment. However you have to keep in mind every Wi-Fi environment is unique and it may have configured in certain way to address a given requirement. Therefore before implementing recommended changes in a production Wi-Fi network you have to carefully evaluate each suggestions.
If you have Ekahau connect subscription, you can access any of your validation survey files in “Ekahau Insight” and then click on “Optimizer” to find suggested improvements.
It is easier to find out where you need most attention using “RED” , “ORANGE” and “GREEN” color coding provided in each criteria. “Primary coverage” high lighted in RED in below example which mean one of the radio bands (2.4/5/6 GHz) Wi-Fi coverage is not optimum.
Once you click on individual criteria, you will get details about given feature and suggested best practices for you to review and implement. In this example it highlighted 2.4GHz coverage is not optimum. Ekahau suggest to look at AP antenna (if applicable) or suggesting to check Tx power and increase it to 14-17dBm range, if that is set too low.
If you watch this feature release video, you can get a great overview of all other best practices Ekahau provides. If you are go for validation surveys for a new wireless environment, this feature will definitely help you to quickly identify any obvious issues and how to fix those as well.
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