Conducting site surveys is critical to ensure that you properly deploy the necessary access point infrastructure and that it performs well enough to support the use of your business-critical applications. RFprotect Survey is a Windows, laptop-based tool designed to meet the requirements of network managers and security personnel who are in the wireless LAN (WLAN) deployment planning phase and that routinely perform their own site surveys to troubleshoot problems and optimize network performance.
Cable drops can be costly and placement is critical in ensuring that WLAN networks perform to design specifications and customer requirements. RFprotect Survey provides you with everything you need to complete scientifically accurate site surveys of your facility and your 802.11a/b/g wireless network. As a database-driven solution, the product gathers critical RF information from your network using multiple data collection methods and generates detailed coverage maps of the results for easy network deployment and optimization. The product can also be used for scenario planning purposes and supports multi-floor analysis.
Once you have deployed a WLAN, you need to continually measure signal propagation as your signal must be higher than the noise level in the RF environment. For example, the RF background noise in your environment might be acceptable after an initial deployment, until an employee brings a microwave into one of the company breakrooms and begins using it daily at lunchtime. The use of this device would be sufficient to take down the wireless network in the vicinity and would be difficult to troubleshoot without a walk-around surveying solution. Using RFprotect Survey you will be able to accelerate your response to such incidents and resolve performance anomalies and wireless network "brownouts".
RFprotect Survey is unique in that it includes an integrated reporting package at no additional charge. The product automatically produces detailed, multi-page reports that can be used by network architects and network operations personnel alike. The product is also ideally suited for network and security consultants who need a tool to demonstrate the value that they deliver and to accelerate their customer engagement planning and project execution.
RFprotect Survey is the industry's only complete solution for network architects and wireless experts who are engaged in WLAN deployment planning and performance diagnostics. The product provides the following features and benefits:
| Feature |
Benefits |
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Simulate and visually display planned WLAN coverage |
Use RFprotect Survey to simulate the coverage in an area before you spend the time and effort to pull cable and deploy infrastructure. Using RFprotect Survey, you can ensure that you are meeting your rollout objectives and providing the necessary coverage. |
Emulate actual users to measure WLAN coverage and performance |
Place access points in desired locations throughout your enterprise for testing and use RFprotect Survey to emulate the actual client experience to measure the network speed, retry rates, and packet loss to determine the actual performance in real time. |
Optimize AP placement |
Use the actual measurement data to adapt your network to the needs of your users as these needs change due to fluctuations in your workforce or changes in your site; for example, if you install large furniture, the number of APs or sensors that are needed to maintain quality of service might change. |
Identify ideal sensor placement |
Deploying wireless security at the time of WLAN infrastructure deployment is now best practice. Use RFprotect Survey to determine the optimal location of your wireless security sensors to ensure complete protection for your enterprise. |
Isolate sources of noise and interference |
The product also proactively identifies, classifies, graphs and finds sources of RF interference in the WLAN so you can quickly resolve any performance anomalies or network "brownouts." |
Generate detailed site survey reports |
Automatically gathers critical RF information and creates detailed snapshot and trend reports for planning and diagnostic purposes.
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