A survey moves the conversation from how many access points to what this building does to a signal.
A survey answers a commercial question as much as a technical one, because it decides which platform the building argues for. Density and interference point one way, a campus already standardised on a single fabric points another, and outdoor coverage or roaming can point somewhere else again.
Where a campus is already standardised, staying inside that fabric keeps the wireless, the switching and the access policy behaving as one system. Where the harder problem is density, roaming or outdoor coverage, a different platform frequently suits the building better, and the useful moment to be told which is before the purchase rather than after it.
Questions Worth Taking Forward
- What does this building do to a signal, and has anyone measured it?
- Is the requirement coverage, density, or roaming?
- Is the estate already standardised on one fabric, and does that still fit the problem?
- What evidence will exist that the design was right?
Campus Wi-FiNetworking