Running head: WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT PLAN

WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT PLAN

Hal Hagood
U05a1

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The benefits of wireless technology fall into two main categories: core business benefits and
operational benefits. Core business benefits include improved employee productivity, quicker and more
efficient business processes and the greater potential for creating entirely new business functions.
Operational benefits include lower costs of management and lower capital expenditure.
As users become increasingly mobile and business applications demand additional bandwidth,
advanced wireless services are critical to helping companies maintain innovation, agility, and
differentiation. In this environment IT managers are tasked with building a highly available integrated
network that enables secure mobility services, provides high-performance rich media collaboration, and
improves the overall operating efficiency through tight integration of wired and wireless networks. When
enabling business mobility in a converged environment, the challenge is to design, build, and operate a
mobility solution aligned with current business requirements but with the flexibility to meet changing
market and organizational demands (Cisco, 2014).
Device configuration activities involve certain standards and definitions. Wireless Access Point is
the hardware device that creates a central connection point for the wireless connectivity. As such is
behaves like a hub with bandwidth shared among all users who are using this network connection. The
wireless port is used to connect the wireless access point to the wired network. Wireless ports provide
data and power service to the wireless access point.
Wireless client software allows for a computer to utilize 802.1x authentication to the wired and
wireless networks. The coverage area is variable due to the presence of building materials, interference,
obstructions, and access point placement and degradation can occur. This can be caused by caused by
electromagnetic radiation from another source including other wireless access points, cellular telephones,
microwave ovens, medical and research equipment, and other devices that generate radio signals.
Selection of the wireless network for GreenTree is essential. Typically, small and medium-sized
businesses (SMBs) require fewer than 24 access points, but businesses must consider bandwidth in the
overall plan. Without adequate bandwidth to handle traffic, you may not realize expected productivity
gains. IT staff should also be able to manage multiple access points and balance the load accordingly;

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centrally-managed wireless controller appliances can do this dynamically to boost performance and save
time (smallbusinesscomputing, 2014).
GreenTreen must decide on the number of necessary WLAN access points needed, this is the
first step. Security is the next step and is explained in greater detail below. Access points come next,
businesses with multiple access points require devices designed to achieve a seamless connection.
Consideration of a wireless LAN controller should be given, the controller recognizes all of the connected
access points and sets the appropriate channel and power setting. Some controllers even let you load a
diagram of the floor plan, providing a heat map that shows the signal strength of each access point.
Finally GreenTree needs to be prepared to grow with the technology. The equipment and the
configuration should be driven by business goals and be mindful of what potential needs will be six
months to a year into the future
Security is particularly important in wireless networks because data is transmitted using radio
signals that, without implementation of specific data encryption mechanisms, can easily be intercepted.
Wireless network infrastructure refers to the collection of all wireless access points, antennas, network
cabling, power, ports, hardware, and software associated with the deployment of a wireless
communication network. Security protocols are defined by Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), WPA or Wi-Fi
Protected Access, Others include 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11i and 802.11n.
For GreenTree there are certain steps that should be followed first and these involve Identifying
user requirements and Selecting and purchasing hardware and software that is proven, scalable and
capable. Planning in detail for network migration or expansion, since networks are now the lifeline of the
company and utilizing the services of consultants to receive quality advice from people who have gone
through this same experience.
Conducing an RF site survey, prior to implementation, to identify wireless signal paths and
sources of potential interference is advised. Also an ongoing maintenance, support and optimization
services should be built into the plan integration of wireless security and mobility products with existing
enterprise identity management solutions addressed and Determination of which classes of devices are
allowed to touch the network and the policies that are involved.

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Compatibility and security problems can derail wireless projects. A facility-wide policy requiring
coordinated planning, equipment and device qualification, and security standards is essential for troublefree wireless and should not be compromised when implementing wireless solutions or networks. The
risks of wireless technology should be carefully considered; appropriate steps should be taken to mitigate
those risks before deploying wireless networks or applications.
The network must enforce a range of security protocols, as required by the client device. Also, the
addition of a device with weak security capabilities must not compromise security for other services.
Steps that can be taken immediately to assure an effective wireless implementation include:
Establishing a minimum set of security requirements for wireless networks and applications
Adopting proven security policies and procedures to address the security weaknesses of the
wireless environment
Adopting strong encryption methods that encompass end-to-end encryption of information as
it passes throughout the wireless network
Adopting authentication protocols for using wireless applications that are separate and distinct
from those provided by the wireless vendor
Providing appropriate training to IT personnel on network, application and security controls so
that they understand and can respond to potential risks
Performing independent security testing of wireless network and application implementations
(Technology.pitt, 2014)
Troubleshooting involves several activities and an understanding of the network. After installing a
wireless LAN, you might find that it doesn't support applications as expected. Users may complain of
erratic connections and slow performance, which hampers the use and benefits of applications. When this
happens, its time to do some troubleshooting. Start by finding the root cause of the problems.
RF interference occupies the air medium, which delays users from sending/receiving data and
causes collisions and resulting retransmissions. The combination of high noise levels and high retry rates
generally indicates that RF interference is impacting your wireless LAN. You can use tools such as

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AirMagnet Analyzer or NetStumbler to measure noise. Also, AirMagnet has tools for testing retry rates,
and most access points store retry statistics that you can view through the admin console.
If the noise level is above -85dBm in the band where users are operating, then RF interference
has the potential to hurt performance. In this case, the retry rates of users will be above 10 percent, which
is when users start feeling the effects. This can occur, for example, when wireless users are in the same
room as an operating microwave oven (wi-fiplanet, 2014).
If you diagnose the problem as being RF interference, then figure out where it's coming from and
eliminate the cause. If the symptoms only occur when the microwave oven or cordless phone is
operating, then try setting the access point to a different channel. That sometimes eliminates the
interference.
Another step is to take quick scan of other wireless LANs operating in the area. If others are set
to the same channel, then change the network to non-conflicting channels. Keep in mind that there are
only three channels (1, 6 and 11) in the 2.4GHz band that don't conflict with each other. Most homes and
small offices will have their access point set to channel 6 because that's the most common factory default
channel. Avoid using channel 6 with the access points near the perimeter of your enterprise.
If you can't seem to reduce RF interference to acceptable levels, then try increasing RF signal
strength in the affected areas. You can do this by increasing transmit power, replacing default antennas
with units that have a higher gain, or placing the access points closer to each other. This increases the
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which improves performance.
When there are large numbers of active wireless users, or the users are operating high-end
applications such as Wi-Fi phones or downloading large files, the utilization of the network may be
reaching the maximum capacity of the access point. With this condition, the retry rates will be relatively
high (greater than 10 percent), even if signal levels are high and noise levels are low (i.e., high SNR). The
result is lower throughput per user due to the additional overhead necessary to retransmit data frames
(Wi-Fiplanet, 2014).

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Resolve this problem by placing access points closer together with lower transmit power to create
smaller radio cells. This "micro-cell" approach reduces the number of users per access point, which
enables more capacity per user. Another method for handling high utilization is to move some of the
applications to a different frequency band. For example, you might consider having Wi-Fi phones
interfacing with a 5GHz 802.11a network and data applications running over 2.4GHz 802.11b/g.
After installing a wireless LAN, changes may take place inside the facility that alter RF signal
propagation. For example, a company may construct a wall, which offers significant attenuation that
wasn't there before. Worse, perhaps an RF site survey was not done prior to installing the network. These
situations often result in areas of the facility having limited or no RF signal coverage, which decreases the
performance and disrupts the operation of wireless applications.
Indications of a coverage hole include low signal level (less than -75dBm) and high retry rates
(greater than 10 percent), regardless of noise levels. The signal in this situation is so low that the receiver
in the radio card has difficulties recovering the data, which triggers retransmissions, excessive overhead,
and low throughput. For instance, a user will likely experience a 75 percent drop in throughput when
operating from an area having low signal levels (Wi-Fi planet, 2014).
To counter coverage holes, you need to improve the signal strength in the affected areas. Try
increasing transmit power, replacing the antennas with ones having higher gain, or moving access points
around to better cover the area. Keep coverage holes from popping up unexpectedly in the future by
performing a periodic RF site survey, possibly every few months.
In some cases, the root cause of poor performance may be an access point that has failed.
Check applicable access points for broken antennas, status lights indicating fault conditions and
insufficient electrical power. Try rebooting the access points, which often resolves firmware lockups and
make sure that the firmware is up to date.

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PROPOSED WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT PLAN

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References
Cisco, (2014). Retrieved May 5, 2014 from https://www.cisco.com/en/US/services/ps2961/ps6899/
ps8306/services_datasheets_securewireless_scopeddesign_customer.pdf
Technology.pitt, (2014). Retrieved May 5,2014 from http://technology.pitt.edu/networkweb/responsibilities/wireless-network-standard.html
Smallbusinesscomputing, (2014). Retrieved May 5, 2014 from
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/webmaster/article.php/3917391/10-Tips-for-Planning-aWireless-Network.htm
Wi-fiplanet, (2014). Retrieved May 5, 2014 from http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3566706