Cisco Cisco Catalyst 6000 Multilayer Switch Feature Card MSFC2 White Paper

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Cisco WCS version 7.0 MR1 enjoys integration with both Ekahau Site Survey 5.1 and AirMagnet/Fluke Survey Pro

and Planner v 8.1. These integrations will reduce the effort involved in processing and sharing information

between the management platform and survey tools. This reduces both the time and effort required while

maximizing accuracy for planning and lifecycle management of the resulting network.

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For more information on Cisco WCS and Ekahau Site Survey:

Recording: Integration between Ekahau Site

Survey and Cisco WCS

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For more information on Cisco WCS and AirMagnet Surveyor and Planner pro integration see:

Webinar:

Cisco WCS Integration with AirMagnet Survey and Planner

Calibration

When the word calibration is used in the context of tools, it generally refers to the need to test and adjust the

accuracy of certain measurement tools against a reference signal to certify that the results produced are accurate.

In wireless networking, most tools rely on a network adapter used for site surveys or to conduct specific

measurements. Network adapters rarely if ever require calibration. Network adapters can and do vary widely on

their assessment of the physical layer. Here are some best practices that can be used to ensure that data

produced from multiple sources is useful and accurate when compared.

For laptop-based tools, it is important to be certain that the network adapter used is consistent between different

tools and data sets that will be compared. This means that all laptops used for surveying should have the same

adapter and driver software. Different results can be derived even when using the same adapter with the same

driver software on different platforms. Antennas and the placement of the antennas are generally driven by the

physical space available in a platform and design compromises will vary platform to platform. This will effect how

the radio perceives the world. Compare different platforms in a static environment before committing to a survey.

Best practices include:

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Use external USB adapters for survey equipment.

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The software can usually be licensed to the adapter and moved from platform to platform, keeping the

measurement tool consistent.

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Always use the same driver software whether from the device manufacturer or from the tool manufacturer

on all tools being used to quantify results in a given environment.

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When updating a driver, compare the results between the new and old driver. This will help make sense of

older data sets.

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Record what adapters, platforms, and driver software were used when collecting data sets. This will make

remembering the details later much easier if the need arises.

Infrastructure Readiness

The wired LAN should remove all protocol traffic not required by the applications on the WLAN endpoints. The

wired LAN should be designed to maintain the quality of service (QoS) configurations of the WLAN. The LAN

should be designed to support a burst of authentication traffic.

SSID Assignment

Users connect via distinct SSIDs for each user segment, with each SSID being segregated to its own respective

VLAN. This wireless connection is secured by respective wireless authentication protocols. Table 9 provides an

example of SSIDs that are used in universities.