4 Questions You Should Ask Before Designing Your New Wireless Network

Whether you're building a new wireless network from scratch or updating an existing one, getting it right the first time is easier said than done. Your success among many other things comes down to who you choose to design and implement your network. In this week's Wi-Fi Minute, we outline four must-ask questions to help you choose the right wireless solutions provider.

Video Transcription

Hey, everybody, welcome back. My name is Danny. This is The Wi-Fi minute. It's critical to both the performance of your wireless network and your budget that you choose the right wireless solutions provider when either updating or building a new Wi-Fi network. So for today's topic, here are four questions you should ask before designing your new wireless network. Alright, let's put 60 seconds up on the that clock, and let's go.

Question #1

First, what type of RF design software do you use?

Is it free software from the manufacturer or specialized RF design software that's vendor agnostic?

If the answer is free, that's a huge red flag and typically leads to an under or over engineered design.

Question #2

Second, what sort of certifications does the engineer who's approving the design have?

At minimum, customers should check to make sure the provider is certified on the products they're proposing and/or installing, and that they carry professional level certification.

However, when possible customers should really demand an expert level cert from their provider.

Question #3

Third, what type of validation software do you use after the systems been installed?

If the answer is he's using a phone or tablet with free software to simply measure signal coverage then, again, this is a red flag. If the provider can't deliver a detailed report from the software that gives you meaningful insights into the installed system and how it performs, then buyer beware.

Question #4

And finally, how do you monitor network performance on an ongoing basis?

The answer you're looking for should include some sort of proactive testing, like using sensor devices throughout your environment, as well as having a system to monitor things like device up-down status, device bandwidth consumption, channel utilization, device location by floor map, and real time RF coverage just to name a few.

Final Thoughts

When searching for the right fit it boils down to two things: Does the company engineers involved have the right level of expertise, and are they using the right tool set to get your new wireless network right the first time around? Down in the description I've included two links.

The first is for a real world breakdown of the cost difference between using free software and an inexperienced engineer versus specialized RF design software and an experienced engineer. I think actually seeing the graphic helps you better understand the impact and importance behind the Wi-Fi engineering process.

Of course, the second is a link to our wireless network design kit which will help educate you on everything you need to know before you deploy a large scale wireless network. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them down below. Thanks for watching. Have a fun and safe New Year's celebration and we'll see you next year.

At SecurEdge Networks, it’s our mission to help you create an affordable, robust, secure, and easy to support wireless network platform. If you have any questions about wireless network design or would like to discuss an upcoming project, please contact us here today.