Table Of Contents
Adding and Using Maps
Creating Maps
Adding a Campus
Adding Buildings
Adding a Building to a Campus Map
Adding a Standalone Building
Adding Outdoor Areas
Adding and Enhancing Floor Plans
Adding Floor Plans to a Campus Building
Adding Floor Plans to a Standalone Building
Using the Map Editor to Enhance Floor Plans
Using Planning Mode to Calculate Access Point Requirements
Adding Access Points
Access Point Placement
Creating a Network Design
Designing a Network
Monitoring Maps
Monitoring Predicted Coverage
Monitoring Channels on a Floor Map
Monitoring Transmit Power Levels on a Floor Map
Monitoring Coverage Holes on a Floor Map
Monitoring Clients on a Floor Map
Creating and Applying Calibration Models
Adding and Using Maps
This chapter describes how to add maps to the Cisco WCS database and use them to monitor your wireless LAN. It contains these sections:
•
Creating Maps
•Access Point Placement
•Creating a Network Design
•Monitoring Maps
•Creating and Applying Calibration Models
Creating Maps
Adding maps to the Cisco WCS database enables you to view your managed system on realistic campus, building, and floor plan maps. Follow the instructions in the sections below to add a campus, buildings, outdoor areas, floor plans, and access points to maps in the Cisco WCS database:
•Adding a Campus
•Adding Buildings
•Adding Outdoor Areas
•Adding and Enhancing Floor Plans
•Adding Access Points
Adding a Campus
Follow these steps to add a single campus map to the Cisco WCS database.
Step 1 Save the map in .PNG, .JPG, .JPEG, or .GIF format.
Note The map can be any size because WCS automatically resizes the map to fit its working areas.
Step 2 Browse to and import the map from anywhere in your file system.
Step 3 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 4 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Campus and click GO.
Step 5 On the Maps > New Campus page, enter the campus name and campus contact name.
Step 6 Browse to and choose the image filename containing the map of the campus and click Open.
Step 7 Check the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box to prevent length and width distortion when WCS resizes the map.
Step 8 Enter the horizontal and vertical span of the map in feet.
Note The horizontal and vertical span should be larger than any building or floor plan to be added to the campus.
Step 9 Click OK to add this campus map to the Cisco WCS database. WCS displays the Maps page, which lists maps in the database, map types, and campus status.
Adding Buildings
You can add buildings to the Cisco WCS database regardless of whether you have added campus maps to the database. This section explains how to add a building to a campus map or a standalone building to the Cisco WCS database.
Adding a Building to a Campus Map
Follow these steps to add a building to a campus map in the Cisco WCS database.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click the desired campus. WCS displays the Maps > Campus Name page.
Step 3 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Building and click GO.
Step 4 On the Campus Name > New Building page, follow these steps to create a virtual building in which to organize related floor plan maps:
a. Enter the building name.
b. Enter the building contact name.
c. Enter the number of floors and basements.
d. Enter an approximate building horizontal span and vertical span (width and depth on the map) in feet.
Note The horizontal and vertical span should be larger than or the same size as any floors that you might add later.
Tip You can also use Ctrl-click to resize the bounding area in the upper left corner of the campus map. As you change the size of the bounding area, the Horizontal Span and Vertical Span parameters of the building change to match your actions.
e. Click Place to put the building on the campus map. WCS creates a building rectangle scaled to the size of the campus map.
f. Click on the building rectangle and drag it to the desired position on the campus map.
g. Click Save to save this building and its campus location to the database. WCS saves the building name in the building rectangle on the campus map.
Note A hyperlink associated with the building takes you to the corresponding Map page.
Adding a Standalone Building
Follow these steps to add a standalone building to the Cisco WCS database.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Building and click GO.
Step 3 On the Maps > New Building page, follow these steps to create a virtual building in which to organize related floor plan maps:
a. Enter the building name.
b. Enter the building contact name.
c. Enter the number of floors and basements.
d. Enter an approximate building horizontal span and vertical span (width and depth on the map) in feet.
Note The horizontal and vertical span should be larger than or the same size as any floors that you might add later.
e. Click OK to save this building to the database.
Adding Outdoor Areas
Follow these steps to add an outdoor area to a campus map.
Note You can add outdoor areas to a campus map in the Cisco WCS database regardless of whether you have added outdoor area maps to the database.
Step 1 If you want to add a map of the outdoor area to the database, save the map in .PNG, .JPG, .JPEG, or .GIF format. Then browse to and import the map from anywhere in your file system.
Note You do not need a map to add an outdoor area. You can simply define the dimensions of the area to add it to the database. The map can be any size because WCS automatically resizes the map to fit the workspace.
Step 2 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 3 Click the desired campus. WCS displays the Maps > Campus Name page.
Step 4 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Outdoor Area and click GO.
Step 5 On the Campus Name > New Outdoor Area page, follow these steps to create a manageable outdoor area:
a. Enter the outdoor area name.
b. Enter the outdoor area contact name.
c. If desired, enter or browse to the filename of the outdoor area map.
d. Enter an approximate outdoor horizontal span and vertical span (width and depth on the map) in feet.
Tip You can also use Ctrl-click to resize the bounding area in the upper left corner of the campus map. As you change the size of the bounding area, the Horizontal Span and Vertical Span parameters of the outdoor area change to match your actions.
e. Click Place to put the outdoor area on the campus map. WCS creates an outdoor area rectangle scaled to the size of the campus map.
f. Click on the outdoor area rectangle and drag it to the desired position on the campus map.
g. Click Save to save this outdoor area and its campus location to the database. WCS saves the outdoor area name in the outdoor area rectangle on the campus map.
Note A hyperlink associated with the outdoor area takes you to the corresponding Map page.
Adding and Enhancing Floor Plans
This section explains how to add floor plans to either a campus building or a standalone building in the Cisco WCS database. It also provides instructions on using the WCS map editor to enhance floor plans that you have created and the WCS planning mode to calculate the number of access points required to cover an area.
Adding Floor Plans to a Campus Building
After you add a building to a campus map, you can add individual floor plan and basement maps to the building. Follow these steps to add floor plans to a campus building.
Step 1 Save your floor plan maps in .PNG, .JPG, or .GIF format.
Note The maps can be any size because WCS automatically resizes the maps to fit the workspace.
Step 2 Browse to and import the floor plan maps from anywhere in your file system.
Step 3 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 4 Click the desired campus. WCS displays the Maps > Campus Name page.
Step 5 Move your cursor over the name within an existing building rectangle to highlight it.
Note When you highlight the name within a building rectangle, the building description appears in the sidebar.
Step 6 Click on the building name to display the Maps > Campus Name > Building Name page.
Step 7 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Floor Area and click GO.
Step 8 On the Building Name > New Floor Area page, follow these steps to add floors to a building in which to organize related floor plan maps:
a. Enter the floor or basement name.
b. Enter the floor or basement contact name.
c. Choose the floor or basement number.
d. Choose the floor or basement type.
e. Enter the floor-to-floor height in feet.
f. Check the Image File check box; then browse to and choose the desired floor or basement image filename and click Open.
Note When you choose the floor or basement image filename, WCS displays the image in the building-sized grid.
g. Click Next.
h. Either leave the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box checked to preserve the original image aspect ratio or uncheck the check box to change the image aspect ratio.
i. Enter an approximate floor or basement horizontal span and vertical span (width and depth on the map) in feet.
Note The horizontal and vertical span should be smaller than or the same size as the building horizontal span and vertical span in the Cisco WCS database.
j. If desired, click Place to locate the floor or basement image on the building grid.
Tip You can use Ctrl-click to resize the image within the building-sized grid.
k. Click OK to save this floor plan to the database. WCS displays the floor plan image on the Maps > Campus Name > Building Name page.
Note Use different floor names in each building. If you are adding more than one building to the campus map, do not use the same floor name that exists in another building. This overlap causes an incorrect mapping between the floor and building.
Step 9 Click any of the floor or basement images to view the floor plan or basement map.
Note You can zoom in and out to view the map at different sizes, and you can add access points. See the "Adding Access Points" section for instructions.
Adding Floor Plans to a Standalone Building
After you have added a standalone building to the Cisco WCS database, you can add individual floor plan maps to the building. Follow these steps to add floor plans to a standalone building.
Step 1 Save your floor plan maps in .PNG, .JPG, or .GIF format.
Note The maps can be any size because WCS automatically resizes the maps to fit the workspace.
Step 2 Browse to and import the floor plan maps from anywhere in your file system.
Step 3 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 4 Click the desired building. WCS displays the Maps > Building Name page.
Step 5 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose New Floor Area and click GO.
Step 6 On the Building Name > New Floor Area page, follow these steps to add floors to a building in which to organize related floor plan maps:
a. Enter the floor or basement name.
b. Enter the floor or basement contact name.
c. Choose the floor or basement number.
d. Choose the floor or basement type.
e. Enter the floor-to-floor height in feet.
f. Check the Image File check box; then browse to and choose the desired floor or basement image filename and click Open.
Note When you choose the floor or basement image filename, WCS displays the image in the building-sized grid.
g. Click Next.
h. Either leave the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box checked to preserve the original image aspect ratio or uncheck the check box to change the image aspect ratio.
i. Enter an approximate floor or basement horizontal span and vertical span (width and depth on the map) in feet.
Note The horizontal and vertical span should be smaller than or the same size as the building horizontal span and vertical span in the Cisco WCS database.
j. If desired, click Place to locate the floor or basement image on the building grid.
Tip You can use Ctrl-click to resize the image within the building-sized grid.
k. Click OK to save this floor plan to the database. WCS displays the floor plan image on the Maps > Building Name page.
Step 7 Click any of the floor or basement images to view the floor plan or basement map.
Note You can zoom in and out to view the map at different sizes, and you can add access points. See the "Adding Access Points" section for instructions.
Using the Map Editor to Enhance Floor Plans
You can use the WCS map editor to define, draw, and enhance floor plan information. The map editor enables you to create obstacles so that they can be taken into consideration when computing RF prediction heat maps for access points. You can also add coverage areas for location appliances that locate clients and tags in that particular area. Follow these steps to use the map editor.
Note Cisco recommends that you use the map editor to draw walls and other obstacles rather than importing an .FPE file from the legacy floor plan editor. If necessary, however, you can still import .FPE files. To do so, navigate to the desired floor area, choose Edit Floor Area from the Select a Command drop-down menu, click GO, check the FPE File check box, and browse to and choose the .FPE file.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click the desired campus. WCS displays the Maps > Campus Name page.
Step 3 Click on a campus building.
Step 4 Click on the desired floor area. WCS displays the Maps > Campus Name > Building Name > Floor Area Name page.
Step 5 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose Map Editor and click GO. WCS displays the Map Editor page.
Step 6 Make sure that the floor plan images are properly scaled so that all white space outside of the external walls is removed. To make sure that floor dimensions are accurate, choose the compass tool from the toolbar.
Step 7 Position the reference length. When you do, the Scale menu appears with the line length supplied. Enter the dimensions (width and height) of the reference length and click OK.
Step 8 Choose the desired 802.11 standard from the Radio Type drop-down menu.
Step 9 Choose the antenna model from the Antenna drop-down menu.
Step 10 Determine the propogation pattern at the Antenna Mode drop-down menu.
Step 11 Make antenna adjustments by sliding the antenna orientation bar to the desired degree of direction.
Step 12 Choose the desired access point.
Step 13 Click Save.
Using Planning Mode to Calculate Access Point Requirements
The WCS planning mode enables you to calculate the number of access points required to cover an area by placing fictitious access points on a map and allowing you to view the coverage area. Based on the throughput specified for each protocol (802.11a or 802.11b/g), planning mode calculates the total number of access points required to provide optimum coverage in your network. Refer to the Wireless Control System Online Help for instructions on using the planning mode.
Adding Access Points
After you add the .PNG, .JPG, .JPEG, or .GIF format floor plan and outdoor area maps to the Cisco WCS database, you can position lightweight access point icons on the maps to show where they are installed in the buildings. Follow these steps to add access points to floor plan and outdoor area maps.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Network Summary to display the Network Summary page.
Step 2 Under Coverage Areas, click the desired floor plan or outdoor area map. WCS displays the associated coverage area map.
Step 3 From the Select a Command drop-down menu, choose Add Access Points and click GO.
Step 4 On the Add Access Points page, choose the access points to add to the map.
Step 5 Click OK to add the access points to the map and display the Position Access Points map.
Note The access point icons appear in the upper left area of the map.
Step 6 Click and drag the icons to indicate their physical locations.
Step 7 Click each icon and choose the antenna orientation in the sidebar.
Note The antenna angle is relative to the map's X axis. Because the origin of the X and Y axes is in the upper left corner of the map, 0 degrees points side A of the access point to the right, 90 degrees points side A down, 180 degrees points side A to the left, and so on.
Note Make sure each access point is in the correct location on the map and has the correct antenna orientation. Accurate access point positioning is critical when you use the maps to find coverage holes and rogue access points.
Step 8 Click Save to store the access point locations and orientations. WCS computes the RF prediction for the coverage area. These RF predictions are popularly known as heat maps because they show the relative intensity of the RF signals on the coverage area map. Figure 5-1 shows an RF prediction heat map.
Note This display is only an approximation of the actual RF signal intensity because it does not take into account the attenuation of various building materials, such as drywall or metal objects, nor does it display the effects of RF signals bouncing off obstructions.
Figure 5-1 RF Prediction Heat Map
Access Point Placement
To determine the optimum location of all devices in the wireless LAN coverage areas, you need to consider the access point density and location.
Ensure that no fewer than 3 access points, and preferably 4 or 5, provide coverage to every area where device location is required. The more access points that detect a device, the better. This high level guideline translates into the following best practices, ordered by priority:
1. Most importantly, access points should surround the desired location.
2. Roughly one access point should be placed every 50-70 linear feet (~17-20 meters). This translates into one access point every 2,500 to 5000 square feet (~230-450 square meters).
Following these guidelines makes it more likely that access points will detect tracked devices. Rarely do two physical environments have the same RF characteristics. Users may need to adjust those parameters to their specific environment and requirements.
Note Devices must be detected at signals greater than -75 dBm for the controllers to forward information to the location appliance. No fewer than three access points should be able to detect any device at signals below -75 dBm.
Meaningful placement of the access points is important to the system for location. Following a few basic rules contributes to location accuracy.
1. Focus on placing access points along the periphery of coverage areas to help locate devices close to the exterior of rooms and buildings (see Figure 5-2). Access points placed in the center of these coverage areas provide good data on devices that would otherwise appear equidistant from all other access points.
Figure 5-2 Access Points Clustered Together Can Result in Poor Locationing
2. By increasing overall access point density and moving access points towards the perimeter of the coverage area, location accuracy is greatly improved (see Figure 5-3).
3. In long and narrow coverage areas, refrain from placing access points in a straight line. Instead, attempt to stagger them so that each access point is more likely to provide a unique snapshot of device location (see Figure 5-4).
Figure 5-3 Improved Location Accuracy by Increasing Density
Figure 5-4 Refrain From Straight Line Placement
Although the design in Figure 7 may provide enough access point density for high bandwidth applications, location suffers because each access point's view of a single device isn't varied enough; therefore, location is difficult to determine.
4. Move the access points to the perimeter of the coverage area and stagger them. Each has a greater likelihood of offering a distinctly different view of the device, resulting in higher location fidelity (see Figure 5-5).
Figure 5-5 Improved Location Accuracy by Staggering Around Perimeter
5. Designing a location-aware wireless LAN, while planning for voice as well, is better done with a few things in mind. Most current wireless handsets support only 802.11b, which offers only three non-overlapping channels. Therefore, wireless LANs designed for telephony tend to be less dense than those planned to carry data. Also, when traffic is queued in the Platinum QoS bucket (typically reserved for voice and other latency-sensitive traffic), lightweight access points postpone their scanning functions that allow them to peak at other channels and collect, among other things, device location information. The user has the option to supplement the wireless LAN deployment with access points set to monitor-only mode. Access points that perform only monitoring functions do not provide service to clients and do not create any interference. They simply scan the airwaves for device information (see Figure 5-6).
Figure 5-6 Less Dense Wireless LAN Installations
Less dense wireless LAN installations, such as voice networks, find their location fidelity greatly increased by the addition and proper placement of monitor access points.
6. Verify coverage verification using a wireless laptop, handheld, or possibly a phone to ensure that no fewer than three access points are detected by the device. To verify client and asset tag location, ensure that WCS reports client devices and tags within the specified accuracy range (10m, 90%).
Creating a Network Design
After access points have been installed and have joined a controller, and WCS has been configured to manage the controllers, set up a network design. A network design is a representation within WCS of the physical placement of access points throughout facilities. A hierarchy of a single campus, the buildings that comprise that campus, and the floors of each building constitute a single network design. These steps assume that the location appliance is set to poll the controllers in that network, as well as be configured to synchronize with that specific network design, in order to track devices in that environment. The concept and steps to perform synchronization between WCS and the location appliance are explained in ""Importing the Location Appliance into WCS" section on page 9-7.
Designing a Network
Follow these steps to design a network.
Step 1 Open the WCS web interface and log in.
Note To create or edit a network design, you must log into WCS and have SuperUser, Admin, or ConfigManager access privileges.
Step 2 Click the Monitor tab and choose the Maps subtab.
Step 3 From the drop-down menu on the right-hand side, choose either New Campus or New Building (see Figure 5-7), depending on the size of the network design and the organization of maps (see Figure 5-6). If you chose New Campus, continue to Step 4. To create a building without a campus, skip to Step 13.
Figure 5-7 Creating a New Network Design
Step 4 Click Go.
Step 5 Enter a name for the campus network design, a contact name, and the file path to the campus image file. .bmps and .jgps are importable. AutoCAD and non-supported images first need to be converted into these formats.
Step 6 Check the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box. Enabling this check box causes the horizontal span of the campus to be 5000 feet and adjusts the vertical span according to the image file's aspect ratio. Adjusting either the horizontal or vertical span changes the other field in accordance with the image ratio.
You should uncheck the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box if you want to override this automatic adjustment. You could then adjust both span values to match the real world campus dimensions.
Step 7 Click OK.
Step 8 On the Monitor > Maps subtab, click the hyperlink associated with the above-made campus map. A window showing the new campus image is displayed.
Step 9 From the drop-down menu on the upper right of the window, select New Building and click Go (see Figure 5-8).
Figure 5-8 New Building
Step 10 Enter the name of the building, the contact person, and the number of floors and basements in the building.
Step 11 Indicate which building on the campus map is the correct building by clicking the blue box in the upper left of the campus image and dragging it to the intended location (see Figure 5-9). To resize the blue box, hold down the Ctrl key and click and drag to adjust its horizontal size. You can also enter dimensions of the building by entering numerical values in the Horizontal Span and Vertical Span fields and click Place. After resizing, reposition the blue box if necessary by clicking on it and dragging it to the desired location. Click Save.
Figure 5-9 Repositioning Building Highlighted in Blue
Step 12 WCS is then returned to the campus image with the newly created building highlighted in a green box. Click the green box (see Figure 5-10).
Figure 5-10 Newly Created Building Highlighted in Green
Step 13 To create a building without a campus, choose New Building and click Go.
Step 14 Enter the building's name, contact information, number of floors and basements, and dimension information. Click Save. WCS is returned to the Monitor > Maps window.
Step 15 Click the hyperlink associated with the newly created building.
Step 16 On the Monitor > Maps > [Campus Name] > [Building Name] window, go to the drop-down menu and choose New Floor Area. Click Go.
Step 17 Enter a name for the floor, a contact, a floor number, floor type, and height at which the access points are installed and the path of the floor image. Click Next.
Note The Floor Type (RF Model) field specifies the type of environment on that specific floor. This RF Model indicates the amount of RF signal attenuation likely to be present on that floor. If the available models do not properly characterize a floor's makeup, details on how to create RF models specific to a floor's attenuation characteristics are available in "Creating and Applying Calibration Models" section.
Step 18 If the floor area is a different dimension than the building, adjust floor dimensions by either making numerical changes to the text fields under the Dimensions heading or by holding the Ctrl key and clicking and dragging the blue box around the floor image. If the floor's location is offset from the upper left corner of the building, change the placement of the floor within the building by either clicking and dragging the blue box to the desired location or by altering the numerical values under the Coordinates of top left corner heading (see Figure 5-11). After making changes to any numerical values, click Place.
Figure 5-11 Repositioning Using Numerical Value Fields
Step 19 At this point you can adjust the floor's characteristics with the WCS map editor by choosing the check box next to Launch Map Editor. For an explanation of the map editor feature, see "Using the Map Editor to Enhance Floor Plans" section.
Step 20 At the new floor's image window (Monitor > Maps > [CampusName] > [BuildingName] > [FloorName]), go to the drop-down menu on the upper right and choose Add Access Points. Click Go.
Step 21 All access points that are connected to controllers are displayed. Even controllers that WCS is configured to manage but which have not yet been added to another floor map are displayed. Select the access points to be placed on the specific floor map by checking the boxes to the left of the access point entries. Check the box to the left of the Name column to select all access points. Click OK.
Step 22 Each access point you have chosen to add to the floor map is represented by a gray circle (differentiated by access point name or MAC address) and is lined up in the upper left part of the floor map. Drag each access point to the appropriate location. (Access points turn blue when you click on them to relocate them.) The small black arrow at the side of each access point represents Side A of each access point, and each access point's arrow must correspond with the direction in which the access points were installed. (Side A is clearly noted on each 1000 series access point and has no relevance to the 802.11a radio.) To adjust the directional arrow, choose the appropriate orientation in the Antenna Angle drop-down menu. Click Save when you are finished placing and adjusting each access point's direction. See Figure 5-12 for an example. This image is for illustrative purposes only and does not indicate proper access point density or placement.
Figure 5-12 Appropriate Orientation Using Antenna Angles
Note Access point placement and direction must directly reflect the actual access point deployment or the system cannot pinpoint the device location.
Repeat the above processes to create campuses, buildings, and floors until each device location is properly detailed in a network design.
Monitoring Maps
This section describes how to use maps to monitor your wireless LANs. You can use maps to monitor the following information:
•Predicted coverage, page 20
•Channels, page 21
•Transmit power levels, page 22
•Coverage holes, page 22
•Client devices, page 23
•Calibration, page 23
Monitoring Predicted Coverage
Follow these steps to monitor the predicted wireless LAN coverage on a map.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click an item in the Name column and click the floor map.
Step 3 Click the View Filters icon. 
The AP Filter window appears.
Step 4 From the Protocol drop-down menu, choose one of the following 802.11 protocols to display on the coverage map:
•802.11a & b/g—Displays all the access points in the area.
•802.11a—Displays a colored overlay depicting the coverage patterns for the 802.11a radios. The colors show the received signal strength from red (-35 dBm) through dark blue (-85 dBm).
•802.11b/g—Displays a colored overlay depicting the coverage patterns for the 802.11b/g radios. The colors show the received signal strength from red (-35 dBm) through dark blue (-85 dBm). This is the default value.
Step 5 From the Display drop-down menu, choose one of the following options to specify the information that appears in the flag next to each access point on the map:
•Names—Displays the access point name. This is the default value.
•MAC Addresses—Displays the MAC address of the access point, regardless of whether the access point is associated to a controller.
•Controller IP—Displays the IP address of the controller to which the access point is associated or "Not Associated" for disassociated access points.
•Utilization—Displays the percentage of bandwidth used by the associated client devices, "Unavailable" for disassociated access points, or "MonitorOnly" for access points in monitor-only mode.
•Channels—Shows the Cisco Radio channel number as Ch#nn, where nn is the channel number, or shows Unavailable for unconnected access points.
•TX Power Level—Shows the current Cisco Radio transmit power level as Tx Power n, where n is power level 1 (high) through 5 (low) or shows Unavailable for unconnected access points.
•Coverage Holes—Shows the percentage of clients whose signal has become weaker until the client lost its connection, shows Unavailable for unconnected access points, or shows MonitorOnly for access points in Monitor-Only mode.
•Profiles—Shows the Load, Noise, Interference and Coverage components of the corresponding operator-defined thresholds: Okay for thresholds not exceeded, Issue for exceeded thresholds, or Unavailable for unconnected access points.
•Users—Shows the number of Cisco WLAN Solution clients, shows Unavailable for unconnected access points, or shows MonitorOnly for access points in Monitor-Only mode.
Step 6 Click OK.
Figure 5-13 shows a typical RF prediction heat map with access points covering one floor of a building.
Figure 5-13 RF Prediction Heat Map
Monitoring Channels on a Floor Map
Follow these steps to monitor channels on a floor map.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click an item in the Name column and click the floor map.
Step 3 Click the View Filters icon. The AP Filter window appears.
Step 4 From the Display drop-down menu, choose Channels and click OK. The number of the channel being used by each radio appears in the flag next to each access point. "Unavailable" appears for disassociated access points.
Note The available channels are defined by the country code setting and are regulated on a country by country basis. Refer to Appendix B, "Supported Country Codes," for the channels supported in each country.
Monitoring Transmit Power Levels on a Floor Map
Follow these steps to monitor transmit power levels on a floor map.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click an item in the Name column and click the floor map.
Step 3 Click the View Filters icon. The AP Filter window appears.
Step 4 From the Display drop-down menu, choose Tx Power Level and click OK. The number of the transmit power level being used by each radio appears in the flag next to each access point. "Unavailable" appears for disassociated access points.
Table 5-1 lists the transmit power level numbers and their corresponding power settings:
Table 5-1 Transmit Power Level Values
Transmit Power
Level Number
|
Power Setting
|
1
|
Maximum power allowed per country code setting
|
2
|
50% power
|
3
|
25% power
|
4
|
12.5 to 6.25% power
|
5
|
6.25 to 0.195% power
|
Note The power levels are defined by the country code setting and are regulated on a country by country basis. Refer to Appendix B, "Supported Country Codes," for the maximum transmit power levels in each country.
Monitoring Coverage Holes on a Floor Map
Coverage holes are areas where clients cannot receive a signal from the wireless network. When you deploy a wireless network, there is a trade-off between the cost of the initial network deployment and the percentage of coverage hole areas. A reasonable coverage hole criterion for launch is between 2 and 10 percent. This means that between two and ten test locations out of 100 random test locations might receive marginal service. After launch, Cisco Wireless LAN Solution radio resource management (RRM) identifies these coverage hole areas and reports them to the IT manager, who can fill holes based on user demand.
Follow these steps to monitor coverage holes on a floor map.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click an item in the Name column and click the floor map.
Step 3 Click the View Filters icon. The AP Filter window appears.
Step 4 From the Display drop-down menu, choose Coverage Holes and click OK. The percentage of clients that have lost their connection to the wireless network appears in the flag next to each access point. "Unavailable" appears for disassociated access points, and "MonitorOnly" appears for access points in monitor-only mode.
Monitoring Clients on a Floor Map
Follow these steps to monitor client devices on a floor map.
Step 1 Click Monitor > Maps to display the Maps page.
Step 2 Click an item in the Name column and click the floor map.
Step 3 Click the View Filters icon. The AP Filter window appears.
Step 4 From the Display drop-down menu, choose Users and click OK. The number of client devices associated to each radio appears in the flag next to each access point. "Unavailable" appears for disassociated access points, and "MonitorOnly" appears for access points in monitor-only mode.
Step 5 Click the number of clients to display a list of specific client devices and parameters. Table 5-2 lists the parameters that appear.
Table 5-2 Client Parameters
Parameter
|
Description
|
User
|
The username of the client
|
Vendor
|
The manufacturer of the client
|
IP Address
|
The IP address of the client
|
MAC Address
|
The MAC address of the client
|
Access Point
|
The name of the access point to which the client is associated
|
Controller
|
The IP address of the controller to which the access point is connected
|
Port
|
The port number of the controller to which the access point is connected
|
802.11 State
|
Indicates whether the client is associated or disassociated
|
SSID
|
The service set identifier (SSID) being broadcast by the access point
|
Authenticated
|
Indicates whether authentication is enabled or disabled
|
Protocol
|
Indicates whether the 802.11a or 802.11b/g protocol is being used
|
Creating and Applying Calibration Models
If the provided RF models do not sufficiently characterize the floor layout, you can create a calibration model that is applied to the floor and better represents the attenuation characteristics of that floor. In environments in which many floors share common attenuation characteristics (such as in a library), one calibration model can be created and then applied to all similar floors.
Use a laptop or other wireless device to perform the calibration process.
Step 1 Navigate to Monitor > Maps and choose RF Calibration Models from the drop-down menu in the upper right. Click Go.
Step 2 Choose Create New Model from the drop-down menu in the upper right. Click Go.
Step 3 Assign a name to the model and click OK.
Step 4 The new model appears along with the other RF calibration models, but its status is listed as Not Yet Calibrated. To start the calibration process, click on the hyperlink associated with the new model name. A new window appears which indicates the details of the new model. In the upper right-hand corner, choose Add Data Points from the drop-down menu and click Go.
Step 5 If this process is being performed from a mobile device connected to the Cisco Centralized architecture through WCS, the MAC address field is automatically populated with the device's address. Otherwise, you can manually enter the MAC address of the device being used to perform the calibration. MAC addresses that are manually entered must be delimited with colons (such as FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF).
Step 6 Choose the appropriate campus, building, and floor where the calibration is performed (see Figure 5-14). Click Next.
Figure 5-14 Starting to Calibrate
Step 7 When the chosen floor map and access point locations are presented, a grid of dots indicates the locations where data collection for calibration is performed. Using these locations as guidelines, position a wireless device in a known location on the floor. Click on the map to position the red crosshairs, indicate where the device should be located, and click Save (see Figure 5-15).
Figure 5-15 Positioning the Crosshairs
Note Use a client device that supports both 802.11a and 802.11b/g to expedite the calibration process for both spectrums.
Step 8 Using the suggested location coordinates as a guideline, continue moving the mobile device throughout the floor, ensuring that the red cross hair exactly correlate with the actual location of the device. Click Save to store each location measurement.
Perform this process for each spectrum in which locationing is required until the calibration wizard shows that the process is complete. The calibration wizard shows a complete calibration after roughly 150 points have been gathered. For every location point saved in the calibration process, more than one data point is gathered. Information on calibration status is provided in a legend on the left-hand side of the window. As data points are collected and areas of the map are properly calibrated, coverage is indicated by colored areas that correspond with the specific wireless LAN standard used to collect that data.The progress of the calibration process is indicated by two status bars above the legend, one for 802.11b/g and one for 802.11a progress.
Step 9 When the calibration is complete for each spectrum in which locationing is required, click on the name of the calibration model at the top of the window to return to the main screen for that model.
Step 10 After all the raw data collection is performed, compile the model, and then WCS and the location appliance use the data to understand RF attenuation characteristics. To compute the collected data points, choose Calibrate from the drop-down menu and click Go.
Step 11 To use the newly created calibration model, you must apply the model to the floor on which it was created (and on any other floors with similar attenuation characteristics as well). Navigate to Monitor > Maps and find the specific floor to which the model is applied. At the floor map interface, choose Edit Floor Area from the drop-down menu and click Go.
Step 12 From the Floor Type (RF Model) drop-down menu, choose the newly created calibration model. Click OK to apply the model to the floor.
This process can be repeated for as many models and floors as needed. After a model is applied to a floor, all location determination performed on that floor is done using the specific collected attenuation data from the calibration model.
