Wireless Network Lifecycle

 a wireless network flop involves implementing a whole wireless network lifecycle, from gathering requirements to having an expert develop a design and a follow-up process to verify results.

Below is the lifecycle 

- Planning

- Design

- Deploy

- Validate

- Optimize

Planning

It is the first stage. High performing wireless network involves collecting information that will influence the design & begin at the requirements gathering stage. In this stage, stakeholders identify and document the business and technical requirements. Business requirements may include specific use cases like integration with warehouse systems. 

This involve meeting a specific signal strength. Application-specific scenarios will expose wireless network support of authentication and encryption methods.

Identify approved installation locations of wireless network equipment to discern aesthetics requirements or constraints for a facility. It is essential to understand if the equipment's appearance will not blend with the aesthetics or brand of the location, requiring additional research for installation methods that do not degrade wireless connectivity.

Less planning results in bad deployed wireless networks that do not meet expectations and waste money.

Design

Skipping over a wireless network design will lead to failure. Failure of a proper wireless network design often leads to a poor user experience and increased help desk tickets. 

Based on the first stage's collected requirements, there can be a couple of methods used to initiate a wireless network design. The first is predictive modeling. This method uses building floor plans and gathered requirements to produce access point locations. Building materials and the capacity required will affect the accuracy of the wireless design. Other aspects of the design include application usage and capacity. But wireless network capacity is more vital. 

Thus, wireless network design is a critical element.

Deploy

Execution of the wireless network design involves acquiring the hardware and configuring the planned parameters. Mounting of access points is critical in this phase, requiring exact orientation and location. Antennas can add complexity for installers but can be successful with detailed documentation, such as the angle of the antenna and connectors' correct usage.

A wireless network must meet the requirements and aesthetics of the environment without compromising the equipment's performance. 

Infrastructure to support the wireless network will be deployed and configured with the correct parameters. Having the right amount of Power over Ethernet specified for the number of access points connected to a network switch is essential and must be carefully calculated. Ideally, moving towards cloud-managed network switches to take advantage of zero-touch provisioning. 

Validate

Validating a wireless network is critical to proper operation. A validation wireless site survey will ensure the configuration matches the wireless network design specified. During the on-site validation wireless site survey, an engineer will perform spectrum analysis to identify sources of interference or frequencies. 

The validation site survey involves testing mission-critical devices and applications. We want to trust the deployment went according to the plan, but we must verify.

Optimize

The full lifecycle of a wireless network deployment, after the deployment, is optimization. Optimization of the wireless network can involve channel changes due to high utilization because of an access point going offline. 

At the office can trigger wireless network optimizations. Or specific requirements may have changed for a location; thus, the wireless network needs additional tuning. 

A result of optimization can come from troubleshooting wireless issues.   

What to look out in Wireless Network Lifecycle

Before you start a new wireless network, we highly recommend getting a Certified Wireless Network Expert involved. Those holding a CWNE certification on wireless networking expertise that applies to any vendor hardware. 

Let us suppose you do not use Aruba Networks access points if you plan on deploying Cisco. Planning is essential for a high performing wireless network. Gather requirements to setup the wireless network. A design directs the installation of network hardware. Once the deployment is complete, verify that it meets the requirements specified from the start.
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