Ekahau Site Survey - 10 Minute Overview

The video provides a comprehensive 10-minute overview of Ekahau Site Survey (ESS), a Wi-Fi network planning, surveying, analysis, and reporting tool designed to optimize wireless network performance.

Key Technological Concepts and Features:

• Network Planning:
  • Import and scale floor plans, including multiple floors aligned via common points (e.g., stairwells, elevators).
  • Draw walls and designate attenuation values based on building materials or site walkthroughs.
  • Define attenuation areas for specific regions like cubicles or shelving.
  • Draw coverage areas and exclusion zones (e.g., bathrooms, stairwells) to guide Access Point (AP) placement.
• Access Point Placement:
  • Manual placement of APs from an extensive, regularly updated database of AP makes and models.
  • Automatic placement using the Auto Planner tool, which uses network requirements (e.g., transmit power, channel bandwidth, channel selection) to optimize AP locations.
• Surveying:
  • Conduct surveys by walking through the site while marking stops on the map to collect Wi-Fi measurements.
  • Supports different survey types including stop-and-go and continuous scans.
  • Survey data is organized and can be classified, deleted, or reviewed via the sidebar.
• Performance Analysis:
  • Visualization through multiple heat maps showing signal strength, channel overlap, capacity, and client distribution.
  • Ability to drill down into measured data at specific points or along the survey path.
  • Comparison of actual network performance against predefined or custom network requirements.
  • Iterative optimization by adjusting AP placement, channel assignment, and transmit power to resolve issues like poor signal strength or channel overlap.
• Capacity Planning:
  • Define device types and counts to establish capacity requirements.
  • Analyze AP client load to avoid overloading.
• Reporting:
  • Automated report generation with two options:
    • Basic reports: customizable cover images, floor selections, heat maps, output as Word or PDF.
    • Template-based reports: advanced customizable reports using templates coded with specific design elements, separating 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz heat maps, and detailed presentations of network requirements and APs.
  • Access to documentation and tutorials for creating custom report templates.

Guides and Tutorials:

• Step-by-step instructions for floor plan setup, wall drawing, attenuation area definition.
• Demonstrations of manual and automatic AP placement.
• Survey execution techniques (walking pace, marking stops).
• Using heat maps and network issues visualization for troubleshooting.
• Report generation workflows and template customization guidance.

Main Speakers/Sources:

• The overview is presented by an unnamed Ekahau representative or product trainer who guides through the software features and workflows.
• References to Ekahau’s website, blog, training resources, and social media for further learning.

---

This summary captures the core technological capabilities, product features, and practical usage instructions for Ekahau Site Survey as presented in the video.