Overview - Dell PowerConnect W-Airwave User Manual

Overview

The VisualRF module is an add-on to the Dell PowerConnect W AirWave Wireless Management Suite
(AWMS) that provides a real-time picture of the actual radio environment of your wireless network and
the ability to plan the wireless coverage of new sites.
To understand what is happening on your wireless network, you need to know where your users and
devices are located – and you need to monitor the RF environment in those areas. The VisualRF
module puts this information at your fingertips through integrated mapping and location data.
VisualRF uses sophisticated RF fingerprinting to accurately display coverage patterns and calculate the
location of every wireless device in range. Moreover, VisualRF does not require dedicated RF sensors or
a costly additional location appliance – all the necessary information is gathered from your existing
wireless access points and controllers.
Features
•
Floor plan upload wizard enables direct importation of JPEG, GIF, PNG, and CAD files for floor
plans.
•
Batch upload wizard enables batch uploads of multiple CAD files with corresponding walls, and
access points.
• Accurate calculation of the location of all client devices (laptops, RFID Tags, PDAs, Phones) using
RF data from your existing APs and controllers. Location accuracy increases with higher density,
providing more data points to triangulate the location of each device. Further improvements in
accuracy can be achieved with site surveys.
•
3D navigation allows your Help Desk to view floor plans simply by clicking on the appropriate
campus, building, or floor.
•
Tree view allows customer to navigate to a specific campus, building, or floor via a tree navigation.
•
Heatmaps depict the strength of RF coverage in each location
•
Color-coded channel maps help you reduce interference and quickly identify or detect potential
coverage holes.
•
Data rate view which depicts the highest possible data rate at every location on a floor plan.
•
Integrates with the Dell PowerConnect W AirWave Wireless Management Suite for onscreen
display of alerts and error conditions (i.e., an AP icon will display in red when a critical alert is active
or when usage conditions exceed pre-defined thresholds)
•
Location playback viewer which allows visual tracking of up to 24 hours of location history.
•
Dynamically recalculates path loss and device locations based on real-time data from your wireless
LAN, for increased location accuracy.
• Calibrates RF data from multiple vendors' APs (and across different product lines from the same
vendor) for accurate display even in multi-vendor and multi-architecture environments.
•
Full planning capabilities based on data rate or signal requirements.
•
Google Earth integration for depiction of outdoor coverage and device location.
Useful Terms
•
VisualRF – The service within AMP that calculates location, calculates path loss, and provides floor
plan editing capabilities.
4 Visual RF an d Visual RF Plan | User Guide