Wi-Fi Design Strategies in a Converged World Webinar Questions Part 2: Convergence

We are a few days late in posting our second installment but here it is. This week’s topic is convergence. Our attendees had a lot of great questions about this topic and here are the answers by our experts.

And in case you missed this webinar or simply need a refresher, here is a link to the recording: Wi-Fi Design Strategies Webinar.

Oh and we also have a 15-day free trial of iBwave Wi-Fi, so give it a try!

Convergence

1- Is this the future for DAS deployment?

[Ronald] No it is not, both DAS and Wi-Fi networks will exist next to each other as covered in the presentation. Note that iBwave has products for both DAS and Wi-Fi as wireless architects need these tools to do the RF-planning

2- Wi-Fi vs DAS designs. How do you design for both in 1 DAS?

[Ronald] As covered in the presentation there are different type of DAS solutions (passive, active and hybrid), Wi-Fi on a passive DAS does not work so well. Active DAS with PoE (Power over Ethernet) components to power up Wi-Fi APs could be a solution to use the DAS cabling purely for the backhaul traffic. Note that iBwave has products for both DAS and Wi-Fi as wireless architects need these tools to do the RF-planning.

3- Historically Wi-Fi & Cellular DAS systems have not worked well on the same infrastructure. What is different now?

[Ronald] Correct, the reason is “Hidden Node” the Wi-Fi protocol does not work well over DAS. We discussed co-existence in the buildings, but also some vendors use integration whereby DAS is used as backbone (“active DAS” with PoE ethernet adapters, but still using the normal Wi-Fi APs)

4- Comparison between indoor DAS, Wi-Fi. Based on which criteria to choose them?

[Ronald] They co-exist and will not replace each other.

5- Do you have more information on remote Wi-Fi APs (connection through DAS)?

Cobham/Axell Wireless: Axell Wireless bridges the gap between WiFi and DAS
Omnitron: Fiber Backhaul for Wi-Fi and Small Cell Netowrks

6-What is the summary of a step-by-step approach for engineering a balanced Wi-Fi, Small Cell and DAS converged environment?

[Ronald] This approach is in progress for Wi-Fi by the WLAN Association (WLA), see the link in the webinar presentation, but in general the approach works for any wireless network.

Get the requirements (end-users, # devices, roaming, costs, etc.) “Red book”
Design the network “Blue book”
Install “White book”
Validate “Green book”

And in addition, there should be also one covering

Operate and Monitor

7-Do you have some of the best/new design tips or products being used in design for “CONVERGED NETWORKS” In-Building?

[Ronald] Design Tips: Separate the Wi-Fi network from the DAS network (and at airports maybe have 2x DAS networks as mentioned, 1x for public safety services (like the first responders, police, etc.). Roaming/convergence services for Wi-Fi and LTE/5G also depends on the client device capability (e.g. software to determine which network provides better services and throughput)

Products: iBwave Enterprise (as it integrates the different networks, like Cellular/Mobile, DAS, Wi-Fi, etc. (different Frequency ranges)

8- Future of in-building wireless phones Voice over LTE (VOLTE), Voice over Wi-Fi, others.

[Ronald]Correct. You typically design per floor level to have good RF coverage and Capacity for clients for different areas. If you have open spaces (like Atriums, you need to take that into account, maybe AP Transmit Radio Powers need to be reduced to avoid RF leakage through those Atriums, which means that suddenly clients see too many APs)

In the design tool (between the floors) you also need to see the attenuation levels (e.g. a very thick concrete floor or not), but if the APs can hear each other in 3D, then you also need to look at the Channel allocation that they do not interfere on the same channels (e.g. APs “stacked” on Channel 1).

9- Wi-Fi in trains(wagons) using external 3G/4G networks

[Ronald] 3G/4G need to be used as the backhaul and there need to be enough capacity to handle the Wi-Fi traffic (e.g. downloading videos, doing voice over Wi-Fi calls and doing performance tests might be prohibited). Other aspects to take into account are Wi-Fi Mesh connections between the wagons (as wagon configuration sometimes changes it is difficult to lay cables between the wagons). Also note that other type of services can run over the Wi-Fi network (e.g. CCTV or IPTV camera monitoring). There are many examples of Wi-Fi in train projects if you search in twitter on hashtag: “#WiFiTrains”

10- Do we need to increase the unlicensed spectrum allocation for LTE and Wi-Fi for a better mobile offload strategy?

[Ronald] This is not so easy to do (see for example the US Spectrum Allocation Chart link) as most frequencies are used already. It is a difficult topic where also the ITU-R plays a part in it to coordinate with the different countries.

11- Are you designing for generic Cat6 or Belden Cat6

[Ronald] The presentation has a vendor neutral approach (with a link to iBwave Wi-Fi design how the tool can help design Wi-Fi / cabling also from a vendor neutral approach). The focus was on the Wi-Fi design, but we covered also cabling design and standards (like 2.5 GBps and 5 GBps over Cat 6 cabling and PoE++ requirements). Also, the webinar presentation has a link to the BICSI Winter conference presentation – who is designing your network (the cabling or the Wi-Fi expert)? (Ref: https://www.bicsi.org/conferences-and-events/bicsi-events/bicsi-conference-presentation-archives)

12- I would like to know about the impact cabling has on Wi-Fi networks planning

[Ronald] This was covered in the webinar, like type of speed needed 2.5 Gb/s (Cat 5e cabling) or 5 Gb/s (Cat 6 cabling), length limitations and also PoE (Power over Ethernet considerations to power up the APs). Then the cabling architecture deployment (TIA TSB 162 and/or the Zone based cabling architecture (see the Siemon document). But a separate Wi-Fi architecture need to be done for the “last link” cable to be laid from the Telecom Outlet / Service Outlet to the AP.
(do not deploy APs following the Telecom Outlets or all in a line, APs need to be placed were needed for RF coverage and RF Capacity)

13- The cable limitation of 100 meters how practical is it? What happens if the distance to the access point needs to be farther away?

[Ronald] It is a limitation for the Cat 5e/6 cabling and even to get the higher speeds, the length might be even shorter to provide the good quality signal on the cable. For longer distances (e.g. airport concourse areas) typically the Power of Ethernet switches can have a Fiber optic adapter for the long-distance cables back to the DataCenters, thus only the last mile is copper/Ethernet cabling. You create kind of Telecom-closets around the facility (“distribution areas, based on the length of the copper cabling to the APs and other services in the building).See also the BICSI archives as there is tons of information about cabling (and a related certification known as RCDD): https://www.bicsi.org/single.aspx?l=1712

Winter Conference: https://www.bicsi.org/winter/2017/attendee.aspx?id=8734

14- Carrier Off-loading to Wi-Fi.

[Ronald] Carrier off-loading to Wi-Fi (e.g. 3G / 4G offloading) also has to do with the “agent-software” client devices do detect if the carriers Wi-Fi network is available and services are reachable with a good performance to make a decision to switch networks.

Parts catalog includes switches, patch panels, cabling etc.

[Vladan/Ali] IBwave has digital database that has over 25,000 active and passive DAS and Wi-Fi parts that can be used to design any cellular or Wi-Fi inbuilding network

15- DAS vs. iCN network design?

[Ronald] Assumed is that iCN (= in-building Cellular Network)
The focus of the webinar was on the Wi-Fi design and convergence and/or off-loading to cellular/mobile networks. See also the other questions here related to DAS and iCN.
(note: iCN can also refer to Information Centric Networks (ICN)
https://newnet.telecom-paristech.fr/index.php/icn-das but they refer to DASH (not DAS).
https://www.ietf.org/proceedings/87/slides/slides-87-icnrg-5.pdf

16- Integration with in-building Cellular Network

[Ronald] See the answers to the other DAS and iCN related questions

Next week’s topic: iBwave Products, Stay tuned!

Wi-Fi Design Strategies in a Converged World Webinar: Your Questions Answered.

We had an amazing webinar on “Wi-Fi Design Strategies in a Converged World”. Our guest speaker Ronald van Kleunen, CEO of Globeron did a great job discussing why it’s important to understand the impact of convergence while designing high‑performing Wi‑Fi networks and how different wireless technologies can work together.

As promised Ronald, along with iBwave’s Vladan Jevremovic and Ali Jemmali took some time to answer most of the questions that were asked by our enthusiastic audience. This is the first in a series of blog posts where we will share these answer with you. So read on and feel free to comment and share your feedback.

And in case you missed this webinar or simply need a refresher, here is a link to the recording: Wi-Fi Design Strategies Webinar.

This week’s topic: Wi-Fi Design

1- How do you verify the design after implementation?

[Ronald]

RF Coverage validation can be done in iBwave Wi-Fi with the Site Survey tool (there is a Passive and an Active Survey option).

Passive means the Wi-Fi adapter is not connected to a network and visualizes RF coverage areas of different SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers) called an “RF Heatmap”
Active means, the adapter is connected to an AP (“BSSID – Basic Service Set IDentifier”, like a Single AP) or to an SSID (which can exist out of multiple APs covering an RF network)

To validate RF Capacity is a bit more difficult, there are some “Wi-Fi client simulators” creating multiple clients to connect to the AP (to test the capacity of the clients associating, throughput tests, etc.). Alternatively, real clients can be used, but this is very costly.

2- What are the expected trends of Wi-Fi design in the context of future 5G?

[Ronald]

Currently 5G is a hot topic for both outdoor and indoor “small cells” architectures for cellular and mobile devices, but one of the difficulties in many countries is the availability of the 5G Spectrum (700 MHz) and the auction model’s governments will implement for operators to bid-on. As an example, Singapore is one of the first countries that gave spectrum to do trials for 5G. Note that Spectrum management does not mandate the technology used in the assigned spectrum.

Both technologies will co-exist for several reasons:

Price (Wi-Fi / unlicensed spectrum = cheap vs 5G / licensed is expensive)
Adoption/Developers, more developers with Wi-Fi enabled equipment vs 5G (think about IoT over Wi-Fi, versus IoT over 5G)
Public wireless networks might be preferred by 5G, because of better roaming / coverage (e.g. over a country) vs Wi-Fi being limited in RF coverage and roaming options
Enterprises probably will stick to Wi-Fi for their own production network and operations, because of confidentiality of data to remain within the facility and not going via the DataCenters of the Telco providers

3- I want to know the weak, strong areas of the AP ‘s coverage

[Ronald]

Vladan of iBwave did an excellent presentation how to use iBwave Wi-Fi from an RF Design perspective (Ref: overcoming the capacity challenge available via this webinar link) , but also the survey tool will help to find the weak areas.

4- Capacity Planning & Channel/frequency Planning

[Ronald]

Yes this is covered for Wi-Fi and can be automated in the iBwave Wi-Fi tool for areas/zones, number of active devices and applications (e.g. e-mail and data requirements,voice requirements, etc.) it is very detailed.

5- How do I design for capacity instead of coverage of Wi-Fi? How do 2×2:2, 3×3:3 or 4×4:4 APs differ in designing for capacity?

[Ronald]

Capacity – see Vladan’s webinar as he covered the RF capacity planning ((Ref: overcoming the capacity challenge available via this webinar link)

[Vladan / Ali]

2×2:2, 3×3:3 and 4×4:4 are different focusing on the spatial streams and Tx and Rx radios for max. DATARATES only (thus not throughput as many factors impact the throughput). Streams to be used depends on the client as well what their capabilities are. To design, these APs need to be in the iBwave Wi-Fi tool which takes into account the Antenna RF propagation.

6- How accurate/ feasible is it to design networks without being physically present in the site?

[Ronald]

The RF planning tools can plan till a certain extent (including wall attenuation levels, etc.), but what cannot be planned in advance are:

Neighboring buildings with Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi devices operating in the same spectrum
Other devices in the building (e.g. Microwave ovens in 2.4GHz)
Other equipment in the building (e.g. metal cabinets, racks in a warehouse, storing different products at shelves in a supermarket)
People walking around the facility.

7- How does RF mapping gets affected by different flavors of Wi-Fi (802.11n, ac , ah etc…).

[Ronald]

In the RF mapping / planning tool, the way the technology works (like number of spatial streams, bandwidth 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, Transmit Output power settings of the AP, etc., protocol used) are all kind of variables impacting the RF propagation and RF Heatmap visualization (but there are more factors affecting it, like number of APs on the same channel, building materials like concrete walls, etc.).

8- How to remove Co-Channel Interference and how to measure it?

[Ronald]

Proper channel planning is important, but eventually multiple APs will be on the same channel (Co-Channel interference). SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) is one of the factors for client devices to decide to which AP to connect to, but there are more factors (4x conditions: Physical Carrier Sense, Virtual Carrier Sense, IFS completed and Random Back-off Timer / Slots completed).

Adjacent Channel interference (overlapping channels is worse) as the APs cannot hear each other and therefor Co-Channel interface is a bit better as the Wi-Fi frame can be interpreted by the other devices on the channel. Furthermore, take into account Client Induced Interference as these are also radio transmitters and can affect the communication of other APs / devices on the same channel.

To measure Co-Channel interference:

Spectrum Analyzers
Reconnaissance tools
Protocol Analyzers
Integrated Site survey tools

9- During the recorded demo, you went from your predictive plan straight to installation, then conducted a verification survey afterwards. Would you not do a pre-deployment survey as well to collect surrounding passive data and confirm your predictive AP locations are correct within a live environment? (in case live propagation differs to your prediction).

[Ronald]

Correct (the demo was a bit focusing on key aspects), but you are right, that need to be added to video. The RF planning is done, but you always need to go on-site to understand the environment as it is always different than expected. Also, measurements need to be done to check the wall types and attenuation levels, leakage of neighboring buildings Wi-Fi networks, furniture in the office (like metal cabinets), other equipment operating in the same frequencies (like microwave ovens).

10- What are the main criteria to design a Wi-Fi network, is there a specific standard or a table showing different Service Levels?

[Ronald]

No there is not, as covered in the presentation there are several organizations involved in standardization and in progress for Wi-Fi networks by the WLAN Association (WLA)

In general, the approach works for any wireless network

Get the requirements (end-users, # devices, roaming, costs, etc.) “Red book”
Design the network “Blue book”
Install “White book”
Validate “Green book”
And in addition, there should be also one covering
Operate and Monitor

It is hard to give Service Availability Levels for wireless networks.

Here are some videos:

WSMS (Wireless Service Management System)

Need for Wireless Service & Security Standardization

11- Key parameter for design and planning requirement, Site Survey requirement, Planning guideline.

[Ronald]

Focusing on the Wi-Fi industry that is something that does not exist. There are books (like the Sybex version of the Certified Wireless Design Professional, but these are checklists of “what need to be done” and not “how it needs to be done”. The Wireless LAN Association (WLA) is in an initial progress looking into this (the 4x books, Requirement phase, Design phase, Implementation Phase and Validation Phase). Some vendors have a kind of wizard built-in and like iBwave parameters have been set already for different type of applications (like e-mail, voice, video traffic) and it can be customized as it depends also on the vertical market segment.

12- How should I consider APs that are on adjacent floors to provide Wi-Fi coverage and capacity? Or do I not consider those and design each floor independently?

[Ronald]

Correct. You typically design per floor level to have good RF coverage and Capacity for clients for different areas. If you have open spaces (like Atriums, you need to take that into account, maybe AP Transmit Radio Powers need to be reduced to avoid RF leakage through those Atriums, which means that suddenly clients see too many APs)

13- I would like to know more about in-building design, Wi-Fi Design and DAS Design

[Ronald]

www.globeron.com/onlinetraining (Wi-Fi Training Certified Wireless Design Professional and also look into Certified Wireless Network Administrator as it covers RF, Spectrum, Protocols, Site Survey, Design, Analysis and Security)

BICSI 006-2015 Distributed Antenna System (DAS) Design and Implementation Best Practices https://www.bicsi.org/book_details.aspx?Book=BICSI-006-CM-15-v5

Go to the USA Conferences there are several presentations about DAS https://www.bicsi.org/single.aspx?l=1712

Winter Conference: https://www.bicsi.org/winter/2017/attendee.aspx?id=8734

14- How is Wi-Fi monitored i.e. capacity limits, interference, etc. just like other technologies?

[Ronald]
There are several product vendors that have Wi-Fi Management systems where they get the information from the Wireless infrastructure components (like APs, Controllers, etc.). Some do only dedicated Wi-Fi Performance Management utilizing a centralized server and so called “Sensors” being deployed to monitor the Wi-Fi traffic and similar systems exist to monitor the Wi-Fi Security (Wireless Intrusion Detection / Prevention Systems) using Sensors. The advanced systems can do a combination and utilizing dual-band or tri-band APs were 1 or 2 radios provide Wi-Fi services (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and another radio provides Senso services

15- Is there anything on Wi-Fi SON (distributed or mesh) ?

[Ronald]

Self Organizing Networks (SON): https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2016/01/05/qualcomm-launches-wi-fi-son-self-organizing-network-solutions-simplify-wi

I do not have experience with this “SON” technology and how it operates. It looks proprietary to certain vendors. Other vendors also have kind of “self-healing” type of technology, like Radio Resource Management (RRM), Adaptive Radio Management (ARM), Smart RF, Channel Fly, looking and optimizing the RF aspects, but the other key features mentioned in SON are also supported by most vendors:

SON – Key features include:

Self-configuring that enables plug-and-play deployment (most vendors support adaptive AP adoption to controllers/cloud and management)
Self-managing that offers autonomous performance optimization
Self-healing actively detects and resolves connectivity bottlenecks (as mentioned above)
Self-defending that secures the network from unauthorized access (integrated WIPS systems).

16- Do you have High Density WLAN examples?

[Ronald]

Here are more details related to High Density WLAN

[Ronald]

High Density at Airports
https://www.globeron.com/freedownload/services/Globeron-Wi-Fly-or-We-Cry-7-Aug-2016.pdf

Next week’s topic: Convergence, Stay tuned!

Cheytec Telecommunications Brings Better Indoor Coverage to the Enterprise using iBwave

Given our ever-growing need for data in today’s world of smart cities, smart buildings and the Internet of Things, the need for fast, reliable connectivity indoors has never been greater. Especially when it comes to the Enterprise.

Traditionally, wireless operators have been the main drivers for deploying indoor wireless networks to Enterprise venues and real estate properties. But with tenant and user demand out-pacing the carrier’s ability to -fund systems, building owners and Enterprise customers are now seeing the value of making capital investments in their properties and meet the demands of their network users.

Meet Cheytec Telecommunications, an iBwave customer whodelivers multi-operator turnkey in-buildng LTE solutions. Cheytec is helping to make an economic shift away from the carrier by expanding the addressable market to include building owners and enterprises. Cheytec does this by working with the wireless operators to bring their spectrum into buildings and leverage a highly developed partner network for both technology and service delivery. Capital investments in LTE coverage made by the building owner enables not just great indoor wireless service, but the opportunity for increased cash flows, higher valuations for property portfolios and new revenue sources. For wireless operators, the in-building system helps extend indoor coverage, densify networks, offer new services to current customers and gain net-new subscribers.

How has iBwave helped?

Designing a multi-carrier indoor wireless networks certainly comes with its fair share of challenges, especially when you are designing for multiple technologies – Small Cells, DAS, and Neutral Host D-RAN(C-RAN), and multiple different venue types.

Previously, Cheytec typically used iBwave to design sports stadiums and transportation hubs – but now they are focusing more on the Enterprise verticals, and with that comes different challenges to overcome. For example, the image on the right shows a heatmap generated in iBwave Design for a 4 story office building which Cheytec used to help select the right solution for this particular venue, accurately assess coverage and capacity requirements and estimate the cost of the entire system.

When using iBwave Design Enterprise, our multi-technology indoor wireless network planning and design platform, Cheytec’s engineers work more productively and can focus simultaneously on multiple projects. The result? Cheytec has reduced their network design process time by an estimated 30%.

Additionally, iBwave expedites the customer approval process significantly as customers recognize that they only use top quality tools and technologies within their designs – and that they have the ability to offer a wide range of in-building technology solutions with multiple design options.

These benefits also lead to reduced time spent on project coordination internally. Because of the speed and flexibility of iBwave Design, it allows Cheytec to accomodate design changes without necessarily altering the project timeline.

“By using iBwave we shorten our response time in terms of delivering a proposal enabling our team to close more deals and generate more revenue.”

José Sangiuliano – Chief Technology Officer, Cheytec Telecommunications

Cheytec’s Favorite iBwave Features

When asked what their favorite features are in iBwave Design, here is what Cheytec said (and why):

Automation of Design Enterprise Networks

With the powerful and intelligent design automation that iBwave provides, design errors are reduced and the time to produce and change designs is accelerated – iBwave also provides them with an efficient way to provide alternative design options for comparative purposes.

3D Predictive Modeling

3D predictive modeling has also been very helpful to Cheytecby providing their customers with a powerful way to visually show the benefits of the proposed solutions and the network performance prediction results, similar to the image on the right showing the 3D model for 40+ story hotel DAS project.

Design and Simulation of Most Cost-Efficient Designs

Also, with the capability to design the entire network using the iBwave database of over 25,000 network components for all wireless technologies, Cheytec is always able to generate a full BOM with Cost Details. This means always being sure they are simulating the most cost-efficient designs, and that their customers have the best design possible for their specific building.

Cheytec’s mission is to deploy the right solution into the right building every time. Using iBwavehas helped them to achieve this consistently.

Conclusion

iBwave has been a key partner for Cheytec by providing a powerful, flexible and comprehensive software solution to provide Enterprise customers and property owners with turnkey LTE solutions that drive value.

Thanks for being such a great customer Cheytec Telecommunications!

Are you an iBwave customer that wants to be featured in our Customer Spotlight series? Send us an email at marketing@ibwave.com