A Web-based seminar available for immediate viewing answers questions and provides guidance on WiFi testing as well as other design and implementation challenges that come with in-building wireless systems. The seminar, hosted by Cabling Installation & Maintenance and originally broadcast on August 25, included presentations from Fluke Networks, ADC and Oberon Inc.
Fluke Networks' portable network tools product manager Carolyn Carter covered testing. Among the many nuggets of information she offered was that the seemingly harmless use of Bluetooth devices can drag WiFi transmission virtually to a halt. In a question-and-answer session after the formal presentations were delivered, Carter explained that an 802.11-based WiFi network may not actually be taken down completely because of Bluetooth devices, but those devices can provide significant enough interference that WiFi throughput is essentially zero.
The two other presentations each addressed some aspect of distributed antenna systems (DAS). ADC's director of product management John Spindler discussed the overall rise of DAS that has taken place over the past few years. He laid out the different types of DAS available and weighed their pros and cons. Oberon's president Scott Thompson discussed the co-existence of DAS and 802.11 WiFi in an enterprise network. Both he and Spindler pointed out that there are a lot of necessary wires and cables behind a wireless network. Thompson referenced the TIA-162 standard, which provides cabling guidelines for wireless access points.
The seminar counts for 1 continuing education credit for several of BICSI's designations, for those who viewed it live and those who view it on-demand. Attendees earn 1 CEC toward BICSI's RCDD, NTS, Wireless Design, Installer 2, Technician or Certified Trainer designations.
View the seminar on-demand.
