Forum

All,

I'm looking for suggestions in how to justify WLAN training. We've got a large, wifi-hostile environment (airport). Mission critical, etc. etc., tools like AirMagnet Survey & Analyzer, Fluke WLAN meter, but all that management (and most of the team) want to do is tweak the obvious until it works (more or less) and be done with it. "Turn it up to 11" is the usual response around here. I know the basics, but it's obvious to me that a better understanding of what the tools are telling us will go a long way, but until I get the training, I will have a hard time justifying my position - a classic Catch-22.

Suggestions?

Thanks,

Mike

For anyone who does not appreciate ?Turn it to 11????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7IZZXQ89Oc

One of the best movies of all times IMHO. Despite the accents, none of the lead actors in the band were actually English !!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Spinal_Tap

In microwave, satellite and Wi-Fi comms, trying to tell someone who sees ?The big volume control? about compression and intermods etc just leads to that blank look and ???but this goes to 11!!???yes, it does, sadly?..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1n_WF-76dU&feature=related

Brilliant. The great Rob Riner who has directed so many movies got his first big break in this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Reiner

Dave

Explaining issues such as co-channel interference to non-technical people ( especially those like Bill Lumbergh types?.from ?Office Space? ) can be extremely difficult.
There is one analogy I like to use ( it?s not exact and precise, but usually gets the message across ).

Imagine you go to a party early and there are only three small groups of people there, chatting and eating finger foods. Muzak elevator music is playing. No Ozzie Osbourne. You stand at the door and listen. You can just about make out what each group is saying. You wander around the room from group to group. As you stop at each group, you can hear the person who is speaking at that time, nice and clearly. You can just about hear chatter from the other groups, but although you can hear it, it is not at a sufficient level to interfere with what you are hearing from the individual speaker at that time.

Time goes on and more drinks flow. One of the speakers in a group at the other side of the room sees an aquaintance at the door and starts shouting to him to include him in the conversation. Although he is able to reach that one person and include him in the conversation, now it is difficult for yout stand what the person close to you is saying, as you now have ?noise? ( the other person?s conversation ) landing on top of what you are trying to hear.

You can make all sorts of analogies with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, also other issues including people who have different hearing levels ( different receive sensitivity levels ), jammers ( some individual who starts roaring out Bon Jovi after too many margaritas ) etc.

Dave

Mike love the ?Spinal Tap? reference, and completely agree with Dave, however my perspective is a little different, tools like AirMagnet/Ekahau/all are required because the ?suits?, Lundberg ?Office Space? types know nothing, and the pretty pictures help your cause. The truth is that any WLAN engineer/analyst should be able to tweak a WLAN based on RSSI of the AP?s and STA RTT?s; in a trouble-shooting mode frame capture can be really important, so add another tool. So I support your cause for education with a given product to tune your WLAN.

Good Luck!!!