WLAN Network Planning Guide
Network Capacity Design
During network capacity design, you need to design the number of APs required based on the bandwidth requirements and number of STAs, concurrency rate, and per-AP performance. This ensures that WLAN performance can meet the Internet access requirements of all STAs.
Capacity Design Parameters
Per-STA bandwidth
Bandwidth requirements vary depending on STA types and services. For example, the bandwidth required by a STA for watching HD videos is higher than that required for only browsing web pages. Therefore, plan sufficient bandwidth properly based on STA types and services to avoid insufficient bandwidth or resource waste.
Number of STAs
You need to specify an accurate number of STAs to be accommodated on the WLAN according to the WLAN planning.
Concurrency rate
The concurrency rate refers to the ratio of STAs using the network concurrently to the total number of STAs. The average number of STAs using the network concurrently can be calculated based on the concurrency rate and the number of STAs.
Per-AP performance
The recommended number of concurrent access STAs varies according to AP models and specific scenarios. For details, see Scenario-based Network Planning Design.
For details about AP selection, see Scenario-based Network Planning Design. To quickly estimate the number of required devices during WLAN planning, you can use the AP calculator on the CloudCampus APP.
Capacity Design
- Signal strength requirements in the network coverage areas. For details, see Network Coverage Design.
- Network capacity design requirement, which is calculated using the following formula:
Number of required APs = (Number of STAs x Concurrency rate x Per-STA bandwidth)/Per-AP performance
In the agile distributed Wi-Fi networking, one wall plate AP is deployed in each room. Therefore, the number of APs is not calculated using the preceding formula.
As for capacity design, WLAN Planner is also recommended. As shown in Figure 2-7, after you enter the coverage area and STA capacity on WLAN Planner, this tool can automatically design a proper WLAN planning solution, which greatly improves the design efficiency. You can optimize this solution based on the actual WLAN planning environment, for example, adjust AP positions. For details, see WLAN Planning Example Using Online Tools.
