Wireless Networking

Assignment 2, WLAN Site Survey.

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Contents

Introduction: .......................................................................................................... 1
Survey Methods:................................................................................................... 2
Current Power outputs: ......................................................................................... 3
Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101, ground level: ..................................... 3
Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101, Power outlets, Ceiling level: .............. 4
Building 3, Level 2, Lecture theatre 201 Power outlets: .................................... 5
RF Coverage Details: ........................................................................................... 6
Building 3, Level 1: ............................................................................................ 8
Building 3, Level 1: ............................................................................................ 9
Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101: ......................................................... 10
Building 3, Level 2: .......................................................................................... 11
Building 3, Level 2, Lecture theatre 201: ......................................................... 12
Problem Zones: .................................................................................................. 13
Recommendations:............................................................................................. 14
Drawings and photos with access point placements: ...................................... 14
Lecture theatre 101: ........................................................................................ 14
Lecture theatre 201: ........................................................................................ 16
Access point configuration: ............................................................................. 18
Lecture theatre 101: .................................................................................... 18

Lecture theatre 201: .................................................................................... 21

Security: ............................................................................................................. 24
Conclusion: ......................................................................................................... 26
References: ........................................................................................................ 27
Introduction:

The purpose for this wireless LAN site survey is to highlight the current problem

areas within building 3 at Edith Cowan University, to upgrade the current wireless

system in place and to enable users to roam freely within this building. There are two

key areas that we have been requested to focus on, these are lecture theatre 101 and

lecture theatre 202. The lecture theatres are located above one another in building 3.

Users will not need to be able to roam within the lecture theatre, as they will be situated

in one place. This report will identify the current access points that are being used in this

area of the campus and recommend how the wireless LAN can be improved for users to

be able to access the Internet and other wireless networking devices simultaneously

without signal dropouts and at the highest speeds possible. We obtained information

that the upgrade of the wireless system would allow users to carry out presentations

from where ever they are sat within either of the lecture theatres by connecting

wirelessly to the networked projector, this would mean that the wireless connectivity

would have to be extremely reliable to ensure that the presentations could run smoothly.

Therefore meaning that the coverage has to be the best it possibly can be, but the

speed is not such an important factor although it will need to be as fast as it possible to

accommodate all users. Lecture theatre 101 holds around 100 people and lecture

theatre 201 holds around 250 people, meaning the wireless network will need to be able

to accommodate all 350 people at any one time. Ciampa (2006) states that one access

point can support up to 50 light users, checking email and light web surfing, but

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networks that have more traffic and with users transferring large files and always being

on the network the suggested amount of users per access point is 20.

Survey Methods:

The techniques we have used to gather information on the current wireless

system are site maps of building 3, which have been combined with Ekahau

HeatMapper software enabling us to carry out a survey of building 3. By using this

software it enabled us to map a walkway throughout levels one and two of building 3, so

we could obtain information on the location of the current access points and the areas of

building 3 that there is and is not coverage. We have also used a software program

called network stumbler, which enabled us to gather the MAC addresses, SSID,

Security, Signal to noise ratio, and Channel they operate on. By combining both

software programs it enable us to gather sufficient information on the current wireless

system. We have also taken pictures of the lecture theatres to enable our

recommendations to be conveyed much more easily to the end user. We have also

used maps of building 3 to make notes of where existing power supplies are that could

be used for the new system. We also had a chat with a consultant regarding the use of

the projector for carrying out presentations within the lecture theatres wirelessly, which

was helpful for us to gain an understanding of what the requirements of the system are.

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Current Power outputs:

Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101, ground level:

Figure 1: Current power outlets, 101.

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Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101, Power outlets, Ceiling level:

Figure 2: Current power outlets, 101.

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Building 3, Level 2, Lecture theatre 201 Power outlets:

Figure 3: Current power outlets, 201.

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 RF Coverage Details:

Figure 4: Current wireless access point details.

Figure 5: Current wireless access point details.

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 Figure 6: Current wireless access point details.

Figure 7: Current wireless access point details.

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 Building 3, Level 1:

Figure 8: Current wireless access points and mapping.

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 Building 3, Level 1:

Figure 9: Current wireless access points and mapping.

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 Building 3, Level 1, Lecture theatre 101:

Figure 10: Current wireless access points and mapping.

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 Building 3, Level 2:

Figure 11: Current wireless access points and mapping.

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 Building 3, Level 2, Lecture theatre 201:

Figure 12: Current wireless access points and mapping.

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Problem Zones:

Whilst we were conducting our site survey, we noticed many areas throughout

building 3 that were areas of concern, in particular the two lecture theatres within this

building. Although we were able to receive a wireless signal throughout the lecture

theatres when trying to connect to the network we found it was very slow and at the time

we were conducting our survey we were the only users within the lecture theatre. Not

only was the wireless LAN slow but it would occasionally drop out, meaning that we had

to log back on to the network or re-load the page we were trying to access. Within this

area we feel that there is not a sufficient amount of wireless access points in the vicinity

to account for the current amount of students trying to access the wireless network, let

alone if both lecture theatres were in use and at full capacity. We feel that this problem

can be overcome to eliminate any problem zones in building 3 and especially lecture

theatres 101 and 201.

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Recommendations:
Drawings and photos with access point placements:

Lecture theatre 101:

AP

Figure 13: AP Placement, 101

AP AP

Figure 14: AP Placement, 101

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 AP

Figure 15: AP Placement, 101

AP

Figure 16: AP Placement, 101

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Lecture theatre 201:

AP

Figure 17: AP Placement, 201

AP

Figure 18: AP Placement, 201

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AP AP

Figure 19: AP Placement, 201

AP

Figure 20: AP Placement, 201

AP Access points
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 Access point configuration:

Lecture theatre 101:

Access points to be installed will need to be configured on channels that do not

overlap on the frequency spectrum. The channels available for wireless networks

802.11b and 802.11g are channels 1, 6, and 11. By implementing the use of these

channels it will not cause neighbouring access points to interfere with one another

causing the overlapping channels not to function as efficiently as they could (Ciampa

2006, p. 210). By using these three channels it will allow all areas of lecture theatre

101 to be covered by a wireless signal and reduce the problems of signal loss or

interference from other neighbouring channels. Ciampa (2006, p.210) states that it is

possible to use more than one of the same channels on different access points

throughout the building that do not overlap on their transmissions, this is known as

channel re-use.

For lecture theatre 101 we would recommend three access points to be installed

to cover all areas of the lecture theatre, they will need to be integrated in to the current

system, which consists of two previously installed access points. The access points will

have to be set on channels 11, 6, and 11 and configure accordingly so they cover all

areas of the lecture theatre. According to Ciampa (2006) for 802.11g wireless networks

should be as follows: 50mW (17dBm) for 24 Mbps and less, 40mW (16 dBm) for 36

Mbps, 31.6mW (15 dBm) for 48 Mbps, and 20mW (13 dBm) for 54 Mbps. The

placement of the new access points are located below. The access points will be

situated in the ceiling. According to Ciampa (2006, p. 212) if access points and its

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antenna are going to be placed in the ceiling space it is necessary to ensure that the

access point is enclosed in a plenum-rated enclosure, this is to reduce the spread of fire

if one occurs.

The red X shown in figure 21 marks the placement of the access point and each

access points SSID is ECU 101 and the following G 6, or G 11 covers which protocol

the access point is operating on and the channel they are on.

The type of antenna that we feel will be suited to this environment and situation

will be a semi-directional antenna. Access points that are situated in the corner of a

room should be used with semi-directional areas

Figure 21: AP placement 101

as the signal is pushed out in front of the

access point and not spread in all directions (Ciampa 2006, p. 240). By using this type

of antenna it will reduce the signal bleed outside of the wall behind where it has been

placed, this could act as a security feature. The use of this antenna in all areas it has

been placed will also stop it interfering with the access point that is situated behind it.

The antenna situated at the front right of the lecture theatre will need the power output

to be decreased slightly so that its signal is not to strong and will not interfere with the

access point in the back left corner of the room, as they are set on the same channels.

From our observations we were unable to locate any power outlets near the back

left access point placement and were unable to gain access to the ceiling to check if

there was any Category 5, 5e or 6 cabling available for the access point. The cabling

can be used as another option if electrical alternating current power is not nearby, and

will provide Power over Ethernet (PoE), which will provide electrical power to the access

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point. We would guestimate that the chances of Category 5, 5e or 6 cabling being

available in the ceiling space would be likely and this would be a cheaper and easier

way to connect up this access point. We feel it would be more expensive to have a new

power outlet installed in this position. Both access points situated at the front left and

right of the lecture theatre should have no problem being linked to the existing electrical

alternating current power supply that is located on the ceiling very close to the

recommended placement of the access points. This will eliminate the costs for new

power supplies to be installed.

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 Lecture theatre 201:

We will also recommend three access points for the theatre; this will supply enough

coverage for the 100+ students using the wireless network. The access points will have

to be set on channels 1, 6 and 11 respectively. This will broaden the horizon of the

signal strength within the lecture theatre. Figure 22 shows the access point positioning

in lecture theatre 201, the channels they Figure 22: AP placement 201

are set on and the areas they will cover.

There are about 6 power outlets in this lecture

theatre, the Access Points will have power outlets

which goes to an AC/DC adapter, a console port and

Ethernet port. We can also power the Access Points

over the Ethernet wire with Power over Ethernet Figure 23: Power outlets 201

(PoE ).As shown in Fig 23, the map of lecture

theatre 201, the portions marked X are the power outlets.There is only one power outlet

at the top-right back, so an access point should be fitted in that position for easier

cabling. The Access Points should also have four black rubber covers. These cover the

connectors for the wireless antennas. Just like lecture theatre 101 below, the type of

antenna that we feel will be suited to this environment and situation will be a semi-

directional antenna. “Semi-directional antennas radiate RF in a fashion similar to the

way a wall sconce is designed to radiate light away from the wall or the way a street

lamp is designed to shine light down on a street or a parking lot, providing a directional

light across a large area” (Set-up-wireless, 2007). This means that semi-directional

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antennas will have wide coverage as they provide signal strength to a specific direction,

and help to reduce signal bleed through walls and ceilings.

Semi-directional antenna will also be very useful as “often reduces reflections, thus

minimizing some of the negative effects of multipath such as data corruption.” (Set-up-

wireless, 2007).

Figure 24: An example of Semi-directional antenna called yagi antenna

Another benefit of using semi-directional antenna in lecture theatre 201 is that “they

can be installed high on a wall and tilted downward toward the area to be covered.” (set-up-

wireless, 2007).This means that we can reduce the cost of buying more antennas’ on

our budget.

By setting up the access points in both lecture theatres on the channels we have

selected it will allow for continued signal transmissions and allow users to roam freely

throughout the lecture theatres, although this is not a necessity. The aerials we have

chosen will help to ensure that there is no signal bleed through the walls and through

the ceiling so lecture theatres 101 and 201 do not conflict. The power of the aerials will

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be adjusted to ensure this, and the thick concrete walls and ceilings will also help to

prevent such a problem.

We will also recommend d that within lecture theatre 101 and 201, and

surrounding areas the use of Bluetooth is banned, according to HP (2002) wireless

signals and Bluetooth signals can interfere with one another as they are both using

spread spectrum techniques and this will therefore reduce the speed of data

transmissions.

The access points and semi-directional aerials that we would recommend would

be from the Cisco product range as we feel these are reliable products and well priced.

The following states the model of the access point and the semi directional aerial.

Access Points:

AIR-AP352E2C Cisco Aironet 350 Series Standard Access Point (Cisco Systems,

2003, p. 8)

Antenna:

AIR-ANT2460P-R 6dBi Wall Mount Directional (Cisco Systems, 2009, p.29)

Access Point SSID Location Channel Notes

101AP1 G 11 Lecture theatre 101 11 Signal will be forced

into the lecture

theatre only, and

not spread above or

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 outside walls and

ceiling.

101AP2 G 6 Lecture theatre 101 6 As above

101AP3 G 11 Lecture theatre 101 11 As above

201AP G 6 Lecture theatre 201 6 Signal will be forced

into the lecture

theatre only and

antennas adjusted

accordingly to

ensure no bleed to

101 below.

201AP G1 Lecture theatre 201 1 As above.

201AP G 11 Lecture theatre 201 11 As above.

Table 1: Access point SSID’s, and characteristics.

Security:

Our security recommendations are for all access points that we have

recommended be implemented with the best possible wireless LAN encryption and

authentication protocols. According to Ciampa (2006, p. 311) the enterprise security

model should be implemented due to the size of the organisation we are dealing with.

Ciampa follows on to mention that the WPA2 (Wi-Fi protected Access 2) enterprise

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security model will provide the highest level of encryption and authentication possible

for a wireless LAN. IEEE 802.1x is the authentication that is used and AES-CCMP is the

encryption used for WPA2. We feel that WPA2 should be implemented at all times when

it is possible to do so, due to its higher degree of security over the other security

protocols available.

Edith Cowan University already implements the use of a VPN (Virtual Private

Network) throughout the university campus; we will insist that this will still be the case

for the upgraded access points that are recommended to be installed in building 3 and

the two lecture theatres.

A VPN is a private secured network that uses an unsecure public network to

connect to the Internet wirelessly, it allows the Internet to be used privately (Ciampa

2006, p. 312). Ciampa goes on to mention that VPNs use secure tunnels to connect

from one end point to another to enable an increased security measure when

connecting to a network wirelessly. The disadvantage to using VPNs is they do not

allow for roaming between access points (Ciampa 2006, p.313). In this situation this will

not be a problem as users will be situated in one seat within the lecture theatre and will

not need to roam within the lecture theatre, eliminating the problem of roaming caused

by using VPNs. VPNs allow users to enter their login and password details to enable

them gain access to the desired network to enhance security and take advantage of the

security features that are in use.

We also believe that a Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS) would be an

enhanced security feature for the wireless network that we are recommended, as it will

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add to the level of security within the wireless network. It is stated by Ciampa (2006)

that WIDS monitor the traffic on the network and will identify the types of packets that

are traversing the networking. If packets are dropped then the system will alert the

network manager that there could be cause for concern, it may be possible for any

attacks to be traced back to the source.

It is critical that all security measures are reviewed on a current basis and

security methods are kept up to date to ensure the protection of the wireless system

and all clients using the wireless network.

Conclusion:

From our site survey and recommendations we feel that from all our findings and

research this will allow for a much improved and highly reliable wireless LAN, that will

be fully integrated into the current system and access points that are being used at

Edith Cowan University in building 3 and in particular lecture theatres 101 and 201 at

present. Our recommendations will give users a better wireless networking experience

and reduce the amount of problem zones and should resolve all current issues within

this building. The system has been put in place to allow users to roam freely throughout

the lecture theatres and our main aim was to ensure connectivity to the wireless LAN at

the highest speeds possible. We wanted to ensure all users had reliable access all of

the time.

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References:

Ciampa, M. (2006). CWNA guide to wireless LANs, second edition. Boston,

Massachusetts: Thomson course technology.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (2009). Cisco Aironet Antennas and Accessories Reference Guide.

Retrieved October 7, 2009 from

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/wireless/ps7183/ps469/product_data

_sheet09186a008008883b.html

HP. (2002). Wi-Fi™ and Bluetooth™– Interference Issues. Retrieved October 7, 2009,

from http://www.hp.com/rnd/library/pdf/WiFi_Bluetooth_coexistance.pdf

Set-up-wireless, (2007), Wireless Antenna Types , Retrieved October 11, 2009 from

http://setup-wireless.blogspot.com/2008/11/wireless-antenna-types.html

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