|
My
Publications -
Product Reviews
Meritech's
iSite
By
Eric Geier
-
Originally Published by Wi-Fi
Planet on February 10, 2006 -
Price: $2,990 (Survey alone: $1,490)
Pros: Accurate, supports nearly all Wi-Fi cards
Cons: Documentation lacks some information, isn’t GPS
capable
iSite
by Meritech is a site survey and design tool to aid IT
professionals during the deployment and/or administration of a
wireless LAN. The two modes of iSite, Site Survey and Design, can be
purchased either individually or as a set. Either way, the software
comes loaded with the capability to run both. You just have to
complete the activation for each mode.
The site
survey mode allows you to visually see the RF (radio frequency) signal
coverage of an existing wireless network overlaid on building diagrams
you load into the software. After taking the measurement points in
your facility, you can also view other vital information, such as RF
interference and rogue access points. With the design mode, you can
create a network on top of the imported building diagram and then use
the tool to predict coverage. The software uses data such as the
transmit power of the access points, RF loss of walls and barriers,
and floor height to help come up with the coverage prediction.
The
Installation
To get a feel
for this product, I took it for a test ride by performing a site
survey of my facility and creating a network in iSite’s design mode.
In addition to learning how to use the tool, I also wanted to
understand the accuracy of its signal prediction for both Site Survey
and Design modes.
The first
thing I did was download the 30-day evaluation of iSite from their
website. Before I could begin the installation, I had to download and
install the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1, which is required by iSite’s
software. Besides having to download and install the .NET framework,
the installation went smoothly, and I had no problems.
I was pleased
that iSite works with nearly all Wi-Fi network cards. This allows you
to choose the most applicable radio for the testing.
The Site
Survey Mode
 The
second task on my list was to complete a site survey with the tool and
visually examine the coverage throughout the facility. I followed the
step-by-step instructions in the user guide. The only problem I
experienced while setting up the tool to prepare for the survey was
that after scaling the image (building diagram), the image would
shrink too small to be of use. I contacted their support, and since I
was working with a smaller floor plan, they recommended I change some
of the project settings. This wasn’t obvious from reading through
the documentation.
After making
the necessary changes, everything looked fine and the building diagram
was now at a size I could work with. Many site surveys completed with
this tool may be of larger facilities and the default settings may
work fine, but some surveys test smaller areas, such as specific
office spaces within an office complex. Thus, I thought it would be
good to include suggestions on how to configure the scaling based upon
the size of the facility you’re surveying, or describe the
individual settings so the user would understand.
After setting
up the floor plans and scaling the images, I started to take
measurements. This seemed like a no-brainer: just go to a spot in the
facility and click that spot on the map. However, I was a little wary.
The user guide doesn’t explain how long it takes to complete the
measurement and if you need to stay still or turn in circles to get
the best reading. To take readings I stood still for a few seconds
after clicking my location on map, which seemed to work fine. The user
guide recommends taking measurements every 3 meters (about 10 feet),
which I followed as closely as I could.
After
completing the site survey, I viewed the results, and the coverage map
looked similar to what we experience while using the network. To get
an idea of the accuracy of the iSite tool, I compared the site survey
and prediction coverage maps to real-time measurements of certain
locations within the facility. The real-time measurements using iSite’s
tool varied 5dBm from the points within the survey coverage map. This
is a small variation, and it looks like the site survey map iSite
created is right on target.
The Design
Mode
Setting up the
tool for design mode was similar to the survey mode. I loaded in the
images (building diagrams) and scaled them. As the user guide
explains, I then set up the barriers, which represent walls, and the
virtual access points.
I dragged a
barrier line over all the walls shown on the building diagram loaded
into the tool. The facility I’m designing the network for has an
interior drywall construction. I had to create a material type for
drywall and set the estimated loss to 3dB. I thought it would have
been good if they had this material type already set up so it would
avoid the need for someone to research and find the loss value.
I placed the
access point in the same location where the real access point was
during the site survey. After placing the access point(s), you can
change settings such as RF power, antenna gain and the channel to show
a better prediction of coverage. I set up the transceiver settings in
the tool to the same specifications of the access point used during
the survey.
After
completing the network design, I could see the prediction map of
coverage. The design map varied 5 to 10dBm, which isn’t the best --
however, it's accurate enough to aid in the process of a wireless LAN
installation or redesign. Remember, the design mode is only a
prediction, and shouldn’t be your only approach while completing a
survey.
Take it for
a Test Drive
Meritech
offers a 30-day evaluation copy of iSite on their Web site at http://www.meritechsolutions.com/isite/requesttrial.aspx.
The evaluation copy comes with both the site survey and design modes.
The only setback is that you’re limited to taking 40 measurement
points, giving you the ability to get a very good feel for the tool
and its capabilities.
Final
Thoughts
I feel the
documentation could use some help, but overall, I found iSite to be
very useful and accurate for those performing indoor RF site surveys
or wireless network installations. Not having GPS capability with this
tool prevents it from being recommended for outdoor site surveys,
though. In outdoor areas, you often don’t have the visual references
needed to find the proper point on the map to click your position.
With other tools, GPS streamlines the process for creating outdoor
coverage maps by keeping track of your position.
Eric
Geier is a computing and wireless networking author and
consultant. He is employed with Wireless-Nets,
Ltd., a consulting firm focusing on the implementation of wireless
mobile solutions and training.
He is an author of Geeks on Call - Wireless Networking: 5-Minute Fixes
and Geeks on Call - PCs: 5-Minute Fixes, published by John Wiley &
Sons.
|
