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Using the Site Survey Tool

Use the Site Survey Tool to establish a two-way data network using both stationary and mobile devices at various points within the proposed radio coverage area.

Installing the Site Survey Tool

The Intel(R) Access Point (AP) Administration Tools Site Survey and AP Discovery can be installed as part of the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN Adapter installation process, or at any time after completion of the adapter installation.

Launching the Site Survey Tool

To start the Site Survey Tool, click Start, Programs, Intel(R) Wireless LAN,  Access Point Administration Utilities, and then Site Survey. Another way to start the tool is to double-click the Site Survey icon on the Windows* desktop.

When you are running the software, use the F1 key or Help button for additional information.

A dialog box displays prompting you to choose the type of wireless LAN card installed in your computer, then the Site Survey Tool Welcome dialog box displays.

Use the Welcome dialog box to:

  • Open an existing site survey area workspace.
  • Create a new workspace.
  • Create a new workspace from an existing site survey area workspace file with an ssw extension or a site survey template with an sst extension.
  • Open a recently used workspace.

A workspace corresponds to the entire survey site area. An area contains one or more radio coverage areas within a survey site. Create a separate workspace for every survey conducted at the same site. After you select one of the options and click OK, the Site Survey dialog box displays.

Creating a New Site Survey

To create a new site survey, select New Site Survey from the File menu. Select the date and enter the site name, the surveyor, and a description.

Selecting an Existing Site Survey

To open a standard Windows* dialog box displaying site survey workspace (.ssw) files, select Open Site Survey from the File menu.

  • If an invalid file is read, an error message displays. Otherwise, a bar graph displays the progress as the workspace is loaded.
  • If the workspace has at least one defined area, the Site Survey Test dialog box opens.
  • If the existing workspace does not have a defined area, the Site Survey Area dialog box opens.

The status bar displays the workspace and area name.

Defining a New Site Survey Area

To define a new site survey area, display a Site Survey Area dialog box. To display this dialog box, select New Area from the File menu.

  • Enter the area name and a description.
  • An error message displays if you leave the Area Name field blank or enter the name of an existing area. The area name displays at the bottom of the screen.
  • The Test Name field lists the tests defined for that area. To add a new test, click the ellipsis (b> ...) button.
NOTE: Delete is disabled when defining a survey area.

Saving a Workspace

  • To save the open workspace using the existing survey name, select Save from the File menu.
  • To save the survey using a different name, select Save As from the File menu.

Importing a Site Survey

To import a site survey, select Import from the File menu. The Import Areas and Tests dialog box displays.

  • To replace existing survey areas and tests or to add new ones, select Import Areas or Import Tests or both, as appropriate.
  • To open a standard Microsoft* Windows* dialog box displaying site survey workspace (.ssw) files, click Import.

Working with Reports

You can generate, edit, and print a Site Survey Report for each site survey workspace. The Site Survey Report is a Microsoft* WordPad document generated when the survey is complete.

The report can be edited as a typical WordPad Rich Text Format (RTF) document. The template for a new report has the filename "Site Survey Results.doc" and is installed in the same directory as the Site Survey Tool program.

Displaying Recent Site Surveys

To display the last four site survey workspace files created or accessed, select Recent Site Surveys from the File menu.

Select any workspace in the list to load that workspace.

  • If a workspace is already open, you are prompted to save the existing workspace first.
  • If there is at least one Area defined for the workspace, the Site Survey Test dialog box opens.

The status bar at the bottom of the dialog box displays the status, filename, area name, and workspace name.

Editing Existing Site Survey Information

To edit existing site survey information, select Site Survey from the Edit menu. The Site Survey dialog box displays. Enter the site name, surveyor, and a description.

If a workspace is already open, you are prompted to save the existing workspace. To save the edited workspace information, click OK.

Editing the Properties of an Existing Site Survey Area

To view a list of existing site survey areas, select Area from the Edit menu. The Site Survey Area List dialog displays.

Browse the list and descriptions of the survey areas. To edit the properties of an existing site survey area, select an area name and click Edit Area.

To save the changes to the site survey workspace, click OK.

To remove the area from the current site survey workspace, click Delete.

NOTE: Delete is disabled when defining a survey area.

Editing the Default Settings Property Pages

To edit the default properties of the Setup, Meter Settings, Sounds, and Logging property pages, select Default Settings from the Edit menu.

Setup Property Page

To configure the site survey workspace, click the Setup tab in the Site Survey Settings dialog box.



NOTE: If a pre-4.0 version of Microsoft* Internet Explorer* is running on a Microsoft* Windows* 95 (Rev B) system, the Setup property page does not display. Update Internet Explorer to version 4.0 or later to resolve this problem.

Use the Setup property page to:

  • Type in the surveyor name.
  • Enable or disable automatic rerun.
  • Type in the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) host address.
  • Set the number of pings per ICMP test.
  • Set the number of ICMP tests.
  • Set the packet size for each ICMP test.
  • Set the time allowed for each ICMP test.
  • Specify a single ICMP address for all tests.

Auto Rerun — Run the Site Survey Tool in either automatic or manual mode. To run the test suite for the rerun count or until the surveyor stops the tests, check Auto Rerun.

ICMP Host Address — Type an ICMP Host Address in the field provided. The default address is the default address of the access point.

Ping Count — Type in the number of pings to be transmitted during the ping test in the Ping Count field. The default Ping Count is 100 , with a maximum of 2000.

Rerun Count — Enter the number of times the ping test is transmitted in the Rerun Count field. The default Rerun Count is 100 . The rerun can be 1 to 2000.

Packet Size — Enter the packet size transmitted during the ping test in the Packet Size field. The default Packet Size is 128 bytes, with a maximum of 1472 bytes.

Threshold — Enter the maximum acceptable time to send out and receive the total number of pings for each test in the Threshold field. Choose a Threshold time from 1 millisecond to 100,000 milliseconds. The default Threshold time for 100 pings is 3500 milliseconds.

Override All Test ICMP Host Addresses — Select this checkbox to use the ICMP host address entered on this page for all tests. Selecting this checkbox does not replace the host address saved for each test.

Meter Settings Property Page

To set bounds (thresholds) for the signal quality gradient bars, click the Meter Settings tab in the Site Survey Settings dialog box.

You can:

  • Set the round trip time (RTT) thresholds in milliseconds in the Round Trip Bounds field.
  • Set the missed beacons percentage thresholds in the Missed Beacon Bounds field.
  • Set the transmission retries percentage thresholds in the Transmit Retry Bounds field.

The RTT Avg, Missed % and Retry % indicators on the Site Survey Test dialog box displays:

  • Green if the average of the previous tests is below the lower threshold.
  • Red if the average of the previous tests is above the upper threshold.
  • Yellow if the average of the previous tests is between the upper and lower thresholds.

If, for example, the subsequent round trip times average 20 milliseconds, the percentages of missed beacon average 20% and the percentages of transmission retries average 40%, the RTT Avg indicator is green (below the lower bounds), the Missed % indicator is yellow (between the upper and lower bounds) and the Retry % is red (above the upper bounds).

Sounds Property Page

To enable or disable audible alarms, click the Sounds tab in the Site Survey Settings property page.

You can:

  • Disable or enable a timeout alarm.
  • Disable or enable a roaming alarm.
  • Disable or enable a threshold alarm.
  • Disable or enable a test completion alarm.

All four alarm sounds are enabled by default.

To set the volume level or the specific sound assigned to each alarm, use the standard Microsoft* Windows* Volume and Sounds or Sounds and Multimedia control panels.

Play on Timeout — To disable an audible alarm every time a ping test timeout is reached, de-select Play on Timeout. To enable an audible alarm every time a ping test timeout is reached, select Play on Timeout.

Play on Roam — To disable an audible alarm every time a computer roams between access points, de-select Play on Roam. To enable an audible alarm every time a computer roams between access points, select Play on Roam.

Play on Threshold — To disable an audible alarm every time the threshold time is met or exceeded, de-select Play on Threshold. To enable an audible alarm every time the threshold time is met or exceeded, select Play on Threshold.

Play on Ping Test — To disable an audible alarm every time a suite of ping tests has been transmitted, de-select Play on Ping Test. To enable an audible alarm every time a suite of ping tests has been transmitted, select Play on Ping Test.

Logging Property Page

To enable or disable logging, click the Logging tab on the Site Survey Settings property page.

You can:

  • Enable or disable logging.
  • Enable or disable automatic log file clearing before each test.
  • Enable or disable a warning before a log is cleared.

All three logging options are enabled by default.

NOTE: Enable logging to record test results and notes in the Site Survey Report document. If unchecked, no logging takes place during the ping tests.

The log file records the date, time, area name, test name, packet size, rerun count, signal quality boundaries, any system messages or notes and, if enabled, real-time test noise data or data points.

Enable Logging — To keep a record of test results, select Enable Logging. To disable logging, de-select Enable Logging.

Clear Log Contents Before Each Test — To preserve the results of previous tests, de-select Clear Log contents before each test. To clear the contents of the log before a test suite is run, select Clear Log contents before each test.

Confirm Before Log Contents Are Cleared — To automatically clear the log file, select Confirm before log contents are cleared. To warn the surveyor before clearing the log file, select Confirm before log contents are cleared.

Viewing Site Survey Area Information

To view site survey area information, select Areas from the View menu. The Site Survey Area List dialog box displays:

To display the Site Survey Area dialog box, select an area name and click Edit Area.

Add new tests and survey area descriptions as needed.

Viewing Access Point Information

To display the recognized access points in range of the target computer, select Known APs from the View menu. The Known Access Points dialog box displays.

You can:

  • View the access point Basic Service Set Identifier ( BSSID ).
  • View the number of associated computers.
  • View the computer (MU) type and status.
  • View the data rate.

An icon next to each access point indicates whether the access point is mandatory or preferred, and whether or not the access point is associated. A list of access points within range of the computer is also shown.

To change the access point type to Mandatory or Roaming, right-click an access point.

NOTE: Rates is disabled in direct sequence spread spectrum systems.

Viewing Computer Noise Information

To view computer (MU) noise information, select Noise Meter from the View menu.

The Noise Meter dialog displays the minimum, maximum, and average signal level values. To view mobile unit noise and Relative Signal Strength Information:

  • In a 5.2 GHz environment, the Noise Meter dialog box contains a graph of Relative Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values and channel numbers (see the dialog below). Use the Noise Meter dialog box to view the mobile computer BSSID and the RSSI minimum, maximum and average values. The RSSI values displayed in the graph continuously update with the last six received values displayed in blue.
  • In a 2.4 GHz environment a graph displays the average signal level ranging from 0 to 31. See the dialog box below. It is calculated as the mean of the maximum and minimum signal values over time.

To start calculating statistics again,

  1. Click Reset. Stop changes to Go.
  2. Click Go to begin a new display as signal level values are received.

To append channel quality values to the log file, select Record Real Time Data.

Viewing Computer Signal Quality Information

To view computer (MU) signal quality information, select Signal Quality from the View menu. The Signal Quality dialog box displays.

You can view:

  • The strength of the radio signal transmitted by an access point.
  • The real-time percentage of missed beacons.
  • The percentage of transmission retries.
  • The percentage of CRC errors

Use this information to determine if the trial site survey access point placement locations are effective for providing radio coverage to the proposed radio coverage area.

Generating the Site Survey Report

For each site survey workspace, you can generate an Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN Site Survey Report that contains

  • An overview of the survey
  • Installation considerations
  • Survey findings
  • Equipment placement recommendations
  • A detailed results section

The report is a Microsoft WordPad| Rich Text Format (RTF) document that can be generated when the survey is complete. The template for a new report has the filename "Site Survey Results.doc" and is installed in the same directory as the Site Survey Tool program.

To edit the report, select Cut, Copy, or Paste from the Edit menu. To print the report, select Print from the File menu.

Selecting and Editing an Existing Survey Area

To display the Site Survey Area List dialog box, click Select from the Area menu. The Site Survey Area List dialog box displays a list and description of survey areas.

To display the Site Survey Area dialog box, select an area and click Edit Area. If you make changes, click OK to save them. To remove the area from the current site survey workspace, click Delete.

Add new tests and survey area descriptions as needed.

Clearing the Text File Log for an Open Survey Area

To delete the log contents for the active survey workspace, select Clear Log Contents from the Area menu.

Editing the Note File for an Open Survey Area

To display the Note Editing dialog box, select Edit Note from the Area menu. You can add notes to the log file of the active survey workspace.

Running ICMP Tests

To display the Site Survey Test dialog box, select Run ICMP Test from the Area menu.

You can:

  • View and select associated access points.
  • Define a new survey area.
  • View, select or define tests defined for the workspace.
  • View the test statistics.
  • View or clear the test results.
  • Start, pause or stop a test.
  • View the accumulated test result totals.

The following dialog box shows Site Survey test results in a 5.2 GHz environment.

The following dialog box shows Site Survey test results in a 2.4 GHz environment.

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) tests are "ping" tests assessing radio transmission roundtrip, delay time and transmission signal strength.

You can do either one of the following:

  • Begin the ICMP test. Click Start Test. When the test begins, Start Test changes to Stop.
  • Stop the ICMP test. Click Stop.

Setting ICMP Test Parameters

Use the Site Survey Test dialog box to set the following ICMP test parameters.

Access Point — To select a different access point from the available access points list, click the ellipsis ( ... ) button.

Area — To define a new survey area, select (New) from the Area list and click the ellipsis ( ... ) button.

Test — To display the tests defined for the workspace, select Test from the Area list. To enter new test settings or edit existing test settings, click the ellipsis ( ... ) button.

Test Statistics — The Test Statistics area displays the following information:

  • The total round trip ping time in milliseconds.
  • The tests remaining in the run.
  • The elapsed test time in seconds.
  • The number of test runs remaining.
  • The number of retries.
  • The average transmit data rate.
  • The number of packets transmitted in megabits per second (Mbps).
  • The number of packets transmitted and received at each data rate: 1, 2, 5.5 11, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps.
  • The total number of packets transmitted and received.
NOTE: The number of packets transmitted is often one or two packets more than the number indicated in the Test definition. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets transmitted with the test packets are counted and comprise the extra packets.

Results List — The Results List displays:

  • The ping count.
  • The number of errors.
  • The cumulative number of retries.
  • The round trip time (RTT).
  • The percentage of missed beacons.

The list holds 1,000 pings, but can only display ten at a time. To browse through the entire list, click the scroll bar control.

Clear List — To clear the contents of the results list, click Clear List.

Progress Bar Graphs — The gradient progress bar graphs arrayed at the bottom of the Site Survey Test dialog box displays:

  • The average round trip time (RTT Avg) achieved during the test.
  • The percentage of missed beacons (Missed %) achieved during the test.
  • The percentage of retried packets (Retry %) achieved during the test.
  • The percentage of the threshold that the sum of the round trip times approach.
  • The average signal level achieved during the test.

The numerical values are displayed in white in the middle of each progress bar. The bars change color as the values approach the lower and upper bounds:

  • Green indicates a value below the lower bound.
  • Yellow indicates a value between the bounds.
  • Red indicates a value greater than the upper bound.

Start Test — To begin the ICMP test, click Start Test. When the test begins, Start Test changes to Stop. To stop the ICMP test, click Stop.

Edit Note — To display a dialog box for entering test notes, click Edit Note . Test notes are added to the log file.

Test Totals — To display the Site Survey Totals dialog box, click Test Totals. The following dialog shows Site Survey test totals in a 5.2 GHz environment.

The following dialog shows Site Survey test totals in a 2.4 GHz environment.

You can display:

  • The time the tests were started and stopped.
  • The number of tests run.
  • The number of reruns.
  • The total roundtrip time.
  • The average roundtrip time.
  • The total number of timeouts.
  • The test completion status.
NOTE: Packet throughput information is summarized as the number of packets sent and received and the data rates for each. If logging is enabled, these values are recorded in the log file.

Setting New Test Parameters

To set new test parameters, select (New) from the Test list in the Site Survey Test dialog box and click the ellipsis ( ...) button.

You can:

  • Enter a test name.
  • Define test packet sizes.
  • Select a test ping count.
  • Enable or disable the test Auto Rerun, Sounds and Logging features.
  • Change host address information.
  • Display the Settings property pages.

Test Name — Enter the name of the test for the active survey area in the Test Name field.

Host Address — The default ICMP host address is the default address of the access point. To change it for a new test, enter a new address in the Host Address field.

Rerun Count — Enter the number of times the ping test is transmitted in the Rerun Count field. The default Rerun Count is 100 =. The rerun can be 1 to 2000. Enter the number of pings to be transmitted during the ping test in the Ping Count field. The default Ping Count is 100, with a maximum of 2000.

Packet Size — Enter the packet size transmitted during the ping test in the Packet Size field. The default Packet Size is 128 bytes, with a maximum of 1472 bytes.

CAUTION: It is important NOT to change test parameters such as packet size between individual test runs during a test. A Socket Error may result. If you need to use different packet sizes, select a new test.

Threshold — Enter the maximum acceptable time to send out and receive the total number of pings for each test in the Threshold field. Choose a Threshold time from 1 millisecond to 100,000 milliseconds. The default Threshold time for 100 pings is 3500 milliseconds.

Auto Rerun — Run the new test suite in either automatic or manual mode. If Auto Rerun is checked, the test suite runs for the rerun count or until the surveyor stops the tests.

Enable Sounds — To enable audible alarms, select Enable Sounds. To disable audible alarms, de-select Enable Sounds.

Enable Logging — To keep a record of test results, select Enable Logging. To disable logging, de-select Enable Logging.

Advanced

To open the Advanced Test Settings property pages (Meter Settings, Sounds and Logging) and change the default settings for the active survey area workspace, click Advanced.

Running FTP Throughput Tests

To perform File Transfer Protocol (FTP) throughput tests, select Run Throughput Tests from the Area menu.

You can:

  • Set the FTP site name or IP address.
  • Enable of disable anonymous login.
  • Set an account login name and password (if anonymous login is disabled).
  • Specify whether the file is are to be transferred to or from the FTP site.
  • Set the name of the file to be transferred to or from the FTP site.
  • Set a default subdirectory to which the file is transferred on the FTP site.
  • Set the number of times the file is transferred.
  • Enable of disable test result logging.
  • Include or exclude excessive transmission times from the calculated average.
  • View the test results.
NOTE: Make sure that a separate host or PC workstation is connected to the wired LAN side of the access point to perform File Transfer Protocol (FTP) throughput tests. The FTP server should be on the same wired LAN segment or subnet as the access point to ensure that wired network characteristics do not adversely affect test results.

Click Start to begin the throughput test.

Setting FTP Throughput Test Parameters

Use the FTP Test dialog box to set the following FTP throughput test parameters.

  • FTP Site Name
    Type the IP address or site name of the FTP site in the FTP Site Name field.
  • Anonymous Login
    To disable login without a username or password, de-select Anonymous Login. To enable login without a username or password, select Anonymous Login
    • .
  • User Name
    When Anonymous Login is disabled, type in the account login name (user name) for the FTP site.
  • User Password
    When Anonymous Login is disabled, type in the login password for the FTP site.
  • Get File from Site
    To test download times by transferring the file from the FTP site, select the Get file from Site option.
  • Put File to Site
    To test upload times by transferring the file to the FTP site, select the Put file to Site option.

    NOTE: The Get file from Site and the Put file to Site options are mutually exclusive.
  • Log Results
    To record the test results in the log file, select Log Results. To disable logging, de-select Log Results.
  • Get/Put Filename
    Enter the path and filename of the FTP file to be transferred. When Put file to Site is selected, the ellipsis ( ... ) button is enabled. To navigate to a local test file, click the ellipsis button.
  • Default Site Directory
    When Get file from Site is selected, you may specify a subdirectory on the FTP server to which the file is transferred. Enter it in the Default Site Directory field.
  • FTP Run Count
    • Enter the number of times to transfer the FTP file in the FTP run count field.
  • Omit Lows/Highs from Transfer Average
    To exclude transmit times lower or higher than the current shortest or longest transmit time from the transfer Rate Average calculation, select Omit Lows/Highs from Transfer Average. To include transmit times lower or higher than the current shortest or longest transmit time from the transfer Rate Average calculation, de-select Omit Lows/Highs from Transfer Average.
  • Start
    • To begin the FTP throughput test, click Start. Once the test begins, Start changes to Stop.
    • To stop the FTP throughput test, click Stop.
  • Test Results
    Use the Test Results area of the FTP Test dialog box to:
    • View the number of operations performed.
    • View the total number of bytes transferred
    • View the average transfer rate, in kilobytes per second and bytes per second.
    • View the highest transfer rate, in bytes per second.
    • View the lowest transfer rate, in bytes per second.

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Copyright (c) 2003 Intel Corporation.