--- title: Wireless Site Survey Guidelines slug: wireless-site-survey-guidelines createdAt: 2025-01-15T00:05:38.090Z --- This document provides all the information required to conduct a successful wireless site survey in accordance with Nile's guidelines. It is organized into three parts: 1. Best practices to follow during the site survey: AP placement, radio power, AP height, capacity planning, secondary coverage, 6 GHz/AFC behavior, etc. 2. Predictive design requirements for building the design in Ekahau or Hamina: floor plan and scale, attenuation, AP configuration, design targets, and zone-based planning. 3. A checklist to validate before you upload the Ekahau or Hamina file to the site survey job. :::BlockQuote **Note: **All power values in this guide are expressed as EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power), not conducted/transmit power. ::: ## Assumptions and Prerequisites This guide assumes that the person performing the survey already understands standard wireless site survey fundamentals, including survey preparation, floor-plan validation, scaling, wall attenuation, AP-on-a-stick methodology, RF behavior, coverage validation, and report generation. These general survey concepts are not covered in detail here. The purpose of this document is to capture Nile-specific survey expectations, design targets, EIRP guidance, 6 GHz considerations, secondary coverage validation, predictive design requirements, and pre-upload requirements. ## RF Design Principles ### Design for the Business Use Case Start the design by identifying the customer’s business use case and the least capable, most important client device in the environment. Examples include barcode scanners in warehouses, paging devices in healthcare facilities, and laptops in enterprise office environments. Also account for the applications that will use the wireless network, such as video, VoIP, cloud backups, dorm-room gaming devices, or other high-throughput and latency-sensitive applications. ### Design for Redundancy and Resiliency Nile SLAs depend on a redundant and resilient wireless design. A key design target is to aim for -67 dBm secondary signal strength on the 5 GHz spectrum. ### 5 GHz Is the Default Design Band - Build and validate the design on 5 GHz. - Primary and secondary coverage targets, the Nile performance guarantee, and Nile sensor monitoring are all based on 5 GHz. - Do not present 6 GHz coverage or performance as guaranteed unless it is explicitly in scope. ### Design for Capacity Before Coverage in Dense Offices In typical enterprise office spaces, capacity often needs closer attention than coverage. A typical AP can cover a radius of up to 50 ft (15 m) in open space when mounted at 10–12 ft (3–3.7 m), but modern open-office layouts often create high-density environments where each desk may have multiple connected devices. For these environments, reducing transmit power does not necessarily mean over-deploying APs. The AP count is usually justified by the capacity requirement rather than coverage alone. See Zone-Based Planning for how to size these areas. ### Floor Plan and Scale - Download the floor plan exclusively from the **site survey job** assigned to you in the **Nile NAV app**. Do not use any other PDF, CAD file, or image. This is a critical requirement. - Do not assume the scale on an imported floor plan is correct. Verify it on site before placing any AP. A scale error flows directly into the AP count and the quote. - Measure with a laser or tape and use the longest practical reference: column grid, corridor length, or room length. Use a door width (about 3 ft / 0.9 m) only if nothing longer is available. - Check the scale with a second measurement in the other direction. - Record both reference dimensions in the survey notes. - If the floor plan in the survey job is wrong, outdated, unscaled, or missing a floor, stop and contact your Nile SA or Nile support before surveying. Do not import a replacement floor plan. Floor plans are locked once devices are placed or the network design is generated. ### Survey File Floors Must Match the Job - The survey file must contain exactly the floors in the site survey job, with no missing floors and no extra floors. - A mismatch causes upload validation to fail or prevents the job from closing. ### RF Model and Attenuation - Model the attenuation sources actually present at the site: drywall, glass, concrete, brick, metal partitions, doors, elevator shafts, pillars, racking, and similar obstructions. Do not rely on the tool's default wall library. - Where practical, measure wall and floor penetration loss during the walkthrough (see Surveying Multi-Storied Buildings). - If measurements cannot be performed, use the default values below and record the deviation in the survey notes. | Material | Typical location | Default attenuation | | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | Drywall or standard glass | Meeting rooms, interior partitions | 3 dB | | Brick or masonry | Restrooms, data centers, exterior walls | 10 dB | | Reinforced concrete | Elevators, concrete pillars, structural walls | 15 dB | | Insulated cold-room panels, metal or dock doors | Cold stores, loading docks | 20-35 dB (place APs on both sides where coverage is required) | ### AP Configuration in the Survey Tool - Set the exact Nile AP model for each area, plus antenna, mount type, mount height, and orientation. - Use the EIRP values in the Recommended EIRP Planning Matrix. Do not change power from these values without approval from the Nile SA/SE. - The typical enterprise rows of the matrix assume a ceiling of up to 12 ft (3.7 m). Confirm the actual mounting height and use the matrix row that matches it for cafeterias, lobbies, atria, and warehouse space. - In Hamina, convert EIRP to conducted TX power using the Nile AP Antenna Gain reference before entering the value. ### Design Targets - Configure the signal, SNR, and overlap targets provided by the Nile SA for this job, and no others. - Adding stricter targets inflates the AP count beyond the agreedscope. Leaving targets out understates it. ### Zone-Based Planning - Zone the plan first: Divide each floor into high-density and low-density zones before placing APs, then set placement and power per zone. A single site-wide power value over-serves back-of-house space and under-serves dense areas. - Capacity zones: Size dense areas from client count, client types, applications, and traffic demand using Hamina Capacity Zones or Ekahau Requirement Areas. Never size from floor area alone. Meeting rooms, conference and town-hall spaces, cafeterias, and hot-desk banks must each be an explicit capacity zone with its own client count, not averaged into a site-wide figure. - Very high density: Prefer more APs at lower power over fewer APs at higher power. Use the High-density enterprise office row of the Recommended EIRP Planning Matrix as the starting point. - Meeting rooms with more than 12 seats: Allocate a dedicated AP where possible. - Cafeterias and similar high-density, high-ceiling areas: Use 17 dBm EIRP on 5 GHz to compensate for the greater ceiling height. For APs with 5 dBi antenna gain, this is 12 dBm TX power. ### Predicted vs. Measured Values - Differences of around 2 dB between predicted and measured values are normal for Ekahau and Hamina. - Do not raise design power to compensate for this difference. ### AP-on-a-Stick Validation If the site has unusual conditions or unknown materials, validate the design assumptions with an AP-on-a-stick test before finalizing the AP count. Examples include: - High ceilings or atriums - Glass facades - Warehouse racking or cold stores - Heavy machinery - Lift lobbies - Listed or retrofitted buildings ### Design Changes If the floor plan, physical layout, occupancy, application mix, AP model, mounting height, or coverage area changes after the design is shared, re-run the predictive design and notify the Nile SA. ## RF Power Planning and EIRP Guidelines ### Recommended EIRP Planning Matrix The values in the following table are intended to serve as practical starting points and are expected to be suitable for most deployments. However, every environment is unique, and these recommendations should be adjusted as needed. Final design decisions should consider factors such as client density, application requirements, mounting height, building characteristics, and redundancy requirements. Surveyors are encouraged to use predictive surveys, AP-on-a-stick testing, and field validation to fine-tune the design. In lower-density environments where secondary coverage is not required, transmit power may be increased cautiously after verifying coverage, roaming behavior, and interference levels. | Deployment scenario | 2.4 GHz EIRP | 5 GHz EIRP | 6 GHz LPI EIRP | 6 GHz SP EIRP | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | Typical enterprise, ceiling up to 12 ft | 8 dBm | 11 dBm for Wi-Fi 6E / Wi-Fi 7
14 dBm for Wi-Fi 6 | 14 dBm | 17 dBm with AFC | | High-density enterprise office | 5 dBm | 11 dBm | 14 dBm | 17 dBm with AFC | | Regular enterprise, ceiling below 20 ft, secondary coverage required | 8 dBm | 14 dBm | 12–13 dBm | 17 dBm with AFC | | Warehouse or auditorium, ceiling 20–28 ft, no secondary coverage | 11 dBm | 17 dBm | Turn off. Wait for Standard Power with AFC | 19 dBm with AFC | | Larger venue, ceiling 29–35 ft | 13 dBm | 19 dBm | Turn off. Wait for Standard Power with AFC | 20 dBm with AFC | | Mounting height 35–40 ft | Active survey required | Active survey required | Turn off. Wait for Standard Power with AFC | Active survey is required. Standard Power with AFC required | | Above 40 ft | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | ### Why is 14 dBm EIRP recommended on 5GHz (WiFi6) ? - A 14 dBm EIRP target helps maintain transmit power symmetry between APs and client devices. This is important for roaming and performance because excessive AP transmit power can cause sticky clients that remain connected to distant APs even when a better AP is available. - Many client radios operate around 12–14 dBm, so operating close to that range can provide a better client experience. - Starting around 14 dBm also provides headroom for Nile’s coverage-hole mitigation algorithm to increase power where needed, especially in wireless zones where maximum radio power may be capped. - For Wi-Fi 6E/7 APs, the recommended 5 GHz baseline is 11 dBm because the 6 GHz radio contributes to the overall cell budget. ### EIRP vs Conducted power: 1. While we are on the topic of Radio power, let's also understand the difference between EIRP and conducted power: 2. Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) is the total amount of power that appears to be emitted by the antenna. It takes into account the conducted power and also the antenna gain. - **EIRP = Conducted Power + Antenna Gain** 3. Conducted power is the RF energy delivered from the transmitter into the antenna feed. This is the value most survey tools accept as input. ### Configuring EIRP in Ekahau and Hamina :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="2"} Ekahau: In the tool, when we configure a radio TX power to be 9dBm, the tool automatically adds the antenna gain, and there is a small text annotation that displays the EIRP ::: ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/7Im5mlHmEb2KF7rGg36qn-xZ3enISb6dkGTSMxipeC9-20250206-002640.png" size="100" width="998" height="446" position="center" caption="EIRP vs Conducted Power" darkWidth="998" darkHeight="446" showCaption="true" indent="3"} :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="2"} Hamina: Unlike Ekahau, Hamina does not automatically add antenna gain to the configured TX power — the value you enter is treated as conducted power, not EIRP. You must therefore convert your target EIRP to conducted power yourself using the per-AP Antenna Gain Reference below before entering it into the project. ::: :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="3"} **Example:** For an NWA1100 (Wi-Fi 6E) on 5 GHz, the internal antenna gain is approximately 7 dBi. To achieve the recommended baseline of 14 dBm EIRP on 5 GHz, enter a TX power of 7 dBm in Hamina (14 − 7 = 7). ::: :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="2"} A TX power setting of 7 dBm is therefore correct for this AP model. However, that same 7 dBm setting should not be reused blindly across other APs. ::: :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="3"} **Example:** For an NWA1000 (Wi-Fi 6), which has an internal antenna gain of approximately 5 dBi on 5 GHz, a 7 dBm TX power setting would result in 12 dBm EIRP. This may fall below the intended design target. ::: :::Paragraph{listStyleType="disc" indent="2"} Always validate the EIRP calculation for the specific AP model before generating the report. ::: ### Nile AP Antenna Gain reference: | **AP** | **Wi-Fi Gen** | **Indoor / Outdoor** | **Antenna type** | **2.4 GHz** | **5 GHz** | **6 GHz** | | -------- | ------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------- | ----------- | --------- | --------- | | NWA1000 | Wi-Fi 6 | Indoor | Omni (internal) | 4.6 dBi | 5 dBi | — | | NWA1050 | Wi-Fi 6 | Outdoor | Omni (internal) | 5 dBi | 5 dBi | — | | NWA1100 | Wi-Fi 6E | Indoor | Omni (internal) | 3 dBi | 3 dBi | 3 dBi | | NWA1200 | Wi-Fi 7 | Indoor | Omni (internal) | 5 dBi | 5 dBi | 3 dBi | | NWA1250 | Wi-Fi 7 | Outdoor | Directional (internal) | 8 dBi | 8 dBi | 8 dBi | ## 6 GHz Design Considerations: 6 GHz introduces design decisions that do not exist for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, especially the choice between **Low Power** Indoor and **Standard Power** with **AFC**. ### LPI vs. Standard Power — what's the difference | **Mode** | **Where it operates** | **Max EIRP** | **AFC required?** | **Typical use** | | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Low Power Indoor (**LPI**) | Indoor only, full 6 GHz band
(U-NII 5, 6, 7, 8) | **23 dBm** (or 5 dBm/MHz PSD) | No | Dense / high-capacity indoor deployments where the higher AP count is already justified by capacity | | Standard Power (**SP w/AFC**) | U-NII 5 and U-NII 7, indoor or outdoor | **36 dBm** (or 23 dBm/MHz PSD) | Required | Coverage-driven deployments (warehouses, larger venues), where the higher EIRP reduces AP count | ### When to Use LPI Use LPI for dense indoor environments such as stadiums and conference halls. LPI allows more APs to be deployed while reducing power to avoid interference. ### When to Use Standard Power with AFC Use Standard Power 6 GHz carefully because it requires AFC and higher EIRP values. Plan based on the AFC availability and the coverage requirement. ### Aligning 5 GHz and 6 GHz Cell Sizes For the best client experience on 6 GHz, the 6 GHz and 5 GHz cell sizes should be similar. Cell size decreases as frequency increases. If 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz operate at the same power level, the expected cell-size order is 2.4 GHz > 5 GHz > 6 GHz. For high-density enterprise offices, use the high-density row in the Recommended EIRP Planning Matrix as the starting point, then adjust based on the environment being designed. ## Coverage, Resiliency, and Interference Validation ### Secondary Signal Strength: 1. As you know, Nile has an incredible automation built into the Channel Planner. Let's look at how this affects planning using the site survey tools: - When using Ekahau/Hamina, the secondary signal strength is purely the second-highest RSSI observed at any given X, Y, when all the APs are operating at the same power level. - When an AP goes offline, the Channel Planner automatically reclassifies its immediate neighbours as border APs and raises their TX power by 3 dBm to backfill the lost coverage. - Factor this **+3 dBm uplift **to the baseline into your secondary-coverage validation rather than designing for the static RSSI values that Ekahau or Hamina report. ### Co-Channel Interference and Neighboring APs: 1. If increasing the TX power, be sure to **increase the distance between APs** to reduce interference. For APs placed at higher elevations (e.g., above 28 feet), ensure they are spaced far enough apart (consider **25–50 feet** depending on TX power). 2. If you must exceed **14 dBm **for TX power, ensure that APs are sufficiently separated to avoid interference that degrades performance ## Survey Execution Guidelines ### Surveying Multi-Storied Buildings: 1. In addition to characterizing the walls on the floor, we also need to understand how the RF Penetration is happening through the floor as well. 2. So, while performing the active AP on a stick survey, please navigate to the floor below and collect the data as well. ### Brownfield Locations: 1. Understand the current AP placement from the customer and generate a predictive survey to see if it matches Nile Standards 2. If it doesn’t match the Nile standards, then follow the steps outlined above to generate the AP locations. ### Sensor Locations: 1. Placement of Nile Physical Sensors is a very important step that we need to identify during the wireless survey. Some general rule of thumb for the sensor placement: - Should be around the perimeter of the building. - Identify important areas in the floor, like executive rooms, big conference rooms, and all-hands meeting areas. - Make sure there are working power outlets after a sensor location is determined. # Checklist Make sure the following items are present in the survey file and the report before uploading to the site survey job: - [ ] Floor plan downloaded from the Nile NAV site survey job, with both scale reference dimensions recorded in the notes. - [ ] Floors in the survey file match the floors in the job exactly. - [ ] Coverage areas and exclusion areas drawn. - [ ] All walls drawn, with the attenuation values applied. Any unmeasured default values are noted. - [ ] Every AP set with the exact Nile AP model, antenna, mount type (wall vertical, wall horizontal, or ceiling), mount height in ft (m), orientation, and EIRP. - [ ] Set the scaling factor using a real-time measurement and a large object at the site, i.e., the length of a room, the length of a hallway, etc., as that will give us accurate data. - [ ] Draw the coverage area where wireless is needed and add any exclusion areas if applicable.Capacity zones (Hamina) or Requirement Areas (Ekahau) created with the client count for each zone.Sensor locations marked on the floor plan with a "Sensor location" note. - [ ] Design targets configured as provided by the Nile. - [ ] AP properties: - [ ] Please make sure that all the simulated APs in the Ekahau/Hamina file have the following properties. - [ ] Mounting Type: Wall mounting (vertical or horizontal mounting), ceiling mounting - [ ] Height: Access Point height from the ground - [ ] Ceiling Types: These are Nile-specific and can be derived from the template esx file provided. - [ ] A note to be placed on the floor plan indicating “Sensor location”. - [ ] Generating report (Ekahau): - [ ] The final report must be generated after characterizing the signal attenuation from the different wall types that were found during the active survey. * [ ] In Ekahau, navigate to Reporting >> One-Click Reporting * [ ] Bands: 5 GHz * [ ] Floors: Select all the relevant floors * [ ] Paper: A4 * [ ] Document Format: PDF - [ ] Sections: - [ ] Coverage and Performance: - [ ] Signal Strength - [ ] Secondary Signal Strength - [ ] Number of APs - [ ] Requirements - Coverage and Performance - [ ] Network Issues - [ ] Requirements - Capacity - [ ] Capacity: Clients per AP - [ ] Access Points - [ ] My Network Access Points - [ ] Notes - [ ] Map Notes - [ ] Upload the ESX file with the final location of the APs with the above-mentioned properties, tags, and notes to the site survey job. - [ ] Generating report (Hamina): - [ ] In Hamina, navigate to "Create a new report." - [ ] Bands: 5 GHz - [ ] Bill of Materials - [ ] Notes and Zones - [ ] AP Placement - [ ] Coverage - [ ] Secondary Coverage - [ ] AP List - [ ] Switch & Cabling Locations - [ ] Finally, Export at the project level. Under Recent Projects, click the ⋯ menu next to the project name and select Import / Export. Format: File (OpenIntent) selected (not Cisco Catalyst / DNA Center). OpenIntent file saved locally with a clear, customer-identifiable filename. - [ ] Upload the OpenIntent file with the final location of the APs with the above-mentioned properties, tags, and notes to the site survey job.