How many access points, and where?
Set a coverage target between 80 and 100%, and Auto-place access points puts just enough in each area to reach it. Drag any of them afterwards and the heatmap follows.
Auto-place
Wi-Fi, 02
Wi-Fi planned through real walls.
Place access points from the catalogue and a heatmap shows the predicted signal per band, 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, with every wall’s material taking its share. Auto-place to a coverage target, then read each area’s coverage and its weakest spot.
what it answers, 04
Four questions to settle before the ceiling goes up.
Will the signal get through that wall?
Give the project, or any single wall, its material. Concrete and stone take far more signal than drywall or glass, and the walls you set for the audio design already count here.
Wall materials
Which band should it plan for?
Check each one, 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, because walls absorb them differently. The tool’s lesson puts it simply: 5 GHz is faster with a shorter reach, 2.4 GHz reaches further through walls, and most installs plan for 5 GHz and let 2.4 GHz fill the gaps.
Network tools
Are there enough switch ports?
Access points, cameras, touch panels, audio players and AV-over-IP video all need a switch port. The tool counts them across the whole project against your switches and warns the moment the ports run short.
Port check
how it works, 05
The rooms are drawn, so start at the access points.
The steps of the tool’s Wi-Fi guide, and the first part of lesson 04.
Switch the discipline to Network
The areas and walls are the ones you already drew. Only the network devices show on the plan, and the Inspector shows the network results.
Set the walls
Give the project a wall material, then change the walls that differ: glass, brick, wood, concrete or drywall, one segment at a time.
Place or auto-place access points
Pick a model in the library, where Details lists its radios, bands and power draw, and click inside a room. Or set a target and let Auto-place fill every area.
Read the map, band by band
Turn on the Wi-Fi coverage heatmap and choose the band in Network tools. Toggle it off and on to relate the colours to the walls.
Check the results and the wired side
Each area reports its coverage, average, strongest and weakest signal. Equipment brings the ports and PoE of access points, cameras and control panels together before you choose a switch.
reading the map
Green is strong, orange is usable, red is weak.
The heatmap colours each room by predicted signal strength. A glass partition barely touches the signal; a concrete wall takes a large bite out of it.
Signal strength (RSSI), dBm
Green
Strong signal, close to an access point or through walls that cost it little.
Orange
Usable signal. Judge it against the room: a bedroom tolerates less than a home office.
Red
Weak signal. Move the access point towards it, or add one, and watch the numbers change.
the analysis
What the map predicts, and what it is judged against.
No standard grades Wi-Fi coverage here. The figures are predictions to plan and quote with, then to confirm on site.
- bands, each with its own heatmap
- 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz
- coverage target for Auto-place
- 80 to 100%
- access points in the catalogue
- 20
Signal strength (RSSI)
Planning estimate- How it is worked out
- Predicted per band from each access point, through every wall in the way at its material’s loss, with the slant from a ceiling access point included.
- Judged against
- The signal scale on the map, from −85 dBm (weak) to −40 dBm (strong).
Coverage
Checked against a target- How it is worked out
- The share of each area above the signal threshold.
- Judged against
- Your coverage target: 80 to 100% when Auto-place does the placing.
Weakest spot
Planning estimate- How it is worked out
- The lowest predicted signal in the area, next to the average and the strongest.
- Judged against
- Your judgement of the room: a bedroom tolerates less signal than a home office.
Switch ports
Counted- How it is worked out
- Every networked device in the project, from every discipline: access points, cameras, door stations, touch panels, Dante adaptors, audio players, controllers and AV over IP.
- Judged against
- The ports your switches provide. A warning appears when a device would exceed them.
what you hand over, 04
The Wi-Fi design, printed, priced and wired.
Wi-Fi coverage report
Its own branded PDF: the coverage map, the access point schedule with mounting locations, and the switch summary. It joins the combined report too.
For: Client and installer
Location references
Access points carry AP1, AP2 references in the report that match the location schedule, so the installer finds each one on the plan.
For: Installer
- PNG
- DXF
On the wiring drawing
Build from project draws every access point wired to the network switch over PoE, each link with a cable ID in the connection schedule.
For: Installer
- CSV
In the rack and the proposal
Switches drop into the rack with a patch panel per 24 ports, and access points are priced lines in the client proposal and the bill of materials.
For: Office
in the catalogue
Access points and switches, with their bands and PoE draw.
20
access points
18 named models and 2 generic ones.
By maker
- Aruba Instant On3
- Cisco3
- Grandstream3
- Ruckus3
- TP-Link3
- Ubiquiti3
10
switches and routers
In the rack and gear library, with their ports and PoE.
Counts are the tool’s built-in catalogue in v2.0.0. Brand and product names in the catalogue belong to their owners. A product in the catalogue does not mean a partnership.
honest limits
A prediction to plan with, then a survey to confirm it.
A planning estimate
The map predicts signal from the access points and the walls you set. Furniture, people and the building as built change it, so validate the coverage on site with a survey tool.
The walls decide
An unset or wrong wall material changes the result, and so does the band. Check the walls before you trust a map, and check each band you plan to use.
Ports and PoE need your check
The tool counts the networked devices and warns when ports run short. Confirm the port count and the PoE budget in Equipment before you choose the switch.
faq
Questions about Wi-Fi planning.
Does it replace a site survey?
No. It predicts coverage so you can place the access points and quote them. Validate the radio coverage on site with a survey tool, because furniture and people change it.
Which bands does it predict?
2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, each with its own heatmap. Walls absorb the bands differently, so check each one you plan to use.
Can I add an access point that is not in the library?
Paid accounts can add their own products, switched on per account on request. It is not part of the trial.
A custom device takes its ports, PoE draw and rack units, and joins the library, the rack, the wiring diagram and the bill of materials.
Is the Wi-Fi report separate from the audio one?
It can be. Each discipline prints its own branded PDF, or every system goes into one combined report.
keep going
Read it, watch it, then plan a real floor.
In the docs
- Wi-FiAccess points, bands, wall materials and the results.
- Walls and materialsEdit one wall at a time and give it its material.
- Rack DesignerAuto-fill, front and rear, PDUs, power and heat.
- Wiring diagramsThe system diagram, the schematic and the room sheets.
- ReportsPackages, system reports and the live preview.
Plan the Wi-Fi on the rooms you already drew.
Access points, walls and bands on the same plan as the audio, CCTV, video and control.
15-day trial for approved companies. No card, nothing to cancel.