Ekahau Releases Breakthrough Wi-Fi Planner

RESTON, Va., April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ekahau, the leader in Wi-Fi design tools, released a new version of their network planning and field analysis software today that will change the way Wi-Fi networks are designed. Ekahau Site Survey (ESS) 8.0 eliminates the need for manual wall material definitions with the new, intelligent Wall Outlining Wizard. ESS 8.0 also features throughput testing capabilities for more comprehensive field site survey work.

Wi-Fi network design relies on building wall locations and wall types in order to determine optimal access point placements. The new Wall Outlining Wizard in ESS 8.0 simplifies this process where, previously, network engineers had to spend hours or days manually drawing the walls and defining the wall characteristics of a multi-floor building. Now, in ESS 8.0, CAD (computer aided design) architectural blueprints of a building can be easily imported into the application to automatically convert the complex blueprints into a simple but very accurate representation of the planning environment.

Once the blueprints have been converted, the Auto-Planner feature suggests the locations of Wi-Fi access points (APs) on a map, based on user defined requirements, such as "the network needs to support 1000 simultaneous voice calls made by smartphone users." Alternatively, the simulated access points can be manually placed on the floor plan by the network engineer. ESS then accurately simulates the expected network coverage, performance and capacity.

Jussi Kiviniemi, (@jussikiviniemi) Ekahau's vice president of Wi-Fi Tools states, "Being able to utilize CAD blueprints in Wi-Fi network designs is huge; a building that required eight hours of manual wall drawing work is now completed by ESS in just five minutes. The network engineers can spend more time designing a great network and less time drawing walls."

Kiviniemi continued, "Simulation is not all there is to Wi-Fi design­—every Wi-Fi network needs to be tested on-site after the deployment, as well as periodically. For field engineers, Ekahau Site Survey 8.0 introduces throughput site survey capabilities. It allows heavy-duty testing of the network to ensure smooth operation of applications such as voice over Wi-Fi and streaming video."

ESS 8.0 also adds accurate 3D radiation patterns of the latest antennas and access points from Cisco, Aruba, Ruckus, Samsung, Acceltex and more.

Ekahau Site Survey 8.0 is made for anyone who maintains or designs Wi-Fi networks, from IT administrators to systems integrators. Ekahau Site Survey 8.0 is available now from Ekahau and distribution partners. The upgrade is free for existing Ekahau Site Survey customers with an active support and maintenance contract. For more information, go to ekahau.com/wifidesign.

About Ekahau Wi-Fi Tools

Ekahau provides Wi-Fi design tools for network engineers. Having developed the first ever enterprise-grade Wi-Fi site survey software known as Ekahau Site Survey™ (ESS), Ekahau is the undisputed leader and pioneer in Wi-Fi site survey and planning tools. With ESS, it is simple to plan and deploy Wi-Fi networks according to performance and capacity requirements. Ekahau partners include major system integrators and network infrastructure providers. Ekahau's Wi-Fi design tools are used by thousands of schools, hospitals, hotels, and most of the world's largest telecom operators. Learn more about Ekahau Wi-Fi Tools at: www.ekahau.com/wifidesign.

SOURCE Ekahau