How can you design a wireless network for seamless roaming and high availability?

1 Access point placement and density

One of the first steps in wireless network design is to determine the optimal placement and density of access points (APs) in your network. APs are the devices that provide wireless coverage and communicate with wireless clients. You need to consider the physical layout, size, and shape of your network area, as well as the expected number and type of wireless clients, the required bandwidth and throughput, and the potential sources of interference and noise. You want to avoid having too few or too many APs, as both can cause problems with signal quality, coverage, and performance. You also want to ensure that the APs are evenly distributed and have enough overlap to allow smooth handoff and roaming between them.

2 Wireless controller configuration and redundancy

Another important step in wireless network design is to configure and manage your wireless controllers. Wireless controllers are the devices that centrally control and coordinate the operation of multiple APs. They can provide features such as load balancing, authentication, encryption, quality of service, and roaming. You need to configure your wireless controllers to match your network requirements and policies, such as the SSID, channel, and power settings, the security and encryption methods, and the roaming parameters. You also need to ensure that your wireless controllers have enough capacity and redundancy to handle the traffic and failover scenarios in your network. You can use techniques such as clustering, backup, and load sharing to improve the availability and reliability of your wireless controllers.

3 Wireless protocol selection and optimization

A third step in wireless network design is to select and optimize the wireless protocols that you use in your network. Wireless protocols are the standards and rules that govern how wireless devices communicate with each other. They can affect the speed, efficiency, and compatibility of your wireless network. You need to choose the wireless protocols that best suit your network needs and capabilities, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards, the Wi-Fi Alliance certifications, and the vendor-specific extensions. You also need to optimize the wireless protocols to enhance the performance and security of your network. You can use techniques such as channel bonding, beamforming, MIMO, and WPA3 to improve the throughput, range, and encryption of your wireless network.