As certified wireless networking professionals, we all learn a set of detailed methodologies to follow in designing and implementing Wi-Fi networks. A whole section of the CWDP is devoted to this process, including the gathering of requirements, building predictive design models, pre-deployment passive surveys, and post-deployment active site surveys to validate and tune the network. Unfortunately, very few of us actually get the luxury of implementing our networks in the theoretical “right way”. Requirements are sketchy and often unstated, installation times are constrained, customers lack knowledge of fundamentals, Wi-Fi is an afterthought, budgets don’t allow for site surveys, etc. This talk will discuss my pragmatic approach for implementing Wi-Fi under realistic field conditions, and how one can implement functional networks following best practices when your actual control over the project is quite limited.
