38 CHAPTER 5: CONDUCTING A SITE SURVEY
You should also consider the following items:
■If there any radio frequency (RF) systems already in use at the site, their signals
could interfere with the access point signals.
■If the access point will be connecting to a wired LAN, the access point must be
installed close enough to connect to the hub with an Ethernet cable.
■Available AC power. See “Electrical Requirements”.
Electrical Requirements The 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN access point draws power over Category 5
Ethernet cabling using a power adapter. Because erratic electrical power can lead
to serious transmission problems and loss of data, 3Com recommends using one
of the following power alternatives.
■Preferred: Isolated ground circuit with online, uninterruptable power supply
(UPS) that also acts as filter and surge suppressor
■Good: Isolated ground circuit with surge suppressor
■Fair: Dedicated circuit with UPS
■Acceptable: Dedicated circuit with surge suppressor
If you must use a nondedicated circuit, avoid using the following types of devices
on that circuit, because they can affect the reliability of the circuit:
■Devices with components intended or known to produce heat (such as space
heaters, laser printers, heat guns, or soldering irons)
■Single devices drawing more than 20% of the rated value of the circuit
■Multiple devices drawing a total of more than 60% of the rated circuit value
Summary of the Survey Procedure Following is a summary of the basic procedure for setting up and running the site
survey tests. For details, see the topics indicated in the steps.
■Set up the access point in the first trial location and set up a client in the first
work area.
See “Setting up Equipment” on page 39.
■On the client computer, launch the Site Survey tool, configure the site survey,
and run the tests from the first work area.
See “Launching the Tool” on page 39, “Configuring the Survey” on page 39,
and “Running the Tests” on page 39.
■Move the client computer to the next work area and run the Site Survey tool
again. (Alternatively, run the Site Survey tool on the client desktop computer in
the next work area.)
Repeat this step for each work area.
■Set up the access point in the next trial location and run the Site Survey tool
again from each of the work areas.
Repeat this step for each trial location.
The 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN access point must be provided with power 24
hours a day. 3Com recommends that you avoid providing power to the access
point from an energy management system.