Performance Optimisation of the AIT Campus Wireless Mesh Network Deployment

The deployment of an 802.11x wireless mesh network in urban areas is a complex task and is traditionally based on an exhaustive site survey, rules-of-thumb or past experiences. In this research we propose exploring the spatial distribution of the clients, the topology and the clutter using software tools from Motorola in a VoWiFi mesh network before deployment. The objective is to obtain the optimal position for the wireless access points that allows an increase in the overall capacity and performance. The cost savings inherent in running real-time applications over IP based wireless mesh networks will be of interest to industry, especially as AIT is the first in Ireland to utilize the Motorola Mesh Planner software. Initial results are presented from the recently installed mesh network on the AIT campus.