Recently I had the opportunity to work with Devin Akin on a validation Site Survey for a large school district in Chicago. Here are a few of the lessons that I learned that are not in the book:
1. Take everything. Devin carries 5 computers in his backpack. He had a pelican suitcase full of every type of cable known to man.
2. Do everything you can to maximize your time doing the actual surveying. Move obstacles, open doors, and schedule the walking of the survey when there is less traffic if possible.
3. Take 2 pair of comfortable shoes. Carrying a computer, even a light one, is going to wreak havoc on your feet and knees. I noticed Devin wore Sketchers. So did I.
4. Get a comfortable carrying platter that won’t require you to look down at the screen. Devin uses a rather large board with straps that go around his back. It gave him the capability to push the computer out a little so he didn’t have to look down at the screen. It really helps take the stress off your neck, plus, you can glance away from the screen to see your surroundings easily.
5. Choose a light, fast computer over a wide screen computer. A 13” MacBook Pro was big enough to display the map and fast enough to run the survey software.
6. Use Dropbox. Save often. If you start by using Dropbox as your directory it will save a copy offsite.
7. Have a backup and recovery process. Devin copies to a thumb drive and has a complete offsite backup strategy. You are trying to avoid having to re-survey a site. A very costly scenario for you and your customer.
8. Use Tamosoft iperf to test roaming. Setup the server on a computer that is on the wired side of the customer's network and then load the client on an older portable device with a 1x1 antenna. Devin uses an older iPhone 5 with a larger screen. You can walk through the environment and watch as the throughput drops and then picks back up. We discovered that using Fast transitional roaming enabled on Aruba caused a slower roaming experience and we ended up turning it off for this “open” network.
9. Don’t let your cords dangle. We used the Ekahau Sidekick connected to the laptop with a USB C connector. We had to use a different cable because the one that comes with the Sidekick is defective. We ended up running a flat cable USB and then we taped it down to the site-survey platter. Before we taped it down, it got caught several times and came unplugged. Once we taped it down and used a flat USB cable (from the 'take everything' pack), we didn't have any more problems.
10. Answer all questions with the statement: "We're here to fix the WiFi." These five word's will do amazing things! Doors will be opened, keys given, space made; anything for the WiFi.
1. Take everything. Devin carries 5 computers in his backpack. He had a pelican suitcase full of every type of cable known to man.
2. Do everything you can to maximize your time doing the actual surveying. Move obstacles, open doors, and schedule the walking of the survey when there is less traffic if possible.
3. Take 2 pair of comfortable shoes. Carrying a computer, even a light one, is going to wreak havoc on your feet and knees. I noticed Devin wore Sketchers. So did I.
4. Get a comfortable carrying platter that won’t require you to look down at the screen. Devin uses a rather large board with straps that go around his back. It gave him the capability to push the computer out a little so he didn’t have to look down at the screen. It really helps take the stress off your neck, plus, you can glance away from the screen to see your surroundings easily.
5. Choose a light, fast computer over a wide screen computer. A 13” MacBook Pro was big enough to display the map and fast enough to run the survey software.
6. Use Dropbox. Save often. If you start by using Dropbox as your directory it will save a copy offsite.
7. Have a backup and recovery process. Devin copies to a thumb drive and has a complete offsite backup strategy. You are trying to avoid having to re-survey a site. A very costly scenario for you and your customer.
8. Use Tamosoft iperf to test roaming. Setup the server on a computer that is on the wired side of the customer's network and then load the client on an older portable device with a 1x1 antenna. Devin uses an older iPhone 5 with a larger screen. You can walk through the environment and watch as the throughput drops and then picks back up. We discovered that using Fast transitional roaming enabled on Aruba caused a slower roaming experience and we ended up turning it off for this “open” network.
9. Don’t let your cords dangle. We used the Ekahau Sidekick connected to the laptop with a USB C connector. We had to use a different cable because the one that comes with the Sidekick is defective. We ended up running a flat cable USB and then we taped it down to the site-survey platter. Before we taped it down, it got caught several times and came unplugged. Once we taped it down and used a flat USB cable (from the 'take everything' pack), we didn't have any more problems.
10. Answer all questions with the statement: "We're here to fix the WiFi." These five word's will do amazing things! Doors will be opened, keys given, space made; anything for the WiFi.
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