Using MapInfo to Create the Radio Links and Frequency Planning for Deployable WiFi Networks
- Submitted by:
- Scott Amendolaro
- Company:
- Nokia Siemens Networks
- Submitted on:
- 01 Jan, 2008
- Category:
- Technical Achievement Award
The CIQ Plotter is a WIFI Design tool which imports large amounts of data from an Excel Spreadsheet and displays the Access Points, Point to Point, Point to Multipoint and Mesh backhaul links Links as well as Access frequencies on 5.8, 4.9 and 2.4.
The Tool is actively being used to create the radio links and frequency planning for deployable WIFI networks. The Ciqplotter was designed in Visual Basic using Mapx and MapInfo 7.8. It utilizes a unique color coding scheme for each channel class which allows for easy visual frequency planning in large scale deployments consisting of thousands of radio links and access points. The application uses a MapInfo base which allows us to load channel scan and building data which then allows us to carefully frequency plan around trouble spots. Since the Base Stations use multiple proprietary radios which require large amounts of parameter in order to create links, there simply wasn't a tool available. With Mapinfo we were able to create one which accuratly showed each link class (Dashed for Mesh, solid for pt-pt etc...)
One of the best user featurs of this program is that changes are saved back into the Excel spreadsheet which is then used as the master Database. Clients love the fact that at any time we can convert this master database into a real time visual representation of their network which can be modified, edit, saved then used to create scripts to implement the changes. Quite simply, if this tool could not be created, the amount of manpower required to do what it does would make this too costly a venture to continue.