Rollabout: a wireless design tool

Deployment of wireless LANs includes two main design issues: selection of access point locations and access point frequency assignments. Properly solving these issues normally involves a trial and error process, and can be very time consuming. The Rollabout design tool partially automates this process, making it quicker and more efficient. When pushed around on a rolling cart, the system collects data from access points and automatically creates a coverage map. With Rollabout, data collection is much faster, and a much larger set of data can be captured. Furthermore, the design tool predicts the coverage changes that result when access points are moved to different locations. It also can produce an optimal set of frequency assignments for any set of access point locations and corresponding coverage areas.