Automatic optimization algorithms for the planning of wireless local area networks

The planning of WLAN infrastructures that supply large buildings or areas requires the consideration of many aspects and therefore is a difficult task if done manually. In this paper, a method is presented that allows one to optimize such networks automatically. The approach is based on predictions of the received power to account for the propagation conditions that have a major impact on the performance of WLANs. The optimization is applied to a set of possible locations where access points can be installed. Out of this set, a minimum selection of locations is made to meet the given requirements. These consist of the determination of areas with different priorities and the definition of further parameters. It not only takes into account the required coverage and capacity but also the interference situation. The arising co-channel interference is minimized by an appropriate assignment of the available carrier frequencies. The discussed approach may not find the global optimum in all cases, but it yields a suggestive result based on the locations defined by the network planner. Due to the very short computation time, different configurations can be analyzed very quickly.