imulation of the WLAN operating environment. Access point location Tools allow import of building blueprints and construction planning specifications from CAD programs and in-built propagation models are used to determine optimal access point location, taking account of construction materials, path losses and attenuation. Chapter Seven The required combination of transmit power and antenna gain needed to deliver sufficient received signal strength to achieve the desired data rate can be determined, given the link range and intended RF band. Pilot Testing The design process described above will have established a layout of WLAN hardware which aims to deliver the required data throughput with complete RF coverage of the operating area. A pilot test of the design solution, prior to complete installation, will be helpful to ensure that no requirements have been missed and no limitations of the selected technology have been overlooked. Aspects of pilot testing are summarised in Table 7-11. A pilot test will involve the installation of a number of access points of the same type as are intended for the final installation, to cover part of the operating area. Selecting the part of the operating area that posed the greatest difficulty in the design stage - either because of interference or identified propagation issues - will provide the most robust challenge to the design solution. The pilot test should include monitoring and user responses to the day-to-day performance of the pilot installation, as well as stress testing - running under extreme load conditions. The results of the pilot test will either validate the installation proposed at the design stage, or they may indicate that adjustments in the design are necessary if user requirements and performance expectations are to be fully met. A repeat pilot testing may be valuable if major changes in the design solution are indicated. Installation and Configuration WLAN Installation Installation should follow a systematic approach in which each building block of the WLAN