Wi-Fi 6: Design and Site Survey

WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and 6E (6 GHz band) design requires a professional site survey, careful AP selection, channel and power planning, and particular attention to density. This comprehensive guide covers site survey methodology and enterprise WiFi 6 design for 2026. Tools: Ekahau, iBwave, Hamina.

WiFi Design Stages

• 1. Initial site survey (passive or predictive)
• 2. Define requirements: throughput, density, applications
• 3. Select APs for the environment
• 4. Place APs on the floor plan
• 5. Allocate channels and power
• 6. Post-deployment site survey (validation)
• 7. Continuous tuning

Types of Site Survey

Predictive

• Based on a floor plan (PDF or DWG)
• Simulation using Ekahau AI Pro / iBwave Design / Hamina
• Predicts coverage, interference, and throughput
• Fast (a few hours)
• 70-80% accuracy

Passive On-Site Survey

• Conducted on-site with a directional antenna + SW (Ekahau, NetAlly AirMagnet, TamoGraph)
• Measures actual signal strength, SNR, and interference
• 95%+ accuracy
• Required for high-density environments (lecture halls, stadiums)
• Duration: 0.5-2 days per average-sized building

Active On-Site Survey

• Same as a passive survey + actual throughput tests (iperf)
• Post-deployment validation
• Detection of non-WiFi interference (microwave ovens, Bluetooth, baby monitors)

Design Criteria

• Minimum signal strength: -65 dBm for VoIP/video, -70 dBm acceptable for data
• Minimum SNR: 25 dB for MCS 7+, 30 dB for 1024-QAM WiFi 6
• Overlap: 15-20% between adjacent APs for roaming
• Channel reuse: at least 3 DFS channels in 5 GHz
• 2.4 GHz band: only 3 channels (1, 6, 11) — restrict usage to low-throughput IoT

WiFi 6 (802.11ax)

• 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz
• Bidirectional MU-MIMO (downlink + uplink)
• OFDMA: orthogonal multiplexing (as in 4G/LTE)
• 1024-QAM (vs 256-QAM WiFi 5)
• Target Wake Time (TWT): conserves IoT battery power
• BSS Coloring: reduces co-channel interference
• Theoretical throughput: 2.4 GHz 574 Mbps (2×2), 5 GHz 2.4 Gbps (2×2)

WiFi 6E (6 GHz)

• Available in the USA since 2020 and France since 2022
• 6 GHz band: 1200 MHz of unlicensed spectrum (7 channels of 160 MHz)
• No legacy APs on 6 GHz: less congestion
• Compatible clients: iPhone 15+, Samsung S22+, laptops 2022+
• APs: Cisco C9166, Aruba AP-635, FortiAP-431F, Meraki MR57

WiFi 7 (802.11be, 2024)

• Tri-band: simultaneous 2.4 + 5 + 6 GHz
• 320 MHz channels in 6 GHz
• 4096-QAM
• Multi-Link Operation (MLO): band aggregation
• Theoretical throughput: 46 Gbps
• APs: Cisco 9180 (2024), Aruba AP-765, FortiAP-441K

AP Density by Environment

• Open-plan office: 1 AP / 150-200 m² (WiFi 6)
• Classroom: 1 AP / 2 classrooms (30-60 students)
• 200-person lecture hall: 3-4 high-density WiFi 6E APs
• Hotel: 1 AP / 2-3 rooms (in the corridor) or 1 AP / room (wall-plate)
• Warehouse: 1 AP / 500-1000 m² (outdoor WiFi 6)
• 50,000-seat stadium: 400+ APs + handshake tuning

Power over Ethernet (PoE) Budget

• WiFi 5 AP 2×2: PoE+ 802.3at = 13W (Cisco 2802, Aruba AP-303)
• WiFi 6 AP 2×2: PoE+ = 15W
• WiFi 6 AP 4×4: PoE+ = 25W
• WiFi 6E AP 4×4 tri-band: UPOE 802.3bt = 45W
• WiFi 7 AP: UPOE 45-60W
• Plan for UPOE switches for WiFi 6E/7

AP Uplinks

• WiFi 5 2×2: 1 Gbps is sufficient
• WiFi 6 2×2: 1 Gbps is often sufficient (theoretical 1.2 Gbps, actual 600-900 Mbps)
• WiFi 6 4×4 or 6E: 2.5G mGig recommended
• WiFi 7: 5G mGig or 10G depending on density
• mGig switches: Cisco Catalyst 9300-NM-4M, Aruba CX 6200M, FortiSwitch-148F-mGig

Roaming

• 802.11k: Neighbor Report (AP advertises neighboring APs)
• 802.11v: BSS Transition Management (AP suggests a better AP)
• 802.11r: Fast Transition (re-auth <50ms for VoIP)
• Enabling all 3 is mandatory for mobile VoIP/video

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Turnkey predictive and on-site site surveys and WiFi 6/6E/7 design: Cisco Meraki, Aruba, Juniper Mist, FortiAP. Quotes for schools, offices, and industrial sites within 48 hours.