Ekahau Unveils Off-site WLAN Planning Tool

Wirelesss LAN site survey vendor Ekahau Thursday announced a new WLAN planning tool to speed the deployment of corporate wireless networks.

The company said in a statement that its Ekahau Planner can be used off-site to start the WLAN planning process. It uses a graphical user interface in which users can drag and drop possible access points over a floor plan of the site. It has a built-in ability to compare the floor plan with possible issues such as attenuation of radio signals, which can speed the planning process.

"The new Ekahau Planner will dramatically decrease the cost and time needed in planning Wi-Fi networks and their performance characteristics" Antti Korhonen, Ekahau's president and CEO said in a statement. "We also understand, however, that any RF-prediction tool can give you only the best estimate of what the final network plan would look like."

Ekahau Planner is one of several WLAN planning products the company is releasing, including on-site survey tools. Planner will be available in April for $950, the company said.