Our Network Design Process: From Assessment to Installation

A business owner calls with a problem: "Our WiFi is terrible. Employees can't connect in some areas. Meetings are constantly dropping. We need better WiFi."

Most WiFi companies show up, count the area in square feet, install access points, and leave.

Then the owner's still frustrated. "We have new WiFi but it's still not working well."

The real problem: most WiFi installations don't start with proper design.

Good WiFi isn't about buying expensive equipment. It's about understanding your building, your usage patterns, and your specific needs—then designing an optimal solution. It's about site surveying before installation, not after.

At Sandbar Systems, we've spent 15+ years designing and installing networks for businesses across hospitality, professional services, retail, and manufacturing. We've learned what separates a network that works from one that's constantly failing.

Here's exactly how we design networks that actually work.

Why Most WiFi Fails: Common Design Mistakes

Before we explain our process, let's understand why most WiFi fails:

Mistake 1: Guessing Equipment Placement Most installers look at square footage and guess where to put access points. "You have 3,000 square feet, so you need 3 access points." They put one in the middle, one in the back, one in the front. Call it good.

Reality: Access point placement is critical. A poorly placed access point creates dead zones. An optimally placed access point covers same area better.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Building Materials Concrete, metal studs, mirrors, and water absorb WiFi signal. Drywall has minimal impact. Glass is partially transparent to WiFi. If you don't account for building materials, you'll have dead zones.

Mistake 3: Not Accounting for Interference Microwaves, cordless phones, wireless cameras, and neighboring WiFi networks all interfere with WiFi. A proper design accounts for interference and positions equipment and channels accordingly.

Mistake 4: Treating All Areas the Same An executive area where executives sit at desks and use video conferencing has different needs than a warehouse where workers move around. A proper design optimizes for actual usage.

Mistake 5: No Testing Before Going Live Most WiFi "installations" are plug-and-play—install equipment and done. If it doesn't work, they blame your building or devices.

A proper design includes testing at all areas before you go live.

Our Network Design Process: Six Phases

Here's exactly how we design networks that work:

Phase 1: Business Discovery (1-2 hours)

Before we even look at building plans, we understand your business.

Questions We Ask:

  • What's your business? How do customers/employees interact with your space?
  • How many people need WiFi? When? Where?
  • What are they doing? (Email and web browsing vs. video conferencing vs. streaming vs. real-time systems have very different requirements)
  • What devices are on the network? (Modern devices connect better; older devices struggle more)
  • What happens if WiFi goes down? Is it a minor inconvenience or a business crisis?
  • Where's your internet connection coming in? What's your bandwidth?
  • Do you have mesh/hybrid work? Employees connecting remotely to your WiFi?

Why This Matters: A doctor's office doing medical records needs different WiFi than a coffee shop with customers streaming video. A retail location where employees move around needs different coverage than an office where people sit in fixed locations.

Understanding the actual business tells us what network would actually serve you.

Phase 2: Site Survey & Measurement (3-8 hours, depending on size)

Now we physically visit your location and measure.

Equipment We Use:

  • WiFi analyzer (measures signal strength at various points)
  • Building layout software (captures dimensions and layout)
  • Network analyzer (tests actual throughput at different locations)
  • Interference detector (identifies competing networks and interference)

What We Measure:

  • Signal Strength Mapping: We walk your space and measure WiFi signal at every area. We identify:

    • Full coverage zones (strong signal)
    • Acceptable coverage zones (usable but not ideal)
    • Dead zones (little to no signal)
    • Interference zones (strong signal from competitors)

  • Throughput Testing: We test actual data speeds at different locations:

    • Best case (near AP, line of sight)
    • Typical case (normal usage location)
    • Worst case (farthest from AP, through obstacles)

  • Building Material Assessment: We note:

    • Wall construction (drywall vs. brick vs. concrete)
    • Metal elements (studs, beams, pipes)
    • Large glass areas
    • Water sources (aquariums, water features, water-based HVAC)

  • Interference Assessment: We:

    • Scan what other WiFi networks are nearby
    • Identify which channels they're using
    • Check for non-WiFi interference (cordless phones, microwaves)

  • Actual Usage Assessment: We:

    • Watch where people actually spend time
    • Understand traffic patterns
    • Identify high-demand areas (conference rooms, entry points)
    • Note any areas that feel slow or unreliable

Deliverable: Detailed heat map showing signal strength across your space, plus detailed notes on building characteristics and interference.

Phase 3: Capacity & Bandwidth Analysis (2-3 hours)

Understanding what your network needs to handle.

We Calculate:

  • User Density: How many devices per square foot in high-use areas?
  • Concurrent Users: In your busiest moment, how many people are actively using WiFi?
  • Data Types: Mix of low-bandwidth (email, web) vs. high-bandwidth (video, downloads)?
  • Peak Demand: When is network busiest? How much bandwidth in that moment?
  • Growth: What's your growth plan? Do we need capacity for future headcount?

Example Calculation:

  • A 10,000 sq ft office with 50 employees
  • Peak usage: 40 people simultaneously
  • Mix: 60% email/web, 30% video conferencing, 10% software downloads
  • Bandwidth needed during peak: ~50-80 Mbps
  • Internet connection: 100 Mbps (adequate)

Without this analysis, you might under-size network (not enough capacity) or over-size (wasting money).

Phase 4: Network Design (2-4 hours)

With all data gathered, we design the actual network.

Design Decisions:

Access Point Placement Based on site survey data, we determine:

  • How many access points you actually need
  • Exactly where each should be placed
  • Whether any special placement (ceiling, wall, corner) is needed
  • How to position them to optimize coverage

Example: A 10,000 sq ft office might actually need 6 well-placed APs instead of 4 poorly-placed ones.

Channel Planning We assign which WiFi channels each AP uses:

  • 2.4GHz band (longer range, more interference) vs. 5GHz band (shorter range, cleaner)
  • Which specific channels to minimize interference from neighbors
  • Whether you need 6GHz band (available on newer equipment) for additional capacity

Backhaul Planning How do access points talk to each other and router?

  • Wired backhaul (ideal): Each AP has ethernet run to central switch
  • Wireless backhaul (adequate): APs connect wirelessly to each other
  • Hybrid: Mix of wired and wireless

Security & Guest Access

  • Main network for employees/trusted devices
  • Guest network for customers/visitors (isolated)
  • VPN access for remote workers

Network Redundancy

  • Single internet connection or backup?
  • Failover to cellular if primary internet goes down?
  • Multiple routers for redundancy?

Monitoring & Management

  • How will network health be monitored?
  • Who gets alerted if something fails?
  • Automatic failover if an AP goes down?

Deliverable: Detailed network diagram showing:

  • Physical layout with AP placement and quantities
  • Channel assignments
  • Backhaul strategy
  • Security approach
  • Monitoring setup
  • All equipment needed
  • Installation timeline and costs

Phase 5: Design Review & Approval (1-2 hours)

Before any equipment is ordered, we review the design with you.

Review Meeting Covers:

  • Why we're recommending this design vs. alternatives
  • What coverage you'll have where
  • What performance you can expect
  • What happens if you need to grow or change
  • Total cost
  • Timeline
  • Any trade-offs

You Decide:

  • Approve design as is
  • Make changes (remove APs to save cost, add APs for better coverage, etc.)
  • Choose different equipment (premium vs. standard options)

This is where you make sure the design matches your needs and budget.

Phase 6: Installation & Testing (Variable, usually 2-5 days)

With design approved, we install.

Installation Steps:

Day 1-2: Infrastructure

  • Run ethernet cabling from switch to each AP location
  • Install any additional network infrastructure needed
  • Mount access points
  • Complete any special installations (outdoor APs, harsh environment considerations)

Day 2-3: Configuration

  • Configure each access point
  • Set up network security (passwords, encryption)
  • Configure guest network
  • Set up monitoring and alerting
  • Connect any backup internet if needed

Day 3-4: Testing

  • Test WiFi at every location you care about
  • Run speed tests at various points
  • Confirm coverage in all areas
  • Test failover and redundancy
  • Train your team on any new network features

Day 4-5: Documentation & Handoff

  • Provide network documentation
  • Teach your team how to manage basic issues
  • Set up ongoing monitoring
  • Confirm support process

Deliverables:

  • Working network with coverage where you need it
  • Complete documentation
  • Trained team
  • Monitoring in place

Example: Restaurant WiFi Design

Let's walk through a real example.

The Business: 3,500 sq ft full-service restaurant with 80 seats, kitchen, back office, patio.

Discovery Phase:

  • 40-50 customers at any time during peak
  • 15 staff members
  • Customers expect WiFi; staff uses WiFi for POS, kitchen display, music
  • Peak hours: Lunch 11:30-1:30, Dinner 6-9
  • Patio is high-priority area

Site Survey Findings:

  • Main dining room: Decent coverage with existing AP
  • Bar area: Dead zone
  • Patio: Very weak signal
  • Kitchen: Spotty coverage
  • Back office: Adequate

Capacity Analysis:

  • 50 customer devices during peak = ~25 Mbps WiFi traffic
  • 15 staff using POS/KDS = ~10 Mbps
  • Total peak need: ~40 Mbps
  • Current internet: 100 Mbps (adequate)

Design Recommendation:

  • Add 2 new access points (bar area and patio)
  • Reposition existing AP in dining room for better coverage
  • Implement guest WiFi (separate from operations)
  • Add monitoring to ensure WiFi reliability
  • Install backup cellular connection (if WiFi goes down, POS has fallback)

Installation:

  • 3 business days
  • Run ethernet to each AP location
  • Mount and configure
  • Test coverage (confirmed strong signal everywhere)
  • Train manager on monitoring dashboard

Result:

  • Coverage everywhere (including patio)
  • Reliable POS operations
  • Happy customers (WiFi works everywhere)
  • Staff happy (no more dead zones)
  • Restaurant protected (backup connection for POS if WiFi fails)

What Happens After Installation

Our work doesn't end when we install.

Ongoing Monitoring:

  • We monitor network 24/7
  • Automatic alerts if APs go offline or performance degrades
  • We replace or repair hardware if issues arise

Annual Site Surveys:

  • Once per year, we revisit location
  • Verify coverage still meets needs
  • Identify any performance degradation
  • Make adjustments if building changed

Growth Planning:

  • As your business grows, we adjust network
  • Add capacity before you run out
  • Optimize as your usage patterns change

Security Updates:

  • We keep equipment firmware current
  • Update security as new threats emerge
  • Monitor for unauthorized access

Common Questions About Network Design

Q: Why do we need professional design? Isn't WiFi just plug and play? A: Plug and play WiFi works for small apartments. Business networks require planning because the stakes are higher and complexity is greater. A $2,000 design investment prevents $10,000+ in poor performance and frustration.

Q: How much does network design cost? A: Design itself is usually complimentary if you hire us for installation. If you want design for someone else to install, design fees are typically $500-2,000 depending on complexity.

Q: Can't we just install more access points if coverage is bad? A: More APs without design often makes things worse—they interfere with each other. Proper design means optimal placement of right number of APs.

Q: What if we move locations? A: We'll help design optimal network for new location. Most equipment is reusable; some specific items (ceiling-mount equipment) might need to be repositioned.

Q: Do we need monitoring after installation? A: Highly recommended. Monitoring catches issues before they impact users. Most customers add monitoring as part of managed services.

Why Design Process Matters

A well-designed network isn't an expense—it's an investment that pays for itself:

  • Faster productivity (no dead zones, reliable connections)
  • Fewer outages (proper redundancy and failover)
  • Better customer experience (reliable guest WiFi)
  • Easier to expand (designed for growth)
  • More secure (proper segmentation and monitoring)

A poorly designed network costs money every day through lost productivity and customer frustration.

Ready to Design a Network That Actually Works?

Great WiFi doesn't happen by accident. It happens through proper assessment, thoughtful design, and professional installation. Most business WiFi fails because it's never properly designed in the first place.

We've designed and installed networks for hundreds of businesses. We know what works, what fails, and how to optimize for your specific situation.

Schedule Your Free Network Assessment

We'll conduct a professional site survey, assess your needs, and outline what optimal design would look like for your business.

Questions about network design? Reach out:

At Sandbar Systems, we design networks that work. Let us create one that serves your business reliably for years to come.