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Configure an AP for Survey Mode

You can configure your access point (AP) to support site surveys, which you perform to test wireless coverage before you deploy APs. During a site survey, you place an AP at different locations at the site to measure signal strength, throughput, signal interference, packet loss, and other key parameters. Site surveys help you to determine the number of APs required for your site and the placement of APs to provide optimal wireless coverage.

To configure your AP for use in survey mode:

  1. Claim your AP and assign it to a site.See Claim a Juniper Access Point and Assign Access Points to Sites.
  2. Power on your AP. Ensure that the AP has connectivity to the Juniper Mist cloud so that the configurations can be pushed to the AP.
  3. Ensure that AP configuration persistence is enabled and AP uplink monitoring is disabled:
    1. From the left menu of the Juniper Mist portal, select Organization > Site Configuration.
      The Site Configuration page appears.
    2. Click a site.
    3. Scroll down to the AP Config Persistence section of the page and ensure that you've selected the AP Config Persistence check box. Additionally, ensure that you cleared the AP Uplink Monitoring check box in the AP Uplink Monitoring section.

      The AP stores the complete configuration if AP configuration persistence is enabled for your site. When the AP is unable to connect to the Juniper Mist cloud, the AP can reboot from this stored configuration and continue to transmit beacons.

      When AP uplink monitoring is enabled, the AP broadcasts the service set identifier (SSID) only if an Ethernet link is present. When you operate the AP in survey mode, you connect the AP only to a portable power source such as a Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector or a battery pack. Without a connection to a switch, the AP lacks an Ethernet link. You must disable AP uplink monitoring to ensure that in survey mode, the AP can broadcast the SSID.

  4. Create a WLAN.
    1. From the left menu of the Juniper Mist portal, select Site > WLANs.
      The WLANS page appears.
    2. Click Add WLAN.
    3. Configure the WLAN settings. See WLAN Options.
    4. (Optional) Navigate to the WLAN Status section and enable Broadcast AP name. This setting enables you to view the name of the AP in third-party Wi-Fi tools.
    5. Click Create.
  5. Configure the power and channel settings for your AP:
    1. From the left menu of the Juniper Mist portal, select Access Points.
      The Access Points page appears.
    2. Click an AP.
    3. Configure the power and channel settings for your AP.
    4. Click Save.

Now, your AP will start beaconing a WLAN at your desired channel and power. As AP Config Persistence is enabled, you can remove cloud connectivity on the AP. The AP continues to beacon even after it reboots. You can use this AP to perform site surveys. You can move the AP around the site and measure its received signal strength indicator (RSSI) by using third-party site survey tools such as Ekahau AI Pro, NetAlly AirMagnet, iBWave, and Hamina Onsite.