Wireless RF audit: why to run one before you move controllers
A wireless RF audit measures what your network is actually doing, from the radio to the switch port. Run before a controller migration it gives you a baseline; run after, it proves the move changed nothing for the worse.
The CloudWLC team at Optaro · · 6 min read
Moving a network to a new controller is the rare moment when everybody is paying attention to the Wi-Fi. It is also the moment you will be asked the hardest question: “is it the same as before, or worse?” Without measurements from before, there is no answer. That is the case for a wireless RF audit.
What a wireless RF audit is
A signal-strength walk-round tells you where the Wi-Fi reaches. An RF audit tells you how it behaves. Optaro’s Wireless RF Audit, part of Optaro Assure, connects radio evidence with client behaviour, access points, switches, PoE, VLANs and network services, because most “Wi-Fi problems” turn out to have a cause somewhere other than the radio.
What it measures
- Radio conditions: channel use, noise, signal-to-noise, transmit power, retries and radio errors.
- Client and roaming behaviour: associations, transitions between access points, signal, negotiated rates and packet errors.
- Real service tests: association, DHCP, connectivity and speed, from Wi-Fi probes placed where guests actually sit.
- The wired path: access point uplinks, Ethernet negotiation, PoE, switch topology and VLAN delivery.
It needs no software on guest devices. It works from controller and access point diagnostics, physical probes in representative locations and supported platform APIs.
What you get
A live view of wireless experience, and a summary written for the people who have to decide: the likely impact, how strong the evidence is, and the recommended next step, with the engineering detail behind it for those who want it. The method is simple: survey the radio conditions, correlate the wired infrastructure, act within policy, then verify the recovery.
Why a migration is the moment to do it
- A baseline. Channel plans and power levels have usually drifted over years. Knowing what is really configured and how it performs means you move a known network, not a mystery.
- A clean import. An audit shows which settings are worth carrying across and which are inherited mistakes. There is no value in migrating a bad channel plan faithfully.
- Proof afterwards. The same measurements, after the switch, show that the move changed nothing for the worse. That is a short conversation with a general manager instead of a long one.
RF audit and CloudWLC together
CloudWLC gives your access points a new controller. The RF audit tells that controller what good looks like. In the first phase, CloudWLC Control, you set channels, channel widths and transmit power by site with per-access-point overrides, and every change is read back from the device. The audit tells you which values to set.
The later phases close the loop. CloudWLC Manage adds permitted channel pools, automatic channel selection and power policies with canary access points and maintenance windows. CloudWLC Optimise brings RF Survey designs and floor plans into the controller, compares intended coverage with what is observed, and plans channels around the venue itself.
Quick answers
What is a wireless RF audit?
A measured assessment of how a Wi-Fi network really performs: radio conditions, client and roaming behaviour, live service tests and the wired path behind each access point, with findings and recommended next steps.
Is an RF audit the same as a site survey?
No. A site survey predicts or measures coverage. An RF audit measures behaviour in the running network and traces problems through the radio, the access point, the switch and the services behind them.
Sources
CloudWLC is an independent service from Optaro. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by Cambium Networks, HPE Aruba Networking, RUCKUS Networks, Ubiquiti or any other equipment vendor.