First Look at Ekahau AI Pro – Network Simulator

Ekahau AI Pro is the latest release to Ekahau’s Wi-Fi design, validation, and troubleshooting software. This is considered version 11 and it comes with many new features.

In this blog post I’m going to highlight the Network Simulator feature. But before using Network Simulator it’s important to note the requirements:

• Existing Sidekick survey(s)
• Have a network selected under My Networks with access points
• Scaled floor plan (although this should have already been done for the validation survey)

Network Simulator is great for upgrade scenarios. Let’s say I have an Ekahau project file where a validation survey was performed. But I’d like to upgrade the current access points to a newer model. But I’m not sure if doing a one-for-one swap of access point models will meet all my requirements.

With Network Simulator, we can simulate this change and compare the new predictive model to your existing deployment.

It’s important to note that as of version 11.0.1, Network simulator is a beta feature that needs to be enabled.

Network Simulator can be found under Actions → Network Simulator.

Network Simulator is perfect for planning 6 GHz deployments or maybe you want to see if it is possible to swap out your current access points where they are mounted today for another model.

In my project file, it has detected Cisco Meraki access points. To start off the simulation, I need to select the exact model being used. The results will show how much better or worse the new access points are.

Click the drop down under the Current Access Point and select your model. As of version 11.0.1, you’ll need to scroll down to locate your access point. Maybe they can include a search functionality in the future.

Next, select your 6 GHz access point on the right under Target Access Point. We’re going to use the Meraki MR57 for demonstration purposes.

Network Simulator will also run auto-planner for you with your selected Channel Width configuration and AP height.

Once you’re set, click on Simulate.

Let AI Pro do its thing. When the simulation is complete, at the top you’ll notice the Network Health details between your current access points and your target access point.

At the bottom, there is a new Network Simulator generated view which is separate from your data collection. It doesn’t overwrite the data.

Click on Details at the top to see how the MR57 details look like.

Maybe we don’t like the results of this AP. We can run Network Simulator again with a different access point.

We can also run channel planner on the new generated network and make any necessary design changes.