Cisco Ip Phone 8800 Series Overview; Requirements; Site Survey; Rf Validation - Cisco 8800 Series Deployment Manual

Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series Overview

The Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series is the platform that provides collaboration within enterprises. It brings together the capabilities
of Cisco Unified Communication applications, building upon the solid foundations of Cisco Unified Communications devices,
both wired and wireless.
Cisco's implementation of 802.11, employing CCX, permits time sensitive applications such as voice and video to operate
efficiently across campus wide wireless LAN (WLAN) deployments. These extensions provide fast roaming capabilities and an
almost seamless flow of multimedia traffic, whilst maintaining security as the end user roams between access points.
It should be understood that WLAN uses unlicensed spectrum, and as a result it may experience interference from other devices
using the unlicensed spectrum. The proliferation of devices in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, such as Bluetooth headsets, Microwave
ovens, cordless consumer phones, means that the 2.4 GHz spectrum may contain more congestion than other spectrums. The 5
GHz spectrum has far fewer devices operating in this spectrum and is the preferred spectrum to operate the Cisco IP Phone
8800 Series in order to take advantage of the 802.11a/n/ac data rates available. Despite the optimizations that Cisco have
implemented in the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series, the use of unlicensed spectrum means that uninterrupted communication can
not be guaranteed, and there may be the possibility of voice gaps of up to several seconds during multimedia conversations.
Adherence to the deployment guidelines will reduce the likelihood of these voice gaps being present, but there is always this
possibility. Through the use of unlicensed spectrum, and the inability to guarantee the delivery of messages to a WLAN device,
the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series is not intended as a medical device and should not be used to make clinical decisions.

Requirements

The Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series is an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac device that provides voice communications.
The wireless LAN must be validated to ensure it meets the requirements to deploy the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series.

Site Survey

Before deploying the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series into a production environment, a site survey must be completed by a Cisco
certified partner with the advanced wireless LAN specialization. During the site survey the RF spectrum can be analyzed to
determine which channels are usable in the desired band (5 GHz or 2.4 GHz). Typically there is less interference in the 5 GHz
band as well as more non-overlapping channels, so 5 GHz is the preferred band for operation and even more highly
recommended when the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series is to be used in a mission critical environment. The site survey will include
heatmaps showing the intended coverage plan for the location. The site survey will also determine which access point platform
type, antenna type, access point configuration (channel and transmit power) to use at the location. It is recommended to select
an access point with integrated antennas for non-rugged environments (e.g. office, healthcare, education, hospitality) and an
access point platform requiring external antennas for rugged environments (e.g. manufacturing, warehouse, retail).
See the Designing the Wireless LAN for Voice
Refer to the Steps to Success website for additional information.
http://www.cisco.com/go/stepstosuccess

RF Validation

In order to determine if VoWLAN can be deployed, the environment must be evaluated to ensure the following items meet
Cisco guidelines.
Signal
The cell edge should be designed to -67 dBm where there is a 20-30% overlap of adjacent access points at that signal
level.
This ensures that the Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series always has adequate signal and can hold a signal long enough in order
to roam seamlessly where signal based triggers are utilized vs. packet loss triggers.
Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series Wireless LAN Deployment Guide
section for more information.
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