A reporter recently asked for a simple ‘quick tip’ that network administrators can implement today to make supporting a wireless network easier for the Helpdesk team.

Here’s one: Create a clear, consistent naming convention for your wireless access points and controllers so both your Helpdesk staff and network engineers can quickly search for and locate devices on your network.

Using solutions like AirWave’s software, it’s usually pretty easy to locate a user who is actually associated to the network by searching via username or MAC address. But if a user is NOT able to associate to the wireless network, the Helpdesk needs to be able to locate and monitor nearby access points quickly to assess conditions in the area… If the Helpdesk staff member can search by a logical, predictable AP name, they’ll save themselves a lot of time and be able to diagnose problems more quickly.

For example, a “Campus-Building-Floor-ID” convention might result in a name of “sanmateo-bldg214-flr5-NE” for an access point in the northeast corner of the 5^th floor of Building 214 on the San Mateo, CA campus. The exact convention you choose doesn’t matter as much as selecting a convention that humans can decipher and learn.