BOM generation for computer networks

A system comprising:

• a non-transitory machine readable medium having machine executable instructions;
• a processing unit that executes the machine readable instructions, the machine readable instructions comprising a network bill of materials (BOM) server that:
• receives data characterizing a location and expected operations of a facility for a computer network from an end-user device;
• provides map data to the end-user device characterizing a geographic location of the facility, wherein a boundary of the facility is determined based on the map data;
• receives facility boundary data characterizing a portion of the boundary of the facility that is provided from the end-user device in response to the map data;
• queries a map server in response to receiving the facility boundary data to retrieve rooftop area for the portion of the boundary of the facility;
• determines an average number of devices per occupant for communication via the computer network based on a selected usage of the facility;
• computes a number of wireless access points (WAPs) for the computer network based on the determined average number of devices, a selected expected occupancy range indicative of a number of users at one time that will use the computer network, and the retrieved rooftop area for the portion of the boundary of the facility;
• generates a network BOM based on the number of WAPs that lists the WAPs and network switches needed for installation of the computer network;
• and
• provides data characterizing the network BOM to the end user device.

A method for generating a bill of materials (BOM) for a computer network for a facility comprising:

• receiving location information characterizing a location of a facility for a computer network;
• providing map data characterizing a geographic location of the facility;
• determining a boundary of the facility based on the map data;
• receiving facility boundary data characterizing a portion of the boundary of the facility that is provided from an end-user device in response to the map data;
• querying a map server in response to receiving the facility boundary data to retrieve rooftop area for the portion of the boundary of the facility;
• determining a set of levels of the portion of the facility that need access to the computer network;
• determining an area for each level of the set of levels to determine a total area of the portion of the facility based on the facility boundary data;
• determining an average number of devices per occupant for communication via the computer network based on a selected usage;
• calculating a number of wireless access points (WAPs) for the computer network needed to provide wireless access for devices for each level of the set number of levels based on the determined average number of devices, a selected expected occupancy range indicative of a number of users at one time that will use the computer network, and the retrieved rooftop area for the portion of the boundary of the facility;
• determining a bandwidth needed for the computer network;
• and
• generating a BOM for the computer network based on the number of WAPs and the bandwidth, wherein the BOM for the computer network lists hardware components for instantiating the computer network.