Wi-Fi Capacity Calculator – TalesFromtheWi-Fi

Disclaimer: This is currently a work in progress but I hope to eventually make it a production tool.

Wi‑Fi Airtime Capacity Estimator

Single-file HTML version for static hosting. Built around airtime budgeting, client PHY limitations, AP profile constraints, environment presets, retry assumptions, and oversubscription.

Dashboard Inputs

AP Profile

Environment Type

Environment ModeAdvisory only leaves manual values untouched. Auto-Apply uses the preset adjustments.

Primary Band

Implemented AP Channel Width (MHz)

Oversubscription RatioEnter the X value (decimals allowed) for an X:1 ratio.

Background Channel Utilization %

Retry Percentage %

Protocol Overhead Multiplier

Manual Contention Multiplier

Use Environment Suggestions

Enable advisory/auto-apply logic

Primary radio planning should usually be 5 GHz or 6 GHz. Co-channel contention is used here intentionally, since that better describes the expected 802.11 medium-sharing behavior than “interference.”

Current Airtime Load

0.00

Aggregate, after oversubscription

Available Airtime Budget

0.00

After background utilization

Headroom

0.00

Budget minus current load

Estimated Max Clients

Based on current group mix

Status

Within airtime budget

How to Use

Select an AP Profile, the Primary Band, and the Implemented AP Channel Width.
Choose an Environment Type. In Advisory Only, the environment acts as guidance. In Auto-Apply, the selected environment preset is applied to background utilization, retry, contention, and AP efficiency adjustment.
Set or review the manual inputs for Background Channel Utilization, Retry Percentage, Protocol Overhead Multiplier, and Manual Contention Multiplier.
Build the Client Mix below by adding client groups, selecting a client PHY, choosing an app profile, and adjusting the per-group client count or throughput needs.
Review Current Airtime Load against the Available Airtime Budget. The oversubscription input is the X in an X:1 ratio. When the current load exceeds the budget, the AP is oversubscribed for that scenario.
Use the chart and the per-group airtime columns to see which client groups are driving airtime consumption the most.
Use the Export to PDF / Print button at the top of the page to create a shareable report from your current scenario.

Estimated Airtime by Client Group

AP Summary

Wrapped labels and wider plot area are used here to keep group names readable.

Applied Values

AP Base Efficiency
Applied Efficiency
Applied Background Utilization
Applied Retry %
Applied Contention Multiplier
AP Native Width
AP Effective Throughput
Band Support

Environment Advisory Presets

Environment	Eff Adj	Contention	Retry Add	BG Util

AP Profiles

Editable in code for now

AP Profile	Band	Nominal PHY	Eff %	Streams	Native Width

Client PHY Profiles

Client is primary limiter

PHY	Nominal PHY	Eff %	Streams	Native Width

App Profiles

App	DL Mbps	UL Mbps

Client Mix

Group Name	Client PHY	# Clients	App Profile	DL Mbps	UL Mbps	Client Eff %	Client Streams	Native Width	Width-Capped Client Throughput	Adj Airtime / Client	Group Airtime

DL/UL values auto-fill from the selected app profile but remain editable per row.