Hey Unibaf, just a few things I would offer counter-arguments on...
- 1. Indoor APs carry a lower upper temp and a higher lower temp limit, so depending on the environment and location, an indoor AP in an enclosure carries risks (get too hot inside an enclosure from ambient, solar loading and self-heating), the AP could shut down and overall lifespan of the AP may decrease from extended operation in higher temperatures, cold start could be an issue if the temps get too cold. The outdoor APs are rated for either 55C/131F under direct solar loading (560 Series) or 65C/149F under direct solar loading (570 Series) and would be easier and less costly to install, maintain, etc. And you can always paint (non-metallic paints) or use vinyl skinning to camouflage the APs to make them less visible :)
- 2. Indoor APs don't have more power. Most indoor APs start at 18dB per chain, outdoor APs are 22-23dB per chain. So max conducted + MIMO gain is inherently higher on the outdoor APs offering better coverage at range. Additionally, the outdoor APs use higher gain antennas (omnis are usually 4-5dBi and the outdoor APs have a directional model if that use case is called for).
- 3. 535-555 is not really a 'newer' chipset, just a different chipset that supports 4x4 dual band (and a more expensive chipset than what is used in the 515/570). For the outdoor 570, which uses the same chipset as the 515, the 2x2 being on the 2.4Ghz only is not really a detriment to real world client performance outdoors (though we do lose 3dB on MIMO/MRC), but in the 2.4Ghz band that's not super critical. And truth be told, at range, outdoors, in 2.4Ghz, there's not a major gain in 2x2 versus 4x4 outdoors (like I said, it's the 3dB loss from MIMO/MRC that makes the largest gap, but who designs outdoor coverage JUST for 2.4Ghz anymore?). I personally tested this years ago with an indoor AP running 4x4 and 2x2 in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, and the real world impacts in 2.4Ghz were not substantially different between the two (the 5Ghz was more pronounced close in but outdoors most clients fall back to 2x2 at a certain point anyway).
- 4. High client counts aren't AS common for outdoor, BUT in most all cases, unless it's LPV, the clients are more spread out and thus end up covering a larger area. The higher Tx power helps maintain better client MCS rates at-range compare to indoor
- 5. Internal testing does indeed show noticeable performance differences, but it's not as if the 515/570 would be woefully inadequate, and these numbers will absolutely level out in real world applications with a more diverse client mix and with the users more spread out over a large area (basically would normalize).
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As far as the 'antiquated' look, I guess that's more of a personal preference or opinion (and not to make too much out of it, but most indoor APs don't 'evolve' the overall shape much since the 200 series indoor APs either, just new radomes with new industrial designs). The outdoor APs have changed their industrial design a bit from the 270 to the 370 to the 570, but in terms of outdoor AP designs and their overall look/feel, many of our customers have a need to maintain (to some degree) similar aesthetic principles and industrial design as in many sites, any fixture installed outside must be approved by an architectural or design committee. As such, when the outdoor AP design radically change, they have to go through a new approval process. And to ensure we use the same mounting systems from the 270 to the 360/370 to the 560/570, making it easier for our customers to make quick upgrades whiteout having to accommodate all new mounting solutions, the overall look can't change that much. But I *personally* feel the 560s and 570s do look more modern compared to the 360/370 and certainly compared to the 270 series. A lot of thought was and is put in to these designs for a number of reasons and our exceptional outdoor performance compared to other hardware designs and mounting solutions has proven that out.
For a small outdoor terrace, depending on the number of clients expected, I would personally use 1-2 565s or 567s with the H2 mount for lowest size/weight/power. But if you want to put an indoor AP inside an enclosure outdoors, try to avoid putting it in direct sunlight to prevent solar loading, and note that self heating likely adds 5-10C to the temps so if summer temps hit 100deg F, the internal temps inside the enclosure could hit 120deg, which would be right at the upper limit of the AP.
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Jerrod Howard
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Original Message:
Sent: Feb 25, 2021 09:45 AM
From: Christian Kraus
Subject: [AP-535/AP-555] Outdoor enclosure?
Well, for a medium sized half roofed terrace I´d prefer AP-535 or AP-555.
Why?
- AP-535 / AP-535 have "more power"
=> bigger amount of maximum numbers of Resource Units (OFDMA)) => newer chipset?
=> offers UL-MU-MIMO => newer chipset?
=> offers more antennas (MU-MIMO)
=> bigger "Practical maximum client count indication (per radio)"
All current outdoor access points look a bit "antiquated" compared to AP-535 and AP-555 particularly as AP-535/AP-555 were released in 2019