Wireless Access

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

Dustin,
It appears you reversed AP model numbers. AP-36x is IP67, AP-318 is IP55.

If the deployment is outdoor, there are rarely good arguments to use a hardened AP model + antennas in a box.

------------------------------
Onno Harms
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:49 PM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

As I rule-of-thumb, I take:
- If it is outdoor, in full sun, full rain => Outdoor AP (and where possible take the APs with built-in antenna)
- If it is indoor, or semi-outdoor like under a roof, so not in full rain, you can also use the AP-318, specifically if you have specific antenna requirements. Example in ware-houses, freezing-cells. In general, you can use Outdoor APs as well in these situations with built-in antennae.
- Use external antennae only where you must, use APs with built-in antenna wherever you can. AP with a built-in antenna is much easier to mount and there are no coax cables that can bend/break/get loose. Also, a single unit may look better than two boxes (AP, Antenna) with cables in between.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 10:16 PM
From: Onno Harms
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Dustin,
It appears you reversed AP model numbers. AP-36x is IP67, AP-318 is IP55.

If the deployment is outdoor, there are rarely good arguments to use a hardened AP model + antennas in a box.

------------------------------
Onno Harms

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:49 PM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

My original post is accurate according to the datasheets.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 10:16 PM
From: Onno Harms
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Dustin,
It appears you reversed AP model numbers. AP-36x is IP67, AP-318 is IP55.

If the deployment is outdoor, there are rarely good arguments to use a hardened AP model + antennas in a box.

------------------------------
Onno Harms

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:49 PM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

@DB86 Please point links to the datasheet you observed so we can get it corrected, if necessary.​

------------------------------
Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 12, 2021 08:59 AM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

My original post is accurate according to the datasheets.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 10:16 PM
From: Onno Harms
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Dustin,
It appears you reversed AP model numbers. AP-36x is IP67, AP-318 is IP55.

If the deployment is outdoor, there are rarely good arguments to use a hardened AP model + antennas in a box.

------------------------------
Onno Harms

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:49 PM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

I'm sorry guys. You are correct. I did flip-flop those IP ratings......

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 12, 2021 09:03 AM
From: Colin Joseph
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

@DB86 Please point links to the datasheet you observed so we can get it corrected, if necessary.​

------------------------------
Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 12, 2021 08:59 AM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

My original post is accurate according to the datasheets.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 10:16 PM
From: Onno Harms
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Dustin,
It appears you reversed AP model numbers. AP-36x is IP67, AP-318 is IP55.

If the deployment is outdoor, there are rarely good arguments to use a hardened AP model + antennas in a box.

------------------------------
Onno Harms

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:49 PM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

Under normal circumstances the AP-367 would be fine. The AP-318 for instance would be for locations like ocean front where saltwater spray, areas with high amounts of dust, etc...

See below for the explanations of IP ratings for environmental exposure:

AP-367
A product with an IP55 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water jets projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) from any angle.

AP-318
A product with an IP67 rating is fully dust tight and is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water immersion at a depth between 15 cm and 1 meter for maximum 30 minutes.

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

Thanks all. It sounds like the outdoor AP-367 is the way to go for this courtyard. I know pulling multiple coax antenna cables through the wall is not fun. And the AP-367 would be a little more aesthetic.

I had a concern that an outdoor rated AP had higher gain and might pull inside endpoint out to it. We deployed a few AP-275 beehives to exteriors on older buildings and I recallconcern about indoor endpoints connecting. Maybe this is unfounded with LEED windows..?

I do seem to recall the description for the model AP-228 was similar to what Dustin listed for the AP-367 - that the hardened AP is "not fully dust tight" - so perhaps the datasheets could use a vetting.

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 09, 2021 03:14 PM
From: Michael Dickson
Subject: outdoor AP vs hardened AP

I'm wondering if there's a preference or best practice for using an outdoor-rated AP (e.g. AP-367) versus a "hardened AP" (e.g. AP-318 or AP-518) for an outside courtyard. The Courtyard is about 85' diameter and surrounded by glass. There are indoor APs all around but the glass is apparently LEED certified and outside bleed "isn't very good".

The AP will be mounted outside. Assuming the hardened AP is placed inside an enclosure is there an advantage to using either?

Thanks,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Dickson
Network Engineer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
------------------------------