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Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

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  • 1.  Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 14 days ago
      |   view attached

    Hello everyone,

    A new project involves providing Wi-Fi in an outdoor area. The area is not large, covering approximately 200x200 meters (660x660 feet). The attached picture is the draft of the area. You can see that Wi-Fi is primarily needed in two specific locations, and the rest of the area should be covered as well as possible. Since trees, in particular, play an important role in the outdoor environment, I have also included them in the draft (trees and bushes). I have marked the points where APs can definitely be installed. Electricity is available throughout the entire area, but LAN connections are only available at the points shown.

    There are still 4 outdoor APs from the 270 Series available. These are two Aruba AP-277 with directional antennas (80º H x 80º V) and two AP-275 with omnidirectional antennas. While they are not the latest models, if you need more for this project, they can be purchased easily and cheaply. Are the newer, more expensive APs really worth it for a project like this?

    The question now is how to ensure good Wi-Fi coverage in the two key areas and, ideally, cover the remaining space as well. By the way, the clients are standard mobile devices. Several APs can also be installed at the points shown, and the other APs can be integrated via mesh. There is a second 5GHz module for that. Do you have any suggestions on the best placement for the APs?

    Thanks!

    The maximum transmission power in this country is 20dBm (2.4GHz) and 30dBm in the 5GHz band.



  • 2.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 14 days ago

    The AP-270 series has been EOL since last October and the last supported software was AOS 8.6.

    A single 575/585/675 in the middle of the area is sufficient to cover the area, assuming that meets the client needs.  More APs around the other areas would need to be decided based on actual performance (i.e., do a survey) and required client density.



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    Carson Hulcher, ACEX#110
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  • 3.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 14 days ago

    Thanks for your answer. Why should an AP 575/585/675 have a better range and cover a larger area than an AP-275? The transmission power is reduced by the country code and is the same as or am I making a mistake somewhere regarding the antennas?

    Since the area is not an free are (no line of sight) but there are many large trees or other things in the way, one will probably not be enough. I was thinking maybe the AP-277 on the blue points and then the 275 with mesh for further coverage...




  • 4.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 14 days ago

    I don't think that's what I said.

    The AP-270 product line, along with the software for said product, is no longer supported.  Not going to suggest an installation with that product at this time.

    More than likely you'll get full coverage with just a single AP at each of your blue marked locations, but that is a supposition based on the distances you are showing.  The AP-575, and the AP-275 before that, can easily provide coverage in a 200-300 meter diameter area around the AP.  Actual performance would need to be tested to see what, if any, impact the foliage actually has.



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    Carson Hulcher, ACEX#110
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  • 5.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 13 days ago

    The AP-270 series is supported up to 8.10 (we have ~30 AP-275/277 running on 8.10 with a project to replace them with 575).  I agree - a true site survey with an AP-on-a-stick would give a much better representation of placement and needs. - https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/matrix/matrix_WLAN-platforms-software-support-matrix.pdf




  • 6.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 13 days ago

    Yes, that's what I get for not paying close enough attention and just looking at the Instant information.

    Still, would not recommend a new installation in 2025 with the AP-270.



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    Carson Hulcher, ACEX#110
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  • 7.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 13 days ago

    Since there are still 4 APs from the 270 series, I thought that they would be installed first despite the EOL and then replaced step by step with the 570 series if necessary. It's just easier financially from a private perspective...

    I think the diameter of 200-300m is possible in countries without maximum transmission power and with a clear view. Since neither of these is available, it will be much smaller. I will install an AP and test it.

    I will get back to you....




  • 8.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 12 days ago
      |   view attached

    Today I tested with the APs lying around. Once the range that the AP-275 has achieved and in another place the AP-277. The red line shows approximately up to where I still had a bar of reception with the smartphone. 
    I installed the APs at a height of around 6m. I didn't configure much, just an SSID and the radio profiles with default values. Is this correct so far or can I optimize it a bit?




  • 9.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 12 days ago

    Default radio profiles restrict 5 GHz to less than maximum power.  Allow the APs to operate at or near maximum and make sure they are doing so.



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    Carson Hulcher, ACEX#110
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  • 10.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 11 days ago

    "Still, would not recommend a new installation in 2025 with the AP-270."

    I agree completely




  • 11.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 4 days ago
      |   view attached

    Hello again,

    after I tested the range last time, I thought about how best to distribute the APs. I would do it like in the picture below and I should be able to cover all the important areas. The APs x77 are connected to the internet via wired Uplink. The two APs x75 only have a wireless Uplink.

    If I use one of the 5GHz modules with its own SSID for the wireless Uplink on the x77 APs, it is enough if I enter this SSID under wireless Uplink on the x75 APs, right?

    Should I use the 5xx APs or are the 3xx ones sufficient?




  • 12.  RE: Question about good WiFi provision and coverage with Aruba outdoor AP´s

    Posted 2 days ago

    I would use mesh for this, and avoid wireless uplink, especially to other Instant APs as the clustering may become a mess.

    For mesh, setup first all APs connected in a single cluster/swarm, make sure that 'Extended SSID' is disabled (when enabled, the mesh SSID is disabled to allow one additional access SSID, which you don't need in this case), once all are in one cluster, disconnect the mesh nodes/points and just power them with no uplink and they should connect to the mesh portals that are connected to the network.

    Benefit of using mesh is that you have the same SSID everywhere and can even roam between a mesh point (disconnected, just powered) and mesh portal (connected).



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

    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.
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