Wireless Access

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  • 1.  RF Signal Transmission Distance for AP-585 and AP-587

    Posted Jul 16, 2024 06:24 PM

    Hi, May I know what is the RF signal transmission distance for AP-585 and AP-587, considering the ideal mode, means no wall attenuation? Wifi is installed in open area.

    Please also let me know, how to calculate for other aruba models?



  • 2.  RE: RF Signal Transmission Distance for AP-585 and AP-587

    Posted Jul 17, 2024 08:59 AM

    That is not an easy question to answer, as it depends on what capacity and performance you would like to achieve. Clients closer to an AP receive a higher signal strength than clients further away. If you want to 'see' the SSID, you will have a larger distance than if you want to connect to it, or connect at 10 Mbps, or connect at 400 Mbps. It also depends on the configured output power (where the maximum is dependent on the country you deploy the APs), interference, etc. The RF signal transmission distance is really long, but the maximum distance that you can have a good connection is much shorter.

    You probably are creating a design, and for creating (predictive) designs many partners (and customers) use commercial tooling (AirMagnet, Ekahau, Hamina to name a few in alphabetical order), or use the RF Planner in Aruba Central, which in general have the AP models included, you just select it from a list, place it on a map, and can view the result with a configurable 'cutoff' signal strength to make your design. Then you can add more APs for more coverage or more capacity, play with scenarios when an AP is unavailable, etc.

    If you don't have such tooling, or don't know how to work with them, it's advisable to consult someone who can do that to come up with something that best fits your requirements and budget. There are multiple methods to create a design from guessing (cheapest, least accurate), through modeling, to on-site passive or active surveys (most expensive, most accurate). For open area, modelling may be enough, but having a look at the location (interferers, RF blocking/reflecting structures) may be a good investment.



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    Herman Robers
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    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.
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  • 3.  RE: RF Signal Transmission Distance for AP-585 and AP-587

    Posted Jul 17, 2024 12:40 PM

    Thanks Herman for your reply.

    I have one more quick question here. can we install the Directional Wireless access point in the ceiling to provide coverage in stairs or directional access points to be installed always on the wall? What will be the best way to provide coverage in the stairs of building, Directional or omni-directional to be used? How much distance between two access points I shall keep, to provide coverage?




  • 4.  RE: RF Signal Transmission Distance for AP-585 and AP-587

    Posted Jul 18, 2024 05:02 AM

    That is something you could model with the tools mentioned. It depends on the materials used in the staircase, where if these are fire/emergency escapes, in general there is thick concrete used that blocks your WLAN signal, and more APs are needed than in a regular office space. If the stairways have much open space, putting a directional AP on the top floor pointing down doesn't sound too bad, but you may need to do an active survey in that case and measure the signal strengths to determine every how many floors you would need an AP, and in narrow/closed staircases you may need an AP per floor, or if you need voice-roaming possibly even more. If this is a fire/emergency staircase, also take into account that it may be hard to get cabling into the staircase as there are strict regulations to prevent fire to flash through the cabling holes.

    The more information you disclose, the more I feel it's important to get a WLAN professional involved to get to a solution that meets your requirements.



    ------------------------------
    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.
    ------------------------------