Hello,
Having worked in both networking and cabinetmaking, I have a little insight.
Typical drywall attenuation is between 2 dB and 4 dB, depending on where you look. Ekahau calls it 2 dB for hollow drywall and 3 dB for drywall. I can only guess that the 3 dB value is intended to apply to 4 inch/10cm wall thickness which usually will consist of 8.75cm/3.625 inch framing, 1.25cm/.5 inch gypsum-based drywall, and basic fiberglass insulation. The 2 dB value is something I've never measured when doing an "AP on a stick" measurement.
In my home, with 15cm/6 inch framing and heavy insulation, I found (by measuring near and far side of the wall with a Fluke AirCheck, against a known AP mounted on one side of the wall), that the heavy insulation amounted to a typical 4 dB attenuation - I measured multiple walls.
MDF is, essentially, heavy particle board. It consists of sawdust (basically) with a glue binder. It will typically have both faces veneered, with the material making a difference in attenuation. In cabinetmaking, usually one side (interior) is veneered with melamine (a plastic product), and the other side with something more "finish grade," using either a furniture veneer such as oak or maple or cherry, or a decorative laminate product such as Formica or Wilsonart or other maker's products.
The thickness of the MDF is also a factor. Typical thickness is 1.25cm/0.5 inch.
Without measuring with my AirCheck, I would estimate 3 - 4 dB of attenuation. This is a dense product that holds moisture, and the melamine will produce a degree of scatter loss.
If you have an AP and an Android device, you can use Aruba Utilities to be more precise. Set the AP up on one side of a suitable sample of the material - ideally a wall or cabinet section - and identify the AP's BSSID in both 2.4 and 5 GHz spectra. I set my IAP up with an SSID of "Aruba-test" so it was easily identified. Also, configure your IAP to transmit the SSID, even if there is no uplink.
Measure RSSI with Aruba Utilities on the side of the material nearest the AP, then on the side opposite. The result will be a sample attenuation.
When modeling residential or office cabinets, I'll typically make the wall 6 - 7 dB attenuation where cabinets are mounted.
The IAP and Aruba Utilities method (Fluke AirCheck, Ekahau Pro, or AirMagnet if you have one of those) will give you a much more accurate value, but it isn't always possible to go onsite to measure.
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Timothy Leadbetter
ACMP, ACSP, ACCA
CWNA, CWDP
ECSE-Design
Not a current HPE/Aruba Employee
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Original Message:
Sent: Dec 27, 2021 10:00 AM
From: Carlos De La Rosa
Subject: Wall Attenuation
Hello i would like to know if wall attenuation for a normal drywall would be 6
How much would be a lacquered mdf ?
Cheers
Carlos