Wireless Access

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

Hi Leo,

Coverage depends on many factors. How does your customer define and measure "coverage"? What bands and channels are they looking at? Which AP models are we comparing here, and what Wi-Fi generation and specs apply to both of them? What are the transmit power levels for both APs, and could those still be increased?

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

Hi onno

   aruba use AP534，AP574 and AP515，I don't know the model of Cisco AP in European and Indian workplaces. Since Aruba AP will be launched in China workplace in October, I want to know whether the power of Cisco AP is really higher than that of Aruba AP. Have you encountered similar scenarios?
We will also conduct actual tests when replacing it in China workplace later.

Hi Leo,

Coverage depends on many factors. How does your customer define and measure "coverage"? What bands and channels are they looking at? Which AP models are we comparing here, and what Wi-Fi generation and specs apply to both of them? What are the transmit power levels for both APs, and could those still be increased?

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

Adding external antennas to the mix makes this even more complex to compare.

Assuming that "coverage" is measured by looking at received signal strength, the first thing to look at is whether the APs you're comparing are transmitting at the same power levels (both conducted total and EIRP). Antenna patterns are therefore critical as well. Next you may want to see if the APs are transmitting at their maximum transmit power level (if range is critical, and you're not concerned about causing interference). Ultimately all WLAN providers have to comply with the same set of regulatory rules, which will typically be the limiting factor for the EIRP power.

Given that the same rules apply to all products, and most enterprise indoor APs have similar antennas, there are typically no big differences concerning coverage between APs from different vendors. Based on specsheet comparison, as well as real-world comparisons, there's not reason to expect more coverage from a Cisco AP compared to an Aruba one.

Hi onno

   aruba use AP534，AP574 and AP515，I don't know the model of Cisco AP in European and Indian workplaces. Since Aruba AP will be launched in China workplace in October, I want to know whether the power of Cisco AP is really higher than that of Aruba AP. Have you encountered similar scenarios?
We will also conduct actual tests when replacing it in China workplace later.

Hi Leo,

Coverage depends on many factors. How does your customer define and measure "coverage"? What bands and channels are they looking at? Which AP models are we comparing here, and what Wi-Fi generation and specs apply to both of them? What are the transmit power levels for both APs, and could those still be increased?

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

We replaced Cisco 9120s with Aruba 635s and found the coverage was about the same. We have site surveys using Ekahau for both the Cisco and Aruba installs The biggest difference was in the channel selection and Transmit power via ARM that Aruba did better. The other difference was under load with 802.11ax the 9120s performed a little better do to 4x4 at 2.4 and 5.0Ghz. The 635s are 2x2x2 so its completely understandable we just design accordingly. We actually prefer less load on each AP and add to the region for transient clients and interferers. The important thing is to get data, it feels better or worse is too subjective.

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

Hi  erichflynn

This is very instructive. I will pay attention to the comparison when deploying. Thanks for sharing

We replaced Cisco 9120s with Aruba 635s and found the coverage was about the same. We have site surveys using Ekahau for both the Cisco and Aruba installs The biggest difference was in the channel selection and Transmit power via ARM that Aruba did better. The other difference was under load with 802.11ax the 9120s performed a little better do to 4x4 at 2.4 and 5.0Ghz. The 635s are 2x2x2 so its completely understandable we just design accordingly. We actually prefer less load on each AP and add to the region for transient clients and interferers. The important thing is to get data, it feels better or worse is too subjective.

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?

Hi Leo.

As your info is very scarse others already cover majority of possible topics. The biggest coverage difference is if you go from 2.4GHz to 5GHz. Usually you can expect, if you don't adjust transmit power, that 5GHz band has only half a coverage of 2.4GHz band.

Best practice is to lower 2.4GHz power to match the coverage of 5GHz cover. Usually you want to have 3-6 dBm lower power on 2.4GHz than on 5GHz.

Best, Gorazd

Hi  erichflynn

This is very instructive. I will pay attention to the comparison when deploying. Thanks for sharing

We replaced Cisco 9120s with Aruba 635s and found the coverage was about the same. We have site surveys using Ekahau for both the Cisco and Aruba installs The biggest difference was in the channel selection and Transmit power via ARM that Aruba did better. The other difference was under load with 802.11ax the 9120s performed a little better do to 4x4 at 2.4 and 5.0Ghz. The 635s are 2x2x2 so its completely understandable we just design accordingly. We actually prefer less load on each AP and add to the region for transient clients and interferers. The important thing is to get data, it feels better or worse is too subjective.

HI teams

   We replaced Cisco AP with Aruba AP in a project, and the customer reported that the wireless coverage was reduced. This happened in workplaces in Europe and India. The wireless coverage area was a large open space. Why is this?