Wireless Access

Looking for outdoor coverage on the corner of a building. For simplicity sake, let’s just say the corner of the metal building is 90 degrees, and I want to cover the east and south sides. Would need about 10 feet of 400 series coax running inside to the AP for each antenna, and the necessary connectors/whips/lightening protection.

Can I use two AP-ANT-6 antennas, one facing each direction on the corner of the building?

And if so...can I connect both of these antennas to a single IAP-92? Or do I need two IAP-92 access points in the corner, connecting one antenna to each AP, leaving one antenna connector unconnected?

I’m pretty new to this stuff, so please be nice!

-Gerry

Each IAP92 has two antenna connectors. The AP-ANT-6 has only one connector, so you need two of them.

When you have two antennas on the same band connected to the same access point, they need to cover the same area maintain performance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_diversity). You can seriously hurt your performance by deploying antennas that do not cover the same area.

You will need two IAP92s in your situation to cover the whole area, with 4 antennas.

Thanks for the link and info. That's a lot of mounting hardware to put 4 of those antennas on the corner, but I understand now!! Looks like ANT-2x2-D805 has two antennas in a single package, and still has a good wide sweep. Coax or whips could be used to convert the connectors. I may also look at some other antenna brands with more choices in a single package?

-G

Be aware that converting the antenna connector violates the FCC certification for the system (AP and antenna used together). You may be able to make this work, but it is an unsupported configuration and technically illegal if the FCC were called to inspect the system.

For the AP-92, I've used the AP-ANT-17 for similar use cases, since it does have matching RP-SMA connectors. The range doesn't tend to be as far since the ANT-17 does not have opposed polarity antennas, but for covering a patio area next to the building I have not had any problems. For longer reach, the D805 may be your best bet, but then I would highly recommend mating that up with an AP-175 instead of the AP-92.

True. The AP92 is not an outdoor access point and should not be used as one. Outdoor deployments have much more complexity than internal ones and you should either consult a certified installer or your local Aruba engineer who can put together a plan that is custom to your circumstances. Any antenna system that will be outside should be properly grounded with lightning arrestors paired with outdoor access point part that will protect your infrastructure.

We can only guess what the optimal deployment for your business is on this forum. An installed dedicated to you will save you time and heartache.