cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
cancel
1177
Views
0
Helpful
7
Replies

3800 Monitor Mode for 2.4GHz Only

AlexZmann
Level 1
Level 1

We are designing an AP placement plan for a large hospital that will have requirements for high density and location services for an RTLS solution.  We are planning on using the 3800 series AP.  The RTLS solution operates on 2.4GHz only--obviously there is a huge concern with co-channel interference on 2.4GHz.  Is it possible to configure the 3800 AP to service clients on 5GHz and have the 2.4GHz on the same AP operate in Monitor Mode--solely for the purposes of tracking devices.

 

Thanks in advance for any input and answers!

 

7 Replies 7

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

What brand of RTLS tags are you planning to use? 

There are a few RTLS tags which offer BLE and Cisco has just released the new 4800.  The biggest selling point for this AP is that it can support BLE and 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wave 1 & wave 2.  

If the tags support BLE then the 4800 would be a good fit without locking down channel and power of the WiFi network.

We are still waiting to hear back on the brand/part numbers for the RTLS deployment.  But we have been told it is 802.11b/g or 802.11b/g/n with no support for BLE.

I'm keen to know who you're going with.

It is an Ekahau RTLS deployment, still no specifics on the tag models.


@AlexZmann wrote:

It is an Ekahau RTLS deployment, still no specifics on the tag models.


1.  Ekahau sold their RTLS division, including their Ekahau-branded tags, to Arista back in 2016. 

2.  Since March 2018, Arista has come out with a bunch of new tags (HERE).

3.  There are new tags that were recently announced a few months ago to replace the old Ekahau-branded tags.  

4.  Arista has also unveiled a new RTLS software (Arista Flow) to replace Ekahau Vision and stuff. 

5.  Ekahau doesn't make the tags.  They have an agreement with the manufacturer to stamp the Ekahau brand.  This is very important because this means Ekahau cannot control if there are issues/bug with the firmware.

If you are being sold an Ekahau-branded tag, you're getting a lemon.

EDIT: 

Not trying to be rude, condescending or something, but what exactly was the requirement to do RTLS?  

The reason why I'm asking (because I'm really curious), is because is if the requirement is very vague or bland, then the integrator will, most likely, offer a solution which worked in the early 2010 (when RTLS was solely on 1 Mbps, 2.4 Ghz).  With the advent of BLE, the entire RTLS thinking/deployment needs a full re-write.  

I am working for a customer that has the legacy Ekahau RTLS solution in place and needs to ensure the wireless network will support the existing solution.  The main question I have is:  If the XOR radio is in monitor mode (the radio--not the whole AP as the static 5GHz radio will be serving clients)...the the XOR radio in monitor mode support location services for the Ekahau 802.11b/g/n tags?  Can I track clients with just the monitor mode radio?


@AlexZmann wrote:

the XOR radio in monitor mode support location services for the Ekahau 802.11b/g/n tags?  Can I track clients with just the monitor mode radio?


I have no idea what they've enabled on the RTLS system but Ekahau tags support "Blink" mode.  

If these are the same Ekahau tags I'm familiar with, you need to manually set the power, channel and radio mode of the AP. 

CleanAir and TPC/DCA must be disabled.

Getting Started

Find answers to your questions by entering keywords or phrases in the Search bar above. New here? Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the community: