Aironet 2702i AC1750

[Alucidnation]

Good evening,

I have a client that currently has an Aruba IAP215 1750 ac access point installed, however, they are not happy with the coverage, and they are getting random client disconnects from, primarily, iphones (mostly 6s but with some 6).

The current AP is located on the ceiling on the upstairs landing, with rooms being mainly used downstairs.

Throughput for the AC devices seems reasonably good (UI connection speed shows approx 650Mbps for phones) with clients directly underneath (with stud wall and wooden floor between) with a line of sight of around 3/4 meters.

Random disconnects are mainly when the phones have not been touched for a few hours although they do reconnect when they are taken out of sleep with the home or lock button.

Moving away from the AP and signal drops considerably for all devices, phones macbooks etc. The strange thing is, if the client is on the same floor as the AP, but in a nearby room, client signal strength is lower than being directly underneath with floors and carpets in the way!

Anyway, they asked me to look into installing another Aruba on the ground floor but, with a bit of browsing discovered the Cisco Aironet 2702i AC1750 which, is almost identical in cost.

Would this perform slightly better in the above environment?

And would it run in a stand alone configuration?

Thanks for any help and information.

:)

[Philip D'Ath]

To make Apple devices work really well you want to use 802.11k.  To use 802.11k you need a wireless lan controller.  Using a wireless lan controller also enables clean air, and resolves many interface problems.

So I would personally recommend:

1 x Cisco 2504 WLC

2 x Cisco 2702i Access Points

I would not run it standalone (lots of advanced features in the access point get disabled).  I would get rid of Aruba at the same time to maximise spectrum.

If you get performance problems considering disabling 2.4Ghz as well.  I find that it often it so crowded these days if often causes more problems than it is worth.

I bet it will be 100 times more reliable.

[Alucidnation]

Ok thanks for the recommendations.

However, it appears that a support contract would also need to be purchased for firmware upgrades and support etc?

My client has already splashed out a fair bit and for me to suggest another £1000 access point may take some doing, plus if he will also need to pay extra on top, it could be a non starter?

Or, am i not understanding correctly?

:)

[Philip D'Ath]

You should not consider the SmartNet optional.  You should consider it as part of the cost of deploying the solution.

It's up the the customer I guess.  Accept the cheap Aruba solution with problems, or get something that just "works".

[Alucidnation]

Cant argue with that!

Many thanks for your help.

:)

One more thing, what warranty comes with the AP and controllers?

Is it the usual 12month (for uk)?

[Alucidnation]

Also forgot to ask, 

how many WLAN's can be set up per radio (2.4&5)?

Thanks

[Philip D'Ath]

Always buy a SmartNet with it.  If you buy a 12 month SmartNet, then you effectively have a 12 month warranty.  If you buy a 36 month SmartNet then you effectively have a 36 month SmartNet.  I usually ask the customer how long they want the warranty to be.

Off the top of my head, you can have up to 16 WLANs per "access point".  However with a WLC you would normally configure them network wide, not per radio or per access point.  It manages all that complexity for you.

[Alucidnation]

Ok i understand, thanks!