Hello John,
I can try and answer a few of your questions, although I am less familair with the Aironets, so you may want to speak to an Enterprise Sales partner for the details there.
- Is a single WAP561 access point sufficient for my usage, or should I get a 1602 aironet access point?
I would say a WAP561 should cover the area nicely, and support about 40 active users.
2 .And can the 1602 aironet access point work without a controller? Can I combine two 1602 and have them share the load if there are many users?
From looking at the data sheet the 1602 does come in standalone mode, meaning it does not require a controller. It also seems to come in a two pack, but I am not sure what if any load balancing they do without a controller being involved, again for that I would contact TAC pre-sales or a partner.
3. Besides router, PoE switch and controller, what else do I need between the internet gateway and access points? And can I use a residential class router?
A router, PoE switch (or injectors) would be all you would need with the 561. If you went with standalone 1602s that would be it as well. For true load-balancing you probably would need a controller, but that would be it then as well. There are also some enterprise devices that combine these functions into one.
The WAP 561 can be clustered with other WAPs, however this is more for administration, and they do not load balance the wireless clients. A Small Business Device does include 1 year of technical support, while most Enterprise devices require a service contract, so that is something to consider as well.
However keep in mind wireless is largely effected by the environment it is in, so you may want to look into a wireless survey to see what would work best for you. Most Cisco Partners should be able to set something like this up, and then recommend an appropriate solution.
Thank you for choosing Cisco,
Christopher Ebert - Network Support Engineer
Cisco Small Business Support Center
*please rate helpful posts*
