9120AXE EWC RF Footprint

[emuman100]

I had a 2702E that a 9120AXE replaced. The 2702 was running in autonomous mode and compared to the 9120AXE with EWC, it seems to have a little less of a footprint than the 2702E with the same antennas and bands and being in the same exact location.

I plan on adding one or two more APs to the EWC, but with only one AP currently, is there any way to optimize performance for that and in other ways on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

Also, it just has the AIR-NETWORK-ESSENTIALS license. Is that adequate for adding up to 3APs?

Thanks.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@emuman100 wrote:
The 2702 was running in autonomous mode and compared to the 9120AXE with EWC

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This is the answer as to why the EWC has a smaller footprint to the 2702:  Autonomous IOS. 

With autonomous IOS, the power is most likely set to full power regardless of the noises.  EWC is smart enough to detect the noise and regulate the Tx power.  

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@emuman100 wrote:
Is that adequate for adding up to 3APs?

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Same answer to all the same questions:  Get a wireless site survey done properly.

[emuman100]

The autonomous 2702E was set to the highest TX power. I have noticed that with EWC, it seems to automatically regulate it based on noise and my throughput has improved. But, with only one AP for now, the automatic power setting will still be adequate?

For adding APs, that was more of a license question.

Thanks.

[marce1000]

    >....Also, it just has the AIR-NETWORK-ESSENTIALS license. Is that adequate for adding up to 3APs?
                     You also need one AIR DNA License for each access point.

 M.

[emuman100]

The AIR-NETWORK-ESSENTIALS license is not adequate? I won't be using any DNA features. I just want Mobility Express operation. 

Thanks.

[marce1000]

                 >The AIR-NETWORK-ESSENTIALSlicense is not adequate?
                           Best is to sort this out with a local reseller , 

 M.

[Prince.O]

The Network essentials license is adequate for your use case with EWCs you don't need DNA License for this. 

[Rich R]

As Prince says DNA license level makes no difference to number of APs supported and in fact EWC does not require any DNA license at all for basic use.  You only need DNA licenses for EWC if you want to manage it with DNAC.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/nb-o6-embded-wrls-cont-ds-cte-en.html#Productoverview
Use case A: The Embedded Wireless Controller (EWC) can be used for small deployments where EWC is only managed using the smart dashboard or mobile app. For this use case, a Cisco DNA subscription license and Smart Licensing is not required for any access point connecting to the EWC.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/software/one-wireless-subscription/nb-06-dna-acces-wl-sw-faq-ctp-en.html#CiscoDNASoftwaresubscriptionforwireless

Q.  Is a software subscription license mandatory for wireless? What options are available to customers?

A.  Any access point connecting to Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and/or Cisco DNA Center requires a Cisco DNA Software subscription. Customers also have the option on Wi-Fi 6 (9130-9105) to deploy the embedded wireless controller (EWC), which has no license or fees. When ordering, customers can opt out of Cisco DNA licensing if they plan to use EWC.

Back to your original question - you could force this to behave like your original 2700 setup by manually setting power level instead of allowing RRM to do it automatically but as you've observed that might reduce the overall performance even if it does slightly extend your coverage.