CW9176 and GPS

[jim-blake]

The Meraki CW9176 has a built-in GPS capability, allowing it to provide location information for self-location and associated purposes. If I have a challenging environment, where none of the APs (all CW9176) can "see" the sky, how can I get location data?

Do I have to, for instance, deploy a number of CW9164 APs, with GPS antenna on a cable, so I can place the antenna away from the AP (in a window, remote from the AP, for instance), or can I attach a remote antenna to the CW9176, and if so, what antenna is appropriate and to what interface does it connect?

I'm new to APs with GPS: is this a real issue or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

[Leo Laohoo]

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@jim-blake wrote:
how can I get location data

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Manually configure the location data.

[jim-blake]

Hey Leo, Thanks for the quick answer. Is it reasonable to infer from your reply that if I can't get location data from the CW9176 APs because they can't "see" the sky, then there is no external device I can use to "help" the inbuilt antenna?

[marce1000 · Accepted solution]

  - Ref : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/technical-reference/global-use-ap-dg.html#CountryCodeandRegulatoryDomain
           >...
           >3.     Note:  The CW917x series APs has an external GPS/GNSS antenna port. If the AP is not very close to a window, then an external GPS/GNSS antenna can be plugged into the AP to obtain the geolocation coordinates. The external antenna has a cable length of 10m (32.80 ft), so the AP can be placed upto 10m from the window or wall of the external Antenna.
           4.     Part number of the GNSS External Antenna: CW-ANT-GPS1-M-00

  M.

[Saikat Nandy]

There are 3 ways to tell the regulatory domain config to your WIFI7 APs and those are  - 
- Get the RAF file from Meraki and install to 9800.
- Proximity
- GPS

If you see GPS is a real challenge and you don't have meraki access,  you can use Proximity - which is quite straightforward. Associate one of the existing APs to WLC on 17.15.2 or above code, keep the 917x APs near to that and the new APs will get the regulatory domain through proximity.

[Rich R]

You don't actually say whether you're using the APs with Meraki dashboard or 9800 controller but since you've referred to Meraki CW9176 I'll assume Meraki dashboard?  (note the APs are now Cisco Wireless APs not Meraki APs).

> how can I get location data?
Like Leo says you configure it manually on the dashboard just like you always have.

> is this a real issue or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
Mountain out of a molehill ...
GPS is mandatory for AFC to use external antenna with 6GHz band - applicable for Standard Power, not required for Indoor Low Power.
https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Deployment_Guides/Automatic_Frequency_Coordination
https://community.meraki.com/t5/Wireless/6GHz-Standard-Power-Wi-Fi-is-now-GA-with-AFC/m-p/240193