How many hops in a Mesh network is allowed

[educorreiaBR]

Hello everyone,

I am building a mesh network with the fewest number of Root Access Points configured. If a Root Access Point fails, how many hops can a Mesh Access Point perform to reach the nearest Root Access Point available? I am using WLC 9800 with IW 6300 Access Points in an industrial outdoor environment.

[pieterh]

from Cisco Wireless Mesh Access Points, Design and Deployment Guide, Release 7.3 - Site Preparation and Planning [Cisco Aironet 1550 Series] - Cisco

but you may search for a similar guidelines for IW6300 access points (will not be very different)

 

Cell Planning and Distance

For the Cisco 1520 Series Access Points

The RAP-to-MAP ratio is the starting point. For general planning purposes, the current ratio is 20 MAPs per RAP.

We recommend the following values for cell planning and distance in nonvoice networks:

• RAP-to-MAP ratio—Recommended maximum ratio is 20 MAPs per RAP.
• AP-to-AP distance—A spacing of no more than of 2000 feet (609.6 meters) between each mesh access point is recommended. When you extend the mesh network on the backhaul (no client access), use a cell radius of 1000 feet (304.8 meters).
• Hop count—Three to four hops.
  • One square mile in feet (52802), is nine cells and you can cover one square mile with approximately three or four hops (see Figure 1 and Figure 2.)
• For 2.4 GHz, the local access cell size radius is 600 feet (182.88 meters). One cell size is around 1.310 x 106, so there are 25 cells per square mile. (See Figure 3 and Figure 4.)

[ammahend]

For data, the maximum is 4 hops. No more than 2 hops is recommended for voice.

would not recommend building anything with more than 1 hop counts if possible, generally speaking  with 2nd hop you loose 50% performance with 3rd hop you loose 66% and so on. 

here is a hood blog if you like to read : http://revolutionwifi.blogspot.com/2012/02/mesh-network-performance-impact.html?m=1

hope this helps