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Outside parking Wireless Coverage Best Access Points and Antennas

cesar.fiestas
Level 1
Level 1

Experts,

 

I hope all is well, what would be a recommended Access Point/Antenna to cover a large parking lot. I was thinking a sector antenna similar to the old AIR-ANT2414S-R but a newer one with an up to date outdoor access point. Preferably that can do 2.4 and 5. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

11 Replies 11

balaji.bandi
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Balaji,

 

Thank you sir for the link :) Have a good one.

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
Get a wireless site survey done correctly.

Leo,

 

Indeed but this was more like a general / from experience question for experts on the field. Thanks

Sure - comparing always good before we get the BoM and buy and keeping in Future model

 

if this helpfull mark as reolved please.

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@cesar.fiestas wrote:

Indeed but this was more like a general / from experience question for experts on the field. Thanks


If that is the case, then the "question" doesn't make any sense.  

There are so many factors which one has to consider.  One doesn't just say, "I'm going to use BLAH mode' and then put the map on the floor.  Every AP model and AP antenna comes AFTER the map of the floor (and never before). 

Ok. let put the idea that it's a wide car park.  Open space.  Wide open space.  Power poles?  Do you have options to snake power and or ethernet (copper or fibre optic) across?  Will this be a multi-hop-mesh (aka daisy chain) or will each AP be hard wired back to network switch.  

Next, power source.  How will this AP get it's power?  

Next, what sort of wireless client is expected to serve?  Wireless Voice?  Video?  RTLS/RFID?

If RTLS/RFID, what kind?  WiFi RTLS/RFID or BLE?  

(Get what I'm saying now?)

Ok, so we've covered the basic Q&A?  Let's go to the next phase:

Controller or Mobility Express?

Weather proofing the AP (from the weather and the cold)?

What's your budget? 

So whatever the answers are to the questions above, let's do the fun part:  AP & antenna choices. 

Pay close attention to the "weather proofing the AP" because this is where the choices can make some sense: 

If you want DEDICATED outdoor AP, you can't beat the IW3702, 1540 (low cost) or the 1560 (mid-level) and the 1570.  

If you're not interested in BLE RFID/RTLS then I'd go for 1560.  It comes in three categories:  Internal antenna (omnidirectional), Directional antenna (sharp lobe to the front and ideally for point-to-point mesh) and External antenna (antennas are optional).   The dedicated external APs can be powered with either a PoE or external source and the ethernet uplink could either be fibre optic or copper ethernet. 

For internal APs, the 1800, 2800 and 3800 all have models where you can install optional antennas.  

The biggest draw side is the environment/weather protection you will need for the internal APs and how to install the antennas correctly. 

Hope this helps.

Leo,

 

I completely agree with you that the question was not well crafted. I do thank you for your input, I think we will go with the 1572 series, with either a sector antenna or if we can put the access points in the power poles with omni directional antennas to cover the parking lot.

 

Take a look at the attached image. By the way I value your expertise and time very much thanks

Basic Question: What is the objective of the outdoor wireless? Where are the wireless clients?
Are the wireless clients INSIDE the cargo hold of the trucks or at the front of the trucks?
I am going to presume that the trucks BACK INTO the building. This means the driver cab is facing away from the building, right?
If the wireless clients are in the cargo bay of the truck, then the wireless inside the building will have some "leak" to hit the cargo bay, HOWEVER, the "leak" or "bleed" is not sufficient to hit the front cab of the truck.
If the objective is the cab of the truck then the wireless AP must be mounted on the power poles and "aimed" towards the trucks.

Leo,

 

Your statement is correct Leo, the only issue here is that we will most likely need to run poe from the building to the power poles, or we will need to provide power to the AP mounted on the power poles and do a mesh deployment. With this being said Leo, its been a very long time since i have a done a mesh install hence i have a couple of questions.

 

Can I mix mesh AP's with regular AP's in a single controller?

We are running DNA licensing model, do we need an extra license to mesh deployment? if so what would be the mesh license to be used?

Will the 1572 AP's need an extra or special antenna for the mesh design/deployment to work?

Thanks again for your time


@cesar.fiestas wrote:

Can I mix mesh AP's with regular AP's in a single controller?


The controller must be running 8.5.X.X and later.  Don't use 8.6.X.X or 8.7.X.X.


@cesar.fiestas wrote:

Will the 1572 AP's need an extra or special antenna for the mesh design/deployment to work?


Get a wireless site survey done to get a more definitive answer.  

Hi Champs,

 

We need to implement an outdoor wireless mesh for the attached plan.

Since it's a remote site, it's not possible to do an on-site survey.

Based on the locations of the light poles, we were thinking to install 2 RAPs.

Point to Multipoint Link from RAP1 to P1 and P2

Point to Multipoint Link from RAP2 to P3 and P5

We would need 5GHz for backhaul and 2.4GHz to serve the clients.

We are thinking to go with 3504 WLC and 1560E APs (Flex+Bridge Mode).

Could someone please take a look and suggest the antennas that would serve this purpose?

Thanks.

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