Overlapping Different Wireless Networks

[William Foster]

We are merging with another company and as a temporary solution until we can fully merge into one company we are going to run 2 completely separate wireless networks. Currently the offices are running a full Meraki wireless solution. We are going to put the new network in on a different circuit and then run the same amount of wireless access points as there are Meraki access points only these will be Cisco 9136i on a 9800 WLC. This is not ideal but is what I have to work with. The 2 networks will NOT be connected. I am wondering if anyone has ever done anything like this and if there are any sort of best practices out there. Questions I have below
How far apart should the Meraki APs be from the Cisco APs? 
What kind of interference issues should I expect and can I do anything to elevate those issues. 
I am sure I am not thinking of several things I that need to be considered and would appreciate any suggestions. 

Thank you in advance

[balaji.bandi]

Do the site survey is must to best practice to local the AP in right place not to interfear.

is both WLC broadcast same SSID - then that will be another issue ?

[William Foster]

Thank you for your response. They will not be broadcasting the same SSID's and it will be 2 completely different networks. Its almost as if you have 2 different companies sharing the same space and all the employees work for both companies and depending on what work they are doing they will need to join the SSID on Company A’s APs and then have to join the SSID of Company B’s to do other work. I am going to be doing heatmaps on Catalyst Center (Formally DNA) and will not be able to to go to all of the locations we will be doing this at so I will have to rely on floor plans. 

[Jerome BERTHIER]

Hi

You need to cover the same areas but with two wireless infrastructure ???? don't you ?

On 2.4Ghz it may be totally unusable.

On 5Ghz, if you select differents ranges of channels for DCA on both network, you may find a safe situation depending of the density expected.

If you broadcas the same SSID, it will be really bad as I don't know how to deal with keeping the clients on their home infrastructure. I guess you do not plan that.

[William Foster]

Thank you for your response. These will not be broadcasting the same SSIDs. It will be 2 completely different networks. Its almost as if you have 2 different companies sharing the same space and all the employees work for both companies and depending on what work they are doing they will need to join the SSID on Company A’s APs and then have to join the SSID of Company B’s to do other work. Does that make sense?

[William Foster]

Thank you for your response. These will not be broadcasting the same SSIDs. It will be 2 completely different networks. Its almost as if you have 2 different companies sharing the same space and all the employees work for both companies and depending on what work they are doing they will need to join the SSID on Company A's APs and then have to join the SSID of Company B's to do other work. Does that make sense?

[David Ritter]

ah just a bunch of new rogue AP networks for each system.

[eglinsky2012]

We have a similar situation here, a university that occupies a significant amount of space in a large municipal library. What we we ended up doing was using our access points, managed by our controllers, to broadcast both our SSIDs and theirs. (6 total - not best practice, but better than having too many APs IMO.) Our APs are in FlexConnect mode and our SSIDs get CAPWAP tunneled back to the controller as usual, while their SSIDs are switched locally. We have a trunk between our distribution switch and theirs, and their VLANs get trunked from the access point to the distribution and out to their network. They provide their own DHCP, DNS, etc. It's worked out well, the only rare issue being something on their end (DHCP pool exhaustion, for example), but we work through those issues without fuss, so I don't consider it a burden.

Since the other company you're dealing with is currently using Meraki, it sounds like a FlexConnect solution on your Catalyst APs for their SSIDs could be a suitable solution for you, too. Yes, I know you said the networks will not be connected, but a simple trunk between both networks (you'd have to coordinate VLAN IDs) to enable using one set of APs would avoid a lot of extra work with optimizing RF.