WIFI design for the warehouse

[yairp]

Hello everyone. Much has been written and said about the design of WIFI for warehouses.
I would love to hear from your experience in order to make a decision on a complete system from MERAKI
16 corridors each about 60 meters long. shelf's between each aisle at a height of about 10 meters. The customer uses bar code scanners (MC9300 HANDHELD MOBILE COMPUTER). The client requires at least 65 dBm and the system will support MESH
Other than the W-shaped design ... Do you have any recommendations for equipment that can meet the requirements?
Thanks!

[Leo Laohoo]

Same recommendation with previous thread about the same topic:  Get a wireless site survey done properly. 

Warehouse deployment is the most difficult to do and very easy to make expensive mistakes.  

To home in on my point, this thread has made the most fundamental mistake by not talking about the environ of this warehouse.  

[yairp]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for the response.
The problem is that there is currently no warehouse to conduct a survey in - the warehouse will be established in the near future
Therefore I have no ability to predict the future situation but only to learn about the needs of the customer.

B.R.

Yp.

[marce1000]

               >the warehouse will be established in the near future

  There should definitely be a wireless site survey once the warehouse exists.

 M.

[yairp]

Hi Marce

I totally agree!
It's part of the plan. I would not give up the pleasure

Yair.

[Philip D'Ath]

Here is my initial punt.

Each corridor will need an AP at each end with a directional antenna, and one in the roof (in the middle) pointing down with a directional antenna.  Each AP will end up covering about 20m of the corridor.

The warehouses I have seen tend to use the more rugged IP67 rated APs like the MR76 and MR86.

https://meraki.cisco.com/product/wi-fi/outdoor-access-points/mr76/ 

https://meraki.cisco.com/product/wi-fi/outdoor-access-points/mr86/ 

If this warehouse environment was particularly "nice and clean" you could consider an "office" style AP like the MR46E.

https://meraki.cisco.com/product/wi-fi/indoor-access-points/mr46e/ 

The links above also include the antenna options at the bottom.

I would avoid using MESH like the plague.  Any issue in the environment is magnified by MESH.  Also, you are going to end up with a lot of APs, and using MESH is going to force some common backhaul frequencies, frequencies that would be better used serving clients.

If it was me, I would refuse to do the job rather than use MESH, because I wouldn't want to deal with the constant customer complaints after the solution went in and potential claims of non-performance of a job costing that much.

You might feel different if you don't mind complaints and threats of legal action.

[yairp]

Hi Philip, 

Thanks so much for your reply!
I will definitely make sure the client understands the limitations of the MESH and gives up on the adventure ...
In terms of routers and switches which model would you recommend? In terms of maintenance costs, management, maintenance, and operation? 

Thank you,

Y.p

[iores]

@Philip D'Ath 

Could you, please, explain why would you put AP at each end of the corridor? Why not only at one end?

[Philip D'Ath]

Coverage.

[JPavonM]

This is not about coverage but a)redundancy and b)granting -65dBm at all corridor, but in some cases with long aisles you will need a thrid AP at the top with a directional antenna like this AccelTex ATS-OP-245-13-4RPTP-36 (https://www.hubbell.com/acceltex/en/products/2-45-ghz-13-dbi-4-element-indooroutdoor-patch-antenna-with-rptnc/p/14674876)

[Arshad Safrulla]

Please keep in mind that if you are using Meraki outdoor AP's this doesn't support Dual 5GHz (if it is considered as a requirement as 5Ghz is less prone to interreference and availability of more channels)

Also if you use MR86 (MR84 is EOL) you might have to consider mounting 2 Meraki antenna's per AP (unless it is Cisco stadium antenna).Also you need to have same antenna (cannot mix patch antenna and omni antenna)

If you are using MR76, then you can consider using mixed antennas. For example, you can have 2.4 antenna focusing one side and 5GHz focusing another side (Not recommended as this will result in single band coverage for each area).

Also as other's pointed out APOS survey onsite is recommended as Warehouses are considered to be the one of the most difficult to design. Also keep in mind that the coverage pattern will change depending on the height of the racks  or storage areas, vehicular movement inside the warehouse etc. Also remember to measure the rx sensitivity of the connecting devices with the AP's you are planning to propose preferably at the site. I would highly recommend to check out the Meraki forums (where @Philip D'Ath 's fortress) and seek a professional WLAN engineer's advise moving forward. Also to remind you that Meraki support is very limited when third party antenna's are used.

[Scott Fella]

Let me also add to this.  Everyone here has provided great input and risk.  You must also keep in mind how the warehouse is used, what types of products and how the products will move around.  This will affect your signal due to attenuation.  You would also need to know how often the racks might move and be relocated.  I have seem companies change the layout due to what is being stored in the warehouse.  What you want, is to make sure you start out with a good design and understand when the design has to be looked at again.  Good luck!