Looking to replace 50 Cisco Aironet 1200 APs in a hotel

[BMWGuinness]

Got a hotel which is 7 stories and around 17,500 sq feet per story.

They have 7 Aironet 1200 APs in each story.

Which ubiquiti product would be best to replace these devices for best coverage? Picostation HPs?

[brod]

PicoStation would fry everyone in the hotel ;). These are more for outdoor rather than indoor application. I think you should wait for the AP-1000, which is a proper indoor Access Point.

[sxpert]

I'd go for bullets with http://www.pacwireless.com/products/IN800-5900.shtml for the antenna

[brod]

Wouldn't the Bullet be too strong? It's an outdoor device after all.

[sxpert]

not necessarily. use the power setting in the UI to limit that ;)

[BMWGuinness]

The bullet is only 100mw

[WHT]

On a side note...what you DON'T want to do is skimp on the number of access points.

Because that would mean running high power to reach the outer range stations and that would saturate the real close in stations.

What I would do is get two Bullets with omni antenna and do a site survey to see how far you can shoot a -30 dBm (strong) down to -70 dBm (weak) signal. If you see a -20 dBm signal, that's too much power, if you see a -90 dB signal, it won't work.

[BryceW]

I'm a total rook, but why couldn't you use these outdoor devices inside?

[WHT]

No reason you couldn't mount a Pico above the ceiling tiles in the middle of all that metal work...bad idea though.

You could mount it on the wall below the ceiling grid....bad idea because....(see below)

An above ceiling mounted Bullet with an unobtrusive omni dome antenna below the ceiling tiles would be a less attractive target for the high school basket ball team on tour.

[BMWGuinness]

I don't see why you couldn't put a pico upside down with the antenna sticking down out of the ceiling.

As far as if someone breaks it, not our problem.

the indoor rating for a Pico2HP is 200m

A Pico2HP comes with an omni antenna and a PoE

A Bullet2HP requires additional purchase of an omni antenna and a PoE

In this case, it seems the Pico is the best bang for the buck.

[WHT]

True...the Pico has those advantages. As long as you use some discretion where you mount them to make the antenna a less attractive pull-toy or slap-puppy, they should work.

[slaw]

Hi,

I was thinking to use pico indoor also. But my situation is a little bit different :)

I have 2 classrooms next to each other that can accommodate 70-100 people. They all have laptops and are hungry for Internet.

How many picostations (or other devices) do I need to setup to have stable wifi connection for all 70-100 laptops at the same time?

Thanks in advance

[WHT]

At least four. Three might do it, but four and you know it will do it.

[slaw]

At least four. Three might do it, but four and you know it will do it.

So let's say I just mount 2 picos in each room, set them with the same ssid and non-overlapping channels and it should handle up to 100 clients just fine? Or are there some extra tweaking needed?

My understanding of this setup is that when WiFi client is trying to associate with an access point it usually chooses the best strength/noise signal ratio.

So in my case each picostation should pick-up about 20 clients each (when botch rooms are full) right?

I would like to avoid a situation where I have 40 people sitting close to each other and trying to associate with one pico.

Let me know if i'm missing something.

Thanks
Slaw

PS If this setup will fly I would need to pick up extra 40-50 picostations for other locations - any recommended dealers/stores?

[thiagobeier]

I´ve a similar situation here 8 classrooms per floor (3 floors)
each classroom with 30 students and at least 10 devices with wifi suppport

and on the basement a wide area for coverage (wich should I use here) ?

regards,

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