Dormitory layout.

[JEggleton]

Good morning,

This is my first post here, so please keep that in mind.

I am scoping out a wireless network for a dormitory scenario.  The issue is the AP locations are in the hallways, and the walls are concrete.  We are looking to replace Aruba 305's that are about 5 years old.  The claim is the coverage is OK, but not great.  So locations seem to be fine, just the penetration needs to be improved.

My first thought was a MR42e's but I am not sure which antennae to select.  Also, do you think that stepping up to a higher model would be beneficial?

[PhilipDAth]

You would get the best result from using the in-room APs, the MR30H.

Configure Client VPN for Mexico 

[JEggleton]

I don't doubt that.  I just don't have the cabling to support, nor does the customer have the budget.

[PhilipDAth]

Newer APs are likely to give some improvement, but I would expect that to be minimal.  It sounds like you are bleeding coverage into the walls, and that is the fundamental issue.

I suspect it won't make much difference.

So there is no structured cabling into the rooms of any kind?

I would look at using the WiFi6 APs.  You could get an MR46 and an MR46E on trial and test it out - but I doubt external antennas will make much of a difference.  I'd stick with the cheaper MR46 as a result.

[JEggleton]

There is no cabling in the rooms, no.  

Wifi 6 APs require wifi 6 clients, which are less than common.  It does allow for a bit of "future proofing" though...  hmmm.  Food for thought.

I was thinking that external antennas would allow me to focus the signal towards the walls, possibly allowing for better penetration.  

Thank you so much for the input.  

[PhilipDAth · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you are going to have these APs for 5 years based on the prior ones.  There will be a lot of WiFi6 devices within that time frame.

Newer APs are likely to have more sensitive radios, but the maximum transmit power is regulated - and the new APs are likely to have exactly the same amount of transmit power as the old APs.

So you might be able to pick up signals from clients better (better receive sensitivity), but the clients are going to receive exactly the same amount of signal from the new APs as they did from the old.  Well, maybe a tiny bit more thanks to MIMO improvements and things like that - but I would not expect a huge improvement.

Your fighting signal attenuation.  You either need more "punch" to get through (which you can't get because transmit power is regulated) or need clients with better receive sensitivity (which you have no control over).

The best way to overcome it is to bypass the attenuating walls and put APs in rooms - but as you say, you have the cost of the cabling.

Remember, you can get kit on trial and physically test out the impact before selecting which kit to get.

[JEggleton]

Excellent points, all!

Thank you for the input.  I will run with the information I have now.