Most powerful indoor AP?

RumorConsumer
Head in the Cloud

Most powerful indoor AP?

I have a new construction installation where a wall was built by accident enshrouding an access point with too many building materials. We have an MR 52 there right now and the results are almost passable. We can spend whatever we need to spend on an access point to get a signal through this wall into a main room area with more ears. What access point would you use? Worth trying an MR53 or 55? 56?

Networking geek since high school where I got half of a CCNA. Played Marathon II and Infinity over localtalk.
Made many a network over the years, now de facto admin of a retreat center with some of this fine Meraki hardware.
Fortune 100 Tech veteran/refugee.
5 Replies 5
ww
Kind of a big deal
Kind of a big deal

Mr46e or

Mr76/86 

Bruce
Kind of a big deal

As @ww suggested, a MR46E or the MR76/86 to give you directional antennas. If the area you want covered is in a particular direction then you could use that approach to focus the RF. So far a 'most powerful', the power of all the internal APs will be about the same, and its the power from the client towards the AP that is likely the limiting factor. You might get some advantage using an AP with a better antenna array (e.g. the MR56 which is 8x8), not because it produces more power, but because it has more capability to 're-build' poor signals, but I wouldn't be confident in it (and again, it will depend very much on the client too).

Greenberet
Head in the Cloud

Just asking: Drilling a small hole through "that wall" for an cat7 cable isn't an option?

 

"too many building materials" depending on the type/orientation of the materials (my guess steel+concrete) the wall could also act as a faraday cage and you won't get a signal through that wall. Maybe over reflection through other rooms, but I won't count on that.

And as the others have already mentioned: The client has to support this power too. So If the client requests/responses won't reach the access point, then the sending capacity of the ap won't matter.

PhilipDAth
Kind of a big deal
Kind of a big deal

Any YouTube videos?

 

I don't think I have seen a wall built by accident.  Knocked down, sure.  But not the other way.

RumorConsumer
Head in the Cloud

Ok you guys arent going to believe this....

 

 

So we had this construction project going on for months on this renovated building. We had an access point called Floor 1 sitting on the network stack because there was nowhere to mount it yet in the main room because the walls weren't done.

 

We had another access point ready to go for Floor 2 and that access point wasnt yet claimed in order to avoid unnecessary license fees. 

 

We just finished the project and my co-admin went about mounting the access points while I was out for a few minutes.

 

I get back and start testing it and all the devices on Floor 1's dashboard are getting abysmal signal strength. I can't believe it. We had tested it reasonably and this new wall went up but it shouldnt be THAT bad.

 

Im lightly panicking. I write this post and start researching more powerful antennas. 

 

Then I notice that the light on the bottom of the access point Im on isnt blue. "That's funny..." I think to myself. 

 

Then I go to reboot it through the dashboard. And the light stays on. 

 

Nothing makes sense here. 

 

Except... my co-admin had switched the access points accidentally. Floor 1 is now an entire flight up from where we are and the access point on our floor isnt even claimed yet. 

 

Immediate relief. 

 

So I claim it and of course now its healthy as a horse. 

 

Thanks for the responses. Hopefully this story was worth the trouble. Haha.

Networking geek since high school where I got half of a CCNA. Played Marathon II and Infinity over localtalk.
Made many a network over the years, now de facto admin of a retreat center with some of this fine Meraki hardware.
Fortune 100 Tech veteran/refugee.
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