Hi all,
I've been tasked with installing wireless into a new, very large house. I think it's pushing 11,000+ sqft with a 4000 sqft separate garage/workshop. It's all single story, with the exception of a small built out basement for a gym and guest bedroom. There is access to the entire house in the "basement" but it's not all finished.
The owner is involved with Cisco somehow, and he prefers Cisco equipment if possible. My initial thoughts on equipment:
-- SG200 PoE switch.
-- RV320 router.
-- WAP321, WAP371 or WAP561 APs.
I'm fairly set on the switch and the router unless someone has some persuasive argument against them. I use both a lot and am very familiar with them. The APs are a different story... I like the 321's and have used quite a few of them. The 371 would give them AC capabilities, but I don't like being locked into 5GHz only. I'm leaning toward the 561 because they're simultaneous dual band so if they ever come across a 2.4GHz only device they won't be out of luck. Also, since it's simultaneous, a 2.5GHz device won't drag down the entire network. I've also contemplated UniFi APs. I've used them and like them as well; however, they're not 802.11af, they run on their own PoE technology, so I'd be forced to use their switch, which I don't want to do.
The owner would prefer not having these mounted in plain sight. My initial thought on placement was to mount them to the rafters above the ceilings so they're up high and get the best coverage; however, it dawned on me that the attic will get extremely hot in the summer, as well as cold in the winter. They have an operating temp range of 32-104, so that won't fly. Next, I thought maybe throwing them in the basement, but building materials will definitely get in my way. The floors are going to be riddled with granite, tile, hard wood, etc, plus the floorboards are thicker than normal. That's a no go... Ok, so what am I left with?! I can put them on the ceiling in closets, the pantry, etc. I might be able to get away with one or two in a hallway where they're not as noticeable.
At this point, the house is framed and has most of the wood in place. There's no sheet rock, flooring, etc in place yet. I went up with a little Linksys wireless router just to see how the structure deals with wireless, and my initial testing was descent. I'll need to wait a bit until more of the construction is done, but the cabling guy needs to run the cables next week. I need to know how many and generally where I want them so he can get the cables in place. Last year when all this was just blueprints I estimated 2 in the separate garage and 6 in the main house. I wasn't sure if 6 was overkill or not, but I didn't know what type of building materials were going to be used and I wanted to ensure my bit covered the worst case scenario.
I've uploaded one of the blueprints that I was given with my preliminary rough locations. I've removed any personal information, and any other info that the owner would not want to be released. I have listed my preliminary dbm reading and the locations I measured them. Also, I'm not worried about the garage, it's a big, open area with 2 walls. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is my first wireless project of this size, all of my other wireless experience is mostly one or two APs in a business or small-moderate house.
Thanks!
I've been tasked with installing wireless into a new, very large house. I think it's pushing 11,000+ sqft with a 4000 sqft separate garage/workshop. It's all single story, with the exception of a small built out basement for a gym and guest bedroom. There is access to the entire house in the "basement" but it's not all finished.
The owner is involved with Cisco somehow, and he prefers Cisco equipment if possible. My initial thoughts on equipment:
-- SG200 PoE switch.
-- RV320 router.
-- WAP321, WAP371 or WAP561 APs.
I'm fairly set on the switch and the router unless someone has some persuasive argument against them. I use both a lot and am very familiar with them. The APs are a different story... I like the 321's and have used quite a few of them. The 371 would give them AC capabilities, but I don't like being locked into 5GHz only. I'm leaning toward the 561 because they're simultaneous dual band so if they ever come across a 2.4GHz only device they won't be out of luck. Also, since it's simultaneous, a 2.5GHz device won't drag down the entire network. I've also contemplated UniFi APs. I've used them and like them as well; however, they're not 802.11af, they run on their own PoE technology, so I'd be forced to use their switch, which I don't want to do.
The owner would prefer not having these mounted in plain sight. My initial thought on placement was to mount them to the rafters above the ceilings so they're up high and get the best coverage; however, it dawned on me that the attic will get extremely hot in the summer, as well as cold in the winter. They have an operating temp range of 32-104, so that won't fly. Next, I thought maybe throwing them in the basement, but building materials will definitely get in my way. The floors are going to be riddled with granite, tile, hard wood, etc, plus the floorboards are thicker than normal. That's a no go... Ok, so what am I left with?! I can put them on the ceiling in closets, the pantry, etc. I might be able to get away with one or two in a hallway where they're not as noticeable.
At this point, the house is framed and has most of the wood in place. There's no sheet rock, flooring, etc in place yet. I went up with a little Linksys wireless router just to see how the structure deals with wireless, and my initial testing was descent. I'll need to wait a bit until more of the construction is done, but the cabling guy needs to run the cables next week. I need to know how many and generally where I want them so he can get the cables in place. Last year when all this was just blueprints I estimated 2 in the separate garage and 6 in the main house. I wasn't sure if 6 was overkill or not, but I didn't know what type of building materials were going to be used and I wanted to ensure my bit covered the worst case scenario.
I've uploaded one of the blueprints that I was given with my preliminary rough locations. I've removed any personal information, and any other info that the owner would not want to be released. I have listed my preliminary dbm reading and the locations I measured them. Also, I'm not worried about the garage, it's a big, open area with 2 walls. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is my first wireless project of this size, all of my other wireless experience is mostly one or two APs in a business or small-moderate house.
Thanks!
