Teach you how to choose the most suitable wireless AP

With the popularization of the Internet and the widespread use of smart phones, wireless APs are increasingly being used in various occasions. However, many people may not know how to choose wireless APs. Based on my own experience and some opinions on the Internet, I would like to share with you the precautions for choosing wireless APs for your reference.

1. Notes

When selecting APs for wireless coverage, you should generally consider the following aspects:

• Environmental characteristics: outdoor or indoor, sparsely distributed terminals (such as warehouses) or high-density wireless access (such as conference rooms, multi-function halls, etc.).
• Installation method: ceiling, panel or 86 box type.
• Power supply mode: standard PoE (802.3af or 802.3at), Passive PoE or DC (direct current power supply).
• Coverage: single room, multiple rooms, area coverage, fixed-point coverage, high-density coverage, etc.
• Capacity: A single AP can connect to 10, 20, 30 or 50 terminals.

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2. Take the hotel environment as an example

AP layout in the lobby: The hotel lobby has a large space with few obstacles, so ceiling APs can be deployed according to the size of the lobby.

3. How to choose single-frequency or dual-frequency?

After talking about applications, let's talk about frequency selection. How to determine the 2.4G AP and 5.8G AP?

Judging from the current terminal products on the market, although not all mobile phones support 5.8G WiFi, 5.8G is definitely the mainstream. At the same time, in order to have a better wireless experience, dual-band wireless AP is recommended, especially in densely populated areas.

Further reading: Wireless AP knowledge points and common parameters

4. How many clients can one AP support?

Based on the working principle of wireless products and the wireless transmission and reception capabilities of wireless terminals such as mobile phones, it is impossible for a wireless AP to handle "hundreds of people within a radius of 1 kilometer". Generally speaking, a single-band AP supports 20 to 25 clients, and a dual-band AP supports 40 to 60 clients.

***What is the appropriate coverage area for P?

The coverage of a wireless AP is closely related to the installation location and the actual environment. The following information is for reference:

• Ceiling wireless AP: covers 6 rooms/dormitories around, or a radius of about 12 meters. It is suitable for installation in a relatively open environment with a floor height of no less than 3 meters. Due to the characteristics of the installation method, wireless blind spots are easily generated.
• Panel wireless AP: covers the space of 2 rooms/dormitories and 1-2 walls. The wireless coverage effect is better.

6. Avoid these pitfalls

Thinking that expensive products have better performance and you can’t go wrong buying expensive products: You may be misled by exaggerated advertising effects, which will only increase costs.

The greater the wireless transmission power of the AP, the faster the Internet speed: other factors need to be considered, and blindly pursuing high-power products is not a wise move. Strong wall penetration ability means fast Internet speed: strong wall penetration ability does not mean a long coverage range or a large number of devices.

As long as the wireless AP hardware performance is good, there is no need to worry about other things: hardware is only the foundation, and powerful software functions are also needed.

The higher the wireless AP transmission rate, the better: it also depends on the network bandwidth. If the network bandwidth is very small, even if you choose a 1200Mbps AP, the rate will not be much faster.

Summarize

When choosing a wireless AP, you need to consider your actual needs, including AP parameters, user access volume, coverage, software functions, power size, stability, and on-site environment. The key is "balance".