How many access points?
Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 6:09 pm
In all our buildings now we have an 881 firewall and 3 1041 access points. How many do you have and how do you position them? It seems like either 2 or 4 access points would usually be the best number.
First question: all of our buildings have the ward/stake offices at the end of hallways on either side of the chapel. Would you typically recommend 1 access point by each group offices? Or does the signal adequately reach the other side?
Our stake center is a Legacy plan with the firewall in the back corner of the mezzanine. Three access points probably do work well here if they are staggered on each side. We have an additional router for a stake subnet in the stake offices so we don't really need a 1041 that close.
Another building is I believe a Heritage plan with the firewall in the back of the mezzanine, just off center. In this building the contractors put one 1041 right next to the firewall, which is basically useless. I've heard the routers have a lower signal strength although I measured it and they seem about the same. I did read that the access points should be mounted horizontal though and most of ours are vertical so it might help if we change that. In any case if we put two up by the ward offices I'm not sure where to put the third. Coverage would be uneven if we put it on one side. There is quite a bit of HVAC infrastructure between the router and the gym which seems to limit it's coverage in that direction, so it might be ideal to put it over the gym, but not sure if that's possible.
Then we have two slightly older buildings with the firewall in a closet off a classroom in the middle of one side, next to the library/materials center; I don't know what design these are so I'll call them plan B. Is the range of the routers in the closets reduced because they are on the main level? If not, routers on the opposite side on each end would make sense. Currently they put one by each set of ward offices, and one over the primary room, which is in the middle between the gym and relief society room. Currently this does not give us sufficient coverage in the YW room in the far rear corner.
So I thought I would just see what you all have had success with.
First question: all of our buildings have the ward/stake offices at the end of hallways on either side of the chapel. Would you typically recommend 1 access point by each group offices? Or does the signal adequately reach the other side?
Our stake center is a Legacy plan with the firewall in the back corner of the mezzanine. Three access points probably do work well here if they are staggered on each side. We have an additional router for a stake subnet in the stake offices so we don't really need a 1041 that close.
Another building is I believe a Heritage plan with the firewall in the back of the mezzanine, just off center. In this building the contractors put one 1041 right next to the firewall, which is basically useless. I've heard the routers have a lower signal strength although I measured it and they seem about the same. I did read that the access points should be mounted horizontal though and most of ours are vertical so it might help if we change that. In any case if we put two up by the ward offices I'm not sure where to put the third. Coverage would be uneven if we put it on one side. There is quite a bit of HVAC infrastructure between the router and the gym which seems to limit it's coverage in that direction, so it might be ideal to put it over the gym, but not sure if that's possible.
Then we have two slightly older buildings with the firewall in a closet off a classroom in the middle of one side, next to the library/materials center; I don't know what design these are so I'll call them plan B. Is the range of the routers in the closets reduced because they are on the main level? If not, routers on the opposite side on each end would make sense. Currently they put one by each set of ward offices, and one over the primary room, which is in the middle between the gym and relief society room. Currently this does not give us sufficient coverage in the YW room in the far rear corner.
So I thought I would just see what you all have had success with.