Wi-Fi recommendations for a brand new warehouse / production facility?
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I am currently in charge of recommending a complete Wi-Fi set up for a large, brand new manufacturing facility, and I'm in a little deeper than my experience finds comfortable. Of course, I know I can reach out to community here for some good experience, reviews, and recommendations. We all know how bashful the IT crowd can be when it comes to sharing opinions, but don't be afraid...
So, here's the basic scenario. "We want Wi-Fi coverage everywhere." This is a large "L"-shaped building, with a main corridor of about 600' 100', with a 35' ceiling. There are no obstructing walls in this part. The other leg of the "L" is about 200' long, 150' wide, and has closer to 25' ceilings, with a mostly open layout, but a few "wall" panels. Most of it is open space, but the section of "wall" has a few points that go floor-to-ceiling, but mostly large openings with a little wall left above the openings. There is currently no hardware in place, nor wiring, so this is a blank slate. A small utility room at the crotch of the "L" will house the main switch for the network (1Gbit fiber linked to the main building, across the parking lot). About halfway down the long leg is another small room that will house a second switch, keeping the longest runs under 300'. There is also a minor concern that welding and CNC machinery could run on frequencies that might interfere with wireless signal, though it's unconfirmed and not necessarily anticipated. We just want to be cautious, in case it's an issue.
The question is 3-fold. 1) What brands/models would be a good fit for this application, and why? 2) Is there a group of devices that can somehow adjust to use different frequencies, or are we limited to 2.4GHz/5GHz? 3) How many AP's would this space require? What is the realistic range (3D) and also ease of management for the suggested devices?
Thanks a lot, all. Let the ideas commence...
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@art_of_shred said:
The question is 3-fold. 1) What brands/models would be a good fit for this application, and why?
Ubiquiti.
High quality, low price and central controller options that lesser units often lack.
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@art_of_shred You are going to be stuck in 2.4/5ghz range.
Coverage everywhere shouldn't be a problem.
What will be connecting to the WIFI? What kind of traffic are you expecting?
All that info will help determine how many APs to deploy.If you are needing higher bandwidth, you put in more APs and lower the power on them, If it is just web browsing/email, you can get away with fewer APs at a higher power output.
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@art_of_shred said:
2) Is there a group of devices that can somehow adjust to use different frequencies, or are we limited to 2.4GHz/5GHz?You are limited to these for two reasons...
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2.4 and 5 GHz are the only bands open for this usage by the FCC without a license. So while getting a license is an option, that becomes complex and potentially costly - not because of the license itself but because you will move from commodity WiFi equipment to high cost niche industrial gear. It's an option, but rarely a good one.
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Devices are only made for the 2.4/5 bands. If you leave the WiFi world you will need special radios on both sides to talk and that means adding a radio to every end point and precluding ones like cell phones that can't add a new radio.
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Ubiquiti for sure. They have a lot of features for a good price. How dense are the clients going to be? That will determine how many APs you need outside of coverage.
I think these would be a good fit for this. https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-pro/
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@brianlittlejohn I think the major concern is for the use of handheld inventory scanners. There will be some web browsing and cell phone use, but that isn't the primary use. I would think no more than 5-6 scanners?
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@art_of_shred said:
- How many AP's would this space require? What is the realistic range (3D) and also ease of management for the suggested devices?
This is where a site survey is ideal. Size lets us make a guess but user density, wall material, interference and other factors will all impact us and make it never more than a guess without actually wheeling equipment around and measuring the environment. For something of this size it is often most effective to just overbuild and test.
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@art_of_shred said:
@brianlittlejohn I think the major concern is for the use of handheld inventory scanners. There will be some web browsing and cell phone use, but that isn't the primary use. I would think no more than 5-6 scanners?
Then you probably don't have to worry too much outside of coverage.
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@coliver said:
I think these would be a good fit for this. https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-pro/
Those are great but only if we have AC gear in use or will in the reasonable future. Likely AC ends up being overkill. Might do find with just N gear, at least for now.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@art_of_shred said:
- How many AP's would this space require? What is the realistic range (3D) and also ease of management for the suggested devices?
This is where a site survey is ideal. Size lets us make a guess but user density, wall material, interference and other factors will all impact us and make it never more than a guess without actually wheeling equipment around and measuring the environment. For something of this size it is often most effective to just overbuild and test.
The overbuild and test is probably the best you're going to do for this. A site survey can be costly especially if you don't already have some of that equipment in hand. That and they are little more then an educated guess at the best of times.
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One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
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I'm assuming this is a metal building, with a metal skin on it. If so, you treat the L part of the building as completely separate because the walls will block most of the signal.
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On a slightly off topic note: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-edu/ I wonder how loud these are and if they are loud enough for the environment. May solve some of the issues with the current speaker system. Nevermind looks like it only supports a mobile app not sure if you could use it from a different device.
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@scottalanmiller said:
One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
Right, which is why I would go with the Pro models since they support industry standard PoE.
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@brianlittlejohn said:
I'm assuming this is a metal building, with a metal skin on it. If so, you treat the L part of the building as completely separate because the walls will block most of the signal.
Agreed.
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@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
Right, which is why I would go with the Pro models since they support industry standard PoE.
Good point.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
Right, which is why I would go with the Pro models since they support industry standard PoE.
Good point.
You could also go with Ubiquiti switches.
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@JaredBusch said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
Right, which is why I would go with the Pro models since they support industry standard PoE.
Good point.
You could also go with Ubiquiti switches.
Didn't know they could do the passive 24v that's good to know. Although then you are locking yourself down to one vendor which if you went an industry standard that wouldn't be an issue.
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@JaredBusch said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
One thing that I like about the Ubiquities, and this would apply to most decent gear, is that you can do PoE making the cabling much easier to deal with.
Right, which is why I would go with the Pro models since they support industry standard PoE.
Good point.
You could also go with Ubiquiti switches.
And do Unifi ones for total Unifi visibility.
Although I know that this site is doing a single stack switching design.
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@art_of_shred You have to do a site survey with temp powered equipment spread around if you want to be sure.
Also, you said that this is a warehouse. This means that you have to account for the fact that the wireless will be more degraded once it is filled with product. That is assuming floor to ceiling stock is in the warehouse.
