I have a small project on my hands. Building a wireless network for a community of 300 houses. This is only on paper most likely will not be implemented, but I want to be as precise as possible. Backbone and layout of the network are done. The question I have is about Mesh network. I’m going to use Mikrotiks 5.8Ghz for the backbone and 2.4GHz between the client and the AP. How far a part I can put the APs one from another so get good coverage on the 2.4Ghz ?I know it depends on the trees, type of structure and so on. This is in US, here houses are made from wood and Sheetrock not concrete and bricks.
This is the map of the community.
How many AP are needed and how far apart they need to be so there is good coverage?
If the backbone is designed, then this would indicate that you have already chosen ap locations.
Are there any aesthetic restraints? Many planned housing communities in the US have significant restrictions on what is visible.
Does the community have above ground utilities? Have you negotiated use of utility poles if so? If not, what options do you have for mounting APs? Streetlights?
There are many variable here that you haven’t provided information for.
Type of client:Indoor CPE
No aesthetic restrictions.
The APs are going to be mounted on streetlight poles. The community has a water tower to which the Mesh APs can be pointed.
How about some real world examples… in a typical dense node deployment with 5ghz back and 2.4 20mhz access, for indoor cpe and outdoor wifi, we typically deploy nodes approximately 400m apart when using 5db omnis. This environment is typical in my local area where you must zigzag down the road from one intersection to another because of tree overgrowth and even then it normally isn’t los between blocks.
When we change this to a sector on a higher location (25m+), i.e., your water tower (though you mention only backhauling to this location), we see up to 900m possible with indoor cpe’s, though it is hit or miss on the longer shots. Typically we deploy the indoor cpe near a window with a window splatch antenna facing the nearest ap.
