AMX NXA-WAPZD1000, Operation/Reference Manual, Page: 145 / 154

Smart Mesh Networking Best Practices
141 NXA-WAPZD1000 ZoneDirector Smart WLAN Controller
Best Practice Checklist
Following the mesh best practices will ensure that your mesh is well-designed, and have the capacity and
reliability required for your enterprise applications. The best practices are summarized below as a checklist for
quick review.
1.
Do not mix 802.11n with 802.11g APs in your mesh. They will NOT mesh. Additionally, dual band 11n
APs will not mesh with single band 11n APs. To ensure your APs will mesh with each other, ensure they
are all of the same radio type: either all 802.11g, all 802.11n single band, or all 802.11n dual band APs.
2.
Using the formula and example provided, calculate the number of RAPs and MAPs required for your
coverage area and bandwidth requirements.
3.
Ideally deploy two or more RAPs so there is an alternate path for reliability, even when capacity and
coverage only require one RAP.
4.
Avoid an excessive number of hops. Ideally keep hop count to 3 or less.
5.
Having more Roots is better for performance.
6.
Place your Root towards the middle of a coverage area so as to minimize the number of hops to reach a
given MAP.
7.
For multiple Roots, ensure that the Roots are distributed evenly throughout the coverage area.
8.
Once the APs are mounted on a test-basis or permanently, use the Signal quality measurement to ensure
that the Connected MAP uplink is 25% or better.
9.
Ideally there should be at least one alternate uplink path for every MAP, and the signal quality of that
alternate path should also be 25% or better.