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Cisco Aironet Series 2700/3700 Access Points Deployment Guide
Cisco Aironet Series 3700 Access Point
Tip
Verify coverage using the worst performing clients that you intend to deploy.
4.
If you require 3 spatial stream coverage for the fastest throughput, and you are looking for the best
BYOD experience, the Cisco Aironet 3700 with ClientLink 3.0 is best in class. Additionally, the
3600 Series APs with ClientLink 2.0 will perform better than the AP 3500. The AP 3600 and AP
3700 can beamform to 802.11n and legacy 11a/g clients. So, it is important to understand the data
requirements if you are mixing Cisco Aironet 1260, 3500, and 3600 Series Access Points in the same
areas.
5.
While site surveys are generally recommended, if the design is done at half power and Cisco RRM
is in place, sometimes a limited site survey (coverage check) is adequate for smaller venues. If it is
a very challenging environment such as train connectivity, Gas & Oil verticals, large hospitals, and
so on, Cisco has an Advanced Services team that can be contracted to help you get up to speed or
perform your installation. Contact your Cisco account team for more information.
6.
Cisco AP 3600 was introduced in the Release 7.1.91 or higher code stream and is supported by the
following: Cisco 2500, 7500, 5508, and WiSM2 Series Controllers and WCS 7.0.220 or higher and
NCS 1.1 or higher. The APs 1600 and 2600 were introduced in the 7.4 release. The Cisco AP 3700
was introduced in the 7.6 and higher code stream.
7.
The rule of thumb coverage plan is 1 AP per 5,000 square feet for data and 1 per 3,000 square feet
for voice and location services.
8.
Some clients (especially older ones) do not support the UNII-2 extended client channels 100-140.
So, if you have lots of older clients you may want to disable them in the DCA channel list.
Note
More and more clients support these channels all the time, as will the newer 802.11ac clients.
802.11ac Primer – How is it different from 802.11n?
802.11ac is backward compatible with 802.11n but is coming in “Waves” which are different features
and functionality. New features and functionality often require new hardware, as in the case of the AP
3700. It supports 802.11ac (wave-1) integrated and the AP 3600 (via the 11ac wave-1 option module).
An AP that is not modular typically requires a complete hardware replacement – Access Points
supporting modules can provide greater longevity and continued usefulness as the technology changes.
The first release of 802.11ac (Wave-1) brings the following features over 802.11n.
802.11ac Wave-1 features include:
•
Faster PHY rate 1.3 Gbps over the typical 450 Mbps of 802.11n
•
Introduction of faster modulation 256 QAM over the 64 QAM of 802.11n – This creates many new
data rates similar to 802.11n but in many cases faster rates with single stream and multiple stream
devices
•
Ability to bond 80 MHz channels versus 40 MHz bonding of 802.11n – This can greatly enhance
the throughput of devices that only support 1 spatial stream by extending the usable bandwidth of
the device (often portable battery operated devices lacking multiple radios) spatial streams.
•
Explicit Compressed Beam Forming – This is similar to what was proposed in 802.11n and is a
method whereas the client can take advantage of sounding mechanisms to essentially tell the Access
Point how to better beam form the signal back to the client. This functionality only works with
