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todanielchow's avatar
todanielchow
Aspirant
Dec 16, 2015
Solved

multiple WNDAP360 in one room, 100+ devices

Hello everyone, we have a WC7520 controller with about 34 WNDAP360 to cover our entire secondary school campus. Its working quite well. But some of our spaces are starting to assemble 90+ students in one area, each student can have one or even up to 3 devices. Obiously that one access point in the room is a bit overworked. :) I was informed that one WNDAP360 device is good for about 40 onnections. What are my solutions to connect 90+ devices in the same space? 

 

  1. If I put 4 WNDAP360 Wireless Access Points in one room with 90+ connections, will the access points automatically load balance the 90 devices? Can I even put more than one WAP in a room? Do I need to configure their radio frequency or are those days gone? 

  2. On a different scenario, lets say there are 4 access points in the room, but everyone is crowded around ONE access point. Wil lthe other remaining access points attempt to balance the load? Will their devices automatically connect to the strongest signal? Is it their personal device that "decides" which access point to connect to or is that the "decision" of the access point? What if the other access points are a good distance away from the one that 90 devices are trying to connect it? 

  3. Unrelated question … can I add a MAC address to the WC7520 controller? Anytime it sees a NIC with that MAC address, it’ll provide internet access. This will save me from having to enter the password in the machine every time I change it. I’d also like the ability to upload a list of MAC addresses that I authorize to access the internet. Is this possible?

  4. What is the best way to allow great interet access for 50, 100, 150 devices in the same room? 

 

Thanks! 

  • Hi todanielchow,

     

    Welcome to the community! :)

     

    Regarding your concerns, I think you will need to configure Load Balancing and Basic Local MAC Authentication on the WC7520.  Kindly read pages 107-108 about Load Balancing and pages 118-119 about Basic Local MAC Authentication on the WC7520 reference manual here.

     

     

    Regards,

     

    DaneA

    NETGEAR Community Team

3 Replies

  • DaneA's avatar
    DaneA
    NETGEAR Employee Retired

    Hi todanielchow,

     

    Welcome to the community! :)

     

    Regarding your concerns, I think you will need to configure Load Balancing and Basic Local MAC Authentication on the WC7520.  Kindly read pages 107-108 about Load Balancing and pages 118-119 about Basic Local MAC Authentication on the WC7520 reference manual here.

     

     

    Regards,

     

    DaneA

    NETGEAR Community Team

    • todanielchow's avatar
      todanielchow
      Aspirant

      Thanks Dane! 

       

      So when I purchased the system a couple of years ago, I worked with Mark E. and Keith N., they mentioned that these WNDAP360 access points are good for about 40 simultaneous connections each. An email I was sent regarding this question mentioned that the WNDAP360's are good for about 128 connections... which one do I go with? 

       

      I will try the load balancing feature, but do I need to add more access points to the same room when trying to connect 90-100+ devices in that room? 

       

      Thank you for the response! 

      • JohnRo's avatar
        JohnRo
        NETGEAR Employee Retired

        Hello todanielchow, 

         

        Yes, the WNDAP360 has support for up to 128 users with controller management. Now, when using load balancing you can specify the maximum number of devices that can associate to the access point. If the maximum number has been reached, they will be pushed to the closest access point. The decision to add more APs will come down to how much load you want a single AP to handle. If you want a better performance, you will have to set the AP to a lower number and add another access point. 

         

        I hope the information I provided will help you if you have more questions let us know. 

         

         

        Thanks, 

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