AP1242 in harsh environment

AlexioUBS · ‎12-26-2007

Dear Sirs.

I have installed AP1242 access point in rather harsh environment indoors. The AP is in 3 meters below the ceiling of the warehouse, however, the ceiling is not completely sealed. I've installed the AP on the vertical surface, so the upper side of 1242 is in 3 meters from the ceiling. 1242 has a hole on its upper side (with lock pictogram near it). I'm afraid that some amount of water can hit the upper side of 1242 and get to that hole.

Kindly advise if it is safe to use 1242 in such conditions.

Rob Huffman · ‎12-26-2007

Hi Alexei,

If there is any chance of moisture hitting the AP then the 1242 is not your best choice. You can probably install some sort of weather-proof enclosure around the AP but a far better choice would be the 1300 Series. These are made for Outdoor environments.

Cisco Aironet 1300 Series IEEE 802.11g Wireless Outdoor Access Point and Bridge

Provides access point, wireless bridge, and workgroup bridge capabilities with enhanced WLAN security. For high-speed, cost-effective wireless connectivity between multiple fixed or mobile networks and clients, this ruggedized platform is ideal for public access for outdoor areas, network connections within a campus area, or outdoor infrastructures for mobile networks and users. Engineered specifically for harsh outdoor environments, the Cisco Aironet 1300 Series is ideal for WLANs requiring outdoor coverage. The Cisco Aironet 1300 Series is available in either a lightweight version or an autonomous version that may be field-upgraded to lightweight operation.

Note: The Cisco Aironet 1300 Series supports LWAPP when operating as an access point. When it operates in bridge mode, however, it does not support the LWAPP protocol.

For more information on the Cisco Aironet 1300 Series Access Points, visit

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5861/products_data_sheet09186a00802252e1.html.

From this good overview doc;

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6087/prod_brochure0900aecd8035a015.html

Hope this helps and Happy Holidays!

Rob

AlexioUBS · ‎12-27-2007

Hi Rob.

Thanks for the answer.

Do you think its really dangerous to use 1242 in mentioned conditions? The thing is that it will be really hard to convince the customer to but 1300 AP which is more expensive.

1242 is not installed outdoors, but indoors in a warehouse (with some chance of fluid hitting the casing from the ceiling), however, Ethernet, console and power jack are located on the bootom of AP.

Maybe it is possible to seal that hole on the upper side of AP with some kind of tape to insure that fulid can not get to the casing from that hole?

Regards

Alexei.

Rob Huffman · ‎12-27-2007

Hi Alexei,

First off, you are most welcome :) I don't think that this would be dangerous in any way, just that you run the risk of killing the AP if any moisture penetrates the hardware. I do think that you can mitigate this problem using the method you have suggested for mounting and covering the access holes. You should warn the customer of possible issues that may arise due to the openings in the roof and see if they want to live with the possibilities of downtime etc. It may be fairly cheap to mount a weatherproof enclosure around the 1242's as well.

Hope this helps!

Rob