We've mounted them below the ceiling from the very first installations with the exceptions of some access points serving antennas on the building exterior.
We have experienced less than six stolen access points in roughly 10 years. I don't recall any units actually being vandalized. We did have some folks in our Facilities department express concerns with aesthetics of access points below the ceiling in the early days, but they have come to realize that the access points tend to blend in with the exit signs, smoke detectors, etc. after a short period of time. We do try to use access points with built in antennas e.g. Cisco 1142, where possible. -------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Lawrence RCDD, NTS, WD Georgia Institute of Technology Office of Information Technology 258 4th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30332 Ph: 404-894-9504 Fax: 404-894-3599 From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Fleming, Tony Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 2:33 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Mount hidden or in plain view in dorms? Crew, We hide our access points above ceiling grids. Our logic is the devices are out of site and less prone to vandalism (in fact we have had zero vandalism). One concern that has been expressed by our wireless team is the congestion above the ceiling grid - pipes, HVAC ducting, lighting and cables. It is logical that all of these obstructions do not help RF propagation and create sources of interference. My question for you guys: Did any of you change your mounting locations from above ceiling grid to below the grid (visible)? Did you notice substantial signal improvement? What is the vandalism rate? Did your facilities/administrative folks express any concerns about the AP visibility? ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
