Long email. Condensed version - how are people mounting Aruba AP's to hard ceilings (cement decking or sheetrock) to keep them as low profile as possible?
We just completed installing a couple hundred Aruba AP315's in two res halls. The locations were mostly hard (concrete deck) ceilings, so cabling was piped to the locations with gangboxes at the end. We then used the Aruba AP-220-MNT-W1W (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510I%2Bz5YykL.jpg) mounts on the gang boxes. This works, but I'm not thrilled with how far the AP's sit from the ceiling. Aruba also makes a secure mount (AP-220-MNT-W2 -- https://webobjects2.cdw.com/is/image/CDW/3357117?$product-main$ ) which is only slightly (<1/8") lower .. and are $40 more expensive :/ The units came with 2 mounts for drop ceilings - to attach to the ceiling grid (https://www02.cp-static.com/objects/medium_pic/f/f14/1349706931_wall-ceiling-mounts-accessories-aruba-a-hewlett-packard-enterprise-company-220-series-access-point-mount-kit-ceiling-grid-ap-220-mnt-c2.jpg) . These mounts do not have enough real estate on them to attach to gang boxes, but they are very compact. So.. 1) The AP315's are our first Aruba AP's in about 10 years. Are there other mounts available (possibly for other Aruba lines) that are lower profile and will work with the 315's? Incidentally, the AP-220-MNT-W2 is just shy of 3.4cm high; the W1W is just proud of 3.5cm and the ceiling-grid mounts are ~1.3cm. The mounting points ("hooks") are set at 7.5cm's, with a small 5mm "post" halfway between. 2) How are people mounting their Aruba AP's? Just a side note, I don't use the ceiling grid mounts, even on drop ceilings. Mounting to the grid is taboo when working with architects (it "interrupts the aesthetics of the visual line"). They also make it difficult to access above the tiles by blocking 2 or more tiles and they don't work well if the tiles sit below the grid. Instead, we use a wall mount (like the W1W) in the center of a ceiling tile and back the tile with a 2' piece of aluminum stud for support. Here are two photos of actual installations: Hard ceiling: http://i66.tinypic.com/72vn9e.jpg Drop ceiling: http://i65.tinypic.com/1zmee4p.jpg Thanks! Oh, and I have to do a little marketing .. if you haven't registered for the upcoming Annual Conference in Anaheim .. WHY!? It's a great conference for networking with peers, and the CG sessions (Wireless-LAN and NETMAN) are well worth attending. Disneyland is right across the street from the conference center, so bring the family. -Brian ____________________________________ Brian Helman, M.Ed | Director, ITS/Networking Services | *: 978.542.7272 Salem State University, 352 Lafayette St., Salem Massachusetts 01970 GPS: 42.502129, -70.894779 ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
