User's Manual

Install the AP300

AP1000 Beta Test

 Relatively unobstructed access to the stations the AP serves. Select a location with minimal physical

obstructions between the AP and the wireless stations. In an office with cubicles, mounting the APs

below a hanging ceiling (plenum is supported) or the wall near the ceiling provides the least

obstructed communications path. On a wall, orient the AP300 horizontally so that you can read the

Meru logo without tilting your head at 90 degrees - this orientation provides optimum MIMO

performance.

 Access to wall outlet or a to a Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection to the network switch servicing

the controller.

 We recommend planning for about 50 clients per radio (or per interference region) if you plan to

use Virtual Port and plan to have phones as clients. For a data-only installation, plan up to 128

clients per radio, meaning 256 for AP320 and 128 for other AP300 models. Refer to the Meru

Deployment Guides on the support site for more information.

AP300 is designed to provide 360 degree omni-directional coverage as illustrated below. Plan place-

ment with this pattern in mind.

Figure 7: Coverage Pattern for AP300 When Ceiling Mounted

Most installations receive the best coverage using the following guidelines:

 Install APs toward the center of the building.

 Place APs about 80 feet apart.

 Do not install APs near metal objects, such as heating ducts, metal doors, or electric service panels.

 For best coverage, orient antennas as shown in Figure 6.

Attach the Provided Antennas

All AP300s have six external antenna ports, labeled 1 - 6. These units operate with six antennas

attached, even though some configurations don’t use all six. Instead of attaching an antenna, you can

cap unused antenna connectors with 50 ohm Reverse Polarity SMA terminators. (For a list of approved

terminators, see http://www.merunetworks.com/merusupport

.) Meru supplied antennas are suitable

only for indoor use unless they are mounted in an outdoor enclosure (see Mount AP300 in a Hoffman

Enclosure). To achieve the best performance from your AP300, position antennas at a 90 degree angle

relative to each other as shown in Figure 6. The antennas do not have to be oriented exactly as shown

in the figure, but it is important to maintain the relative angles. If for some reason you are unable to

maintain those angles, the network still operates, but you may experience up to 20% drop in throughput

depending on the antenna orientation.

ceiling

floor