Need advice for warehouse/office mesh system 18,000 sq ft

[Richard Chalk]

I am asking for recommendations for a mesh system to cover a large warehouse/factory/office. Total area about 18,000 square Feet, with the office space separated by possibly metal walls. I have the ability to string cable for interconnects between the office and warehouse spaces, and also within the warehouse if desirable. Most of the systems I see are designed for home use, but I think I need something considerably bigger. The customer has no cell service inside an all-steel building, so is depending on WiFi calling. The ability to roam the entire premises without dropping calls is important. Can anyone point me in a good direction for a system? Thanks

 

[sfx2000]

With the size of the space being covered, along with your business requirements, this likely is a job for a pro...

Consumer gear isn't going to scale to your needs

 

[eibgrad]

I agree w/ @sfx2000. This sounds well beyond your typical consumer-grade installation. You need something minimally at the prosumer level, such as Ubiquiti. You might want to look into the CrosstalkSolutions YouTube channel, where Chris Sherwood talks a lot about their equipment (and others when appropriate) and does larger installations from time to time.

Even if you never talk w/ Chris, his videos are very good, and will give you at least an idea of what is available. And the best thing about Ubiquiti is NO software licensing or maintenance fees. Those savings can add up significantly over time.

No, I'm NOT a CrossTalk/Ubiquiti rep, but I just find their equipment to be very interesting and a good bang for the buck when you consider the alternatives.

At the end of the day, you'll probably at least need help w/ installation. I doubt you or your own staff will want to be climbing the rafters to mount APs!

 

[Tech9]

I run similar size warehouse and 8x APs provide Wi-Fi, half with 2.4GHz disabled, all @40MHz on 5GHz band, all Cisco. I can’t give any recommendations though because someone has to see the place and recommend the right equipment. It’s important what is going to use the network, what traffic is expected, what speeds are needed, etc. This project is not for an Internet forum. The budget is very important as well. I do have a new 2.5GbE capable system upgrade and I can tell the equipment cost jumps over $10K quite fast for firewall, switch and APs only.

 

[degrub]

Why not use a cell repeater inside the metal building if cell service would be adequate ?
Antenna on the roof with a cellular repeater inside.