Six MUST DOs for a successful Wi-Fi 6 migration

Six MUST DOs for a successful Wi-Fi 6 migration

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
Published by: Research Desk Released: Mar 30, 2021

Wi-Fi 6 APs require more power to unleash their full potential. The 802.11ax APs have added more capabilities and are more feature rich. Make sure your switches support 802.3at, PoE to deliver 30W per port. Also check your PoE budget to ensure the 802.11ax APs are fully operational. Don’t worry if you have to install an access point on an 802.3af port, the AP will still work (in most cases), but at a reduced capacity. To fully benefit from supporting more spatial streams, it is recommended that PoE be available for the new APs. If you find your edge switching doesn’t support PoE , it’s a good time to replace your switches.

Because of the additional bandwidth capacity supported by Wi-Fi 6 APs, you need to make sure your network is free of any bottlenecks, especially the edge switches that connect to the APs. Many Wi-Fi 6 APs support 802.3bz. 802.3bz makes it possible to support 2.5Gbps on Cat6 and Cat5e cables. Check your cable infrastructure to ensure your APs and switches support N-Base-T. The additional dense client support and additional bandwidth is best utilized when operating at full capability, per the PoE recommendation.