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Proper Antenna Mounting

Antennas come in many different styles and form factors, and you have even more choices with mounting brackets. Some antennas are designed to be mounted to a mast, others to a drop ceiling, and others to a custom bracket. Most antenna manufacturers provide some type of mounting for the antennas. However, not all "standard" mounting solutions will work in all situations. A number of companies offer a wide variety of accessories for mounting antennas. Most of these are designed for outdoor applications, but work just fine for the indoor WLANs. However, some antennas are not sealed for outdoor use. Prior to using any antenna outdoors, verify that the antenna is rated for outdoor exposure. Also verify that any outdoor antenna is mounted properly to prevent water from entering any vent holes that might exist. Another concern with antenna mounting is to be certain they are positioned properly and they are secure in that position. Failure to secure an antenna properly can result in poor performance, or even the possibility of falling and causing damage or injury.

At some sites, installation will be easy. In Figure 12-12, the Yagi antenna, the AP, and all connections are mounted to a single piece of plywood, which in turn is mounted to the wall. This particular installation is located at a large home-improvement store.

Likewise, not all sites require a large number of APs and antennas. If the application bandwidth requirement is minimal, user density is low, and minimum bandwidth is fine, you can use a minimum number of APs to provide adequate coverage. In Figure 12-13, the installation for a retail appliance store uses a single AP with a single patch antenna mounted on the front wall.