Access Points

If you want to use wireless devices (such as tablets for the judges), you will need to add WiFi to your setup.

As mentioned briefly before, we prefer not to use a router with built-in WiFi. There are a couple of reasons for that:

• Most routers with built-in WiFi are made for small networks and will probably not be powerful enough for a scoring system.
• For larger setups, i.e. large competition venues or competitions with many users, you will want to use multiple access points to cover the space and provide enough capacity.
• For optimal coverage, you want to put the WiFi antenna’s up in the air, the router on the other hand is best located closer to the floor.
  

For these reasons, we advise to use a router without built-in WiFi (or with the WiFi switched off) and extend your network with one or more so called Access Points.
An access point (AP) is a device that is connected to your network through a UTP cable and has antenna’s to distribute the network traffic over WiFi.

Access Point Requirements

• Dual radio (2.4 + 5G): Support for both the 2.4G and the 5G frequency ranges is important. You need 2.4G support because there are still devices being used that don’t support 5G. 5G on the other hand is important, because the 2.4G band is heavily used already in most public venues, so it might be difficult to find a usable channel there. The 5G band might also be used already, but offers many more channels, so there will always be unused channels. Some AP’s will automatically distribute clients over both bands to increase capacity.
• Automatic Channel selection (preferably with DFS support): an AP with automatic channel selection, will scan the environment to find out which channels are used by other WiFi networks and try to select the best available channel. If you have an AP without automatic channel selection, you need to check for yourself if the AP is not using a channel that is already used by other networks and change the AP configuration accordingly. DFS is an option which works in combination with automatic channel selection. Some 5G channels can only be used under the condition that no radar stations are close by. An AP with DFS, will detect the presens of radar signals and block the appropriate channels. Without DFS, these channels are always blocked.
• AP controller: in the range of professional AP’s, some models depend on an external controller for their operation. The controller is the part that has the WiFi configuration (with the name of the network, the security settings, etc…). Working with an external controller might be interesting if your installation is permanent. When working with a setup that needs to be flexible and is built-up temporarily, it is easier to work with AP’s that don’t depend on an external controller.
• AP co-operation: if you ever want to use multiple AP’s in your network, you want to make sure that they play nice together. You want to work with a single network name and password, such that devices can seamlessly connect through the AP that has the best signal (also called roaming). To achieve this, it is required that you deploy AP’s that are capable to co-operate. In most cases this means that you will need to use AP’s of the same brand at least or even the same model. Be sure to check how the AP’s you want use can be configured to work together to create a single WiFi network.
• WiFi standards: Speeds and standards of WiFi connections have evolved over time. The most recent standard currently widely available is 802.11ac. When buying new access points, you want at least support for this standard. The AP’s will also be downward compatible with devices that don’t support the latest standard. Support for this standard is not only important for maximal speed of the connection, the latest standards also provide better support for multiple simultaneous connections and are thus be better suited for many users.
• Number of radio’s: Modern AP’s use all kinds of techniques to maximize network throughput, but the 802.11ac standard introduced a common standardized way to allow simultaneous communication with multiple client devices: MU-MIMO, which stands for Multi User Multiple In Multiple Out. This technique allows the AP to send data to multiples clients in parallel. In order to do that , the AP uses multiple radio’s. In the specifications of the AP you will find things like 2×2 MIMO or 3×3 MIMO. The numbers mentioned stand for the number of radio’s used to receive and send out data respectively. A higher number of radio’s implies support for more simultaneous connections and thus a higher throughput.

Examples of access points

Ubiquiti UniFi Access Points

Ubiquiti has a range of access points available under the UniFi subbrand. There are different models, with different maximal speeds and MIMO configurations.

To configure the UniFy access points you will need to install the UniFy controller software package on a computer. After initial setup, the controller software is not needed in the network for the access points to operate, unless you need to change the configuration.

All models of the UniFy line use the same firmware package and are able to be used together in the same network. With the controller software you can assign the AP’s to the same network (SSID). You can even create multiple SSID’s, all running from the same AP’s. You could use this feature to have more control over who can connect to your network, e.g. you can add an temporary SSID for one event to give a group access during the event and remove the SSID for the next event.

The UniFy access points are powered of the network connection (PoE). To use them you will need either a PoE enabled switch, or use a PoE injector. The PoE injector is included with some packages, check carefully when ordering to see if you need to order them separately.

We have been using the UniFy AP-AC PRO for events with up to 40 users without reaching the limits of its capacities. According to specs, one access point can handle 200 users, but we expect this to be mostly theoretical.
The newer model AP-AC HD increases the specs once more (mostly by an upgrade to 4×4 MIMO) and has support for up to 500 users according to specs. For a smaller setup, you can also consider the AP-AC Lite.

We have found the spacial coverage of the access points to be sufficient for venues where the users are up 30 meters away from the AP in an open space. If you need to cover bigger distances, we would recommend to use a second AP.

Ruckus Access Points

Ruckus has a long tradition of providing WiFi devices for large user groups. Compared to similar priced devices from other brands, the specs might not look too impressive, however we have found no issues using their R510 model with a large number of users (i.e. up to 70 users). In general this brand is trusted to run very stable with large numbers of users.

Ruckus has a wide variety of AP’s, be sure to select a model that works stand alone (without external controller).
The R 510 model that we have been using, has a built-in configuration web page, which you can access from your computer to setup the SSID and security settings. The access points have cooperation built in. The first AP in the network automatically becomes the master. All other AP’s connected afterwards, will mirror the setup of the master AP.

The AP’s are also designed to be powered with PoE, however they also have a DC 9V connector (adapter not included with the package).