• SonicWave 600 series
• Deployment Scenarios Overview
  • SonicWave 600 Series Deployment Considerations
  • SonicWave 600 Series Deployment Scenarios
• Wireless Access Point Placement Considerations
  • Radio Frequency Barriers
  • RF Interference
• Software Configuration
  • Configuring SonicOS for Wireless Access
    • Firewall-based Configuration
    • Cloud-based Configuration
  • Wireless Cloud Management Overview
    • WiFi Cloud Manager
    • WiFi Planner
    • WiFi Cloud Manager Mobile application
  • Integration with other SonicWall Software
• Managing the SonicWave with a Firewall
  • Configuring the SonicWave Provisioning Profile
  • Configuring the Network Interface
  • Configuring the WLAN Zone
• Deploying a SonicWave with Wireless Network Manager
  • Licensing Requirements
  • Registering and Deploying the SonicWave
    • Registering the SonicWave
    • Accessing the Wireless Network Manager
    • Deploying with the Wireless Network Manager
    • Creating a Zone Policy
    • Linking the Policy to the Zone
• Using SonicPoint FairNet Bandwidth Limit Policies
  • SonicPoint FairNet Features
  • Configuring SonicPoint FairNet
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

SonicWave 600 Series Deployment Considerations

Site Survey

Make sure you understand your environment and the type of deployment you need before you set up your access points (APs). Be prepared for data traffic during peak hours on your wireless network. Before you deploy your wireless network, do a site survey to figure out how many access points you need and what type of coverage to expect from your APs.

Power Requirements

It is essential to check the power compliance of your AP before connecting it to your network. The maximum power from PoE (621/641 - 802.3at) (681– 802.3bt)

AP Mounting

Access points (APs) are designed for specific use cases and environments to ensure widespread coverage. For example, an indoor AP with an integrated antenna is meant to be mounted on the ceiling in indoor office environments. This is because APs with integrated omnidirectional antennas have a 360-degree radiation pattern. Additionally, barriers such as walls, concrete, and metal partitions can cause RF blockage.

The SonicWave 600 Series are ceiling-mountable wireless access point suitable for indoor single-unit or multi-unit deployments. It is plenum rated for installation within an enclosed space such as an attic. It can also be mounted on a wall or deployed on a shelf, table, or desktop. Power over Ethernet (PoE) should be provided to power the SonicWave 600 series.

Channel Width

In high-density environments, it's important to select narrower channel widths like 20 MHz and 40 MHz. Using wider 80MHz or 160 MHz channels reduces the number of non-overlapping channels, which can lead to interference. Wider channels are better suited for low-density, high-performance needs.

In shared spaces, wireless networks use channels to divide the RF medium. The number of channels is regulated and varies by country. For devices on the 5 GHz band (802.11a/n/ac), there are up to 23 separate channels. For devices using the 2.4 GHz range (802.11b/g/n), the wireless space is limited to a maximum of 13 overlapping channels, resulting in only three discrete channels.

Data Rates

Based on how your coverage is set up, it's best to switch off data rates below 24 Mbps. This will stop the access point and client from using slow data rates, which can cause bad performance and give users a poor experience.

SonicWave 600 Series Access Points use 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6 technology to improve performance in complex environments. 1024 QAM allows more data to pass through, and 802.11ax enhances MU-MIMO with uplink and downlink capabilities.

Zero-Touch Deployment

You can easily register your unit and set up SonicWave APs using the SonicWall SonicExpress mobile application. The APs are detected and set up automatically with Zero-Touch Deployment. You can use the SonicExpress mobile application on iOS and Android to monitor and manage networks from anywhere.