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Calcimator

Wireless AP Density Calculator

Calculate access point count from user density, coverage area, and throughput requirements for enterprise Wi-Fi design.

Inputs

sq ft
Mbps
Mbps
%

Results

Total APs Needed

6

BW per User (Actual)

18.8 Mbps

APs for Coverage3
APs for User Capacity6
APs for Bandwidth4
Concurrent Users160
Users per AP (Actual)27
Total BW Needed1,600 Mbps
Limiting FactorUser Capacity
Aps Per Channel242
Aps Per Channel51
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Total Wi-Fi Users, Coverage Area, and Max Users per AP.
  2. Set Bandwidth per User, AP Throughput, and Concurrency Rate.
  3. Adjust Environment Type as needed.
  4. Review Total APs Needed and BW per User (Actual) (Mbps).
  5. Use APs for Coverage and APs for User Capacity to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Total Wi-Fi Users

Total Wi-Fi UsersTotal APs NeededBW per User (Actual)
5,00113416.7 Mbps
17,50146716.7 Mbps
32,50086716.7 Mbps
45,0001,20016.7 Mbps

What each input means

Total Wi-Fi Users
Total number of wireless users/devices
Coverage Area
Total area to be covered by Wi-Fi in square feet
Max Users per AP
Maximum concurrent users per access point (25-50 typical)
Bandwidth per User
Minimum bandwidth required per user
AP Throughput
Effective aggregate throughput per AP (not marketing rate)
Concurrency Rate
Percentage of users active simultaneously
Environment Type
1=Office (walls), 2=Classroom, 3=Auditorium/Open, 4=Warehouse

How this is calculated

Formula

APs = max(Area/Coverage, Users/UsersPerAP, TotalBW/APthroughput)

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Total Wi-Fi Users = 200, Coverage Area = 20000, Max Users per AP = 30, Bandwidth per User = 10 = 7 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total APs Needed
    Total APs Needed
    6 = 6
  3. Calculate BW per User
    BW per User
    18.8 = 18.8
  4. Calculate APs for Coverage
    APs for Coverage
    3 = 3
  5. Calculate APs for User Capacity
    APs for User Capacity
    6 = 6

Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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