Maximum number of concurrent users per Wi-Fi access point

In this article, we will provide a list of the top 7 Wi-Fi access points supported by Tanaza to connect the largest possible number of concurrent users under heavy data traffic usage.

When designing your Wi-Fi network, you need to consider client coverage carefully. Indeed, different factors can affect the number of concurrent users a wireless access point can support. Here are the main variables to consider:

• AP model: the first thing to keep in mind is that single radio devices handle a smaller number of connected users compared to dual radio access points. Look for the right dual radio Wi-Fi device for your installation with Tanaza: being multi-vendor, you can choose from a wide range of access point models from different vendors.
• Bandwidth and throughput: depending on the internet usage of your customers your access point handles a different number of concurrent users. For instance, web browsing and instant messaging require a light bandwidth usage; social media medium/light usage; Skype voice calling medium/heavy usage; video calls and video streaming (Netflix, Youtube) require heavy usage. So, if the majority of guests are uploading pictures on Instagram, a limited number of users will be supported. Conversely, if all customers are sending emails, a larger number of clients will be simultaneously connected. Read this article to know how to calculate your Wi-Fi bandwidth need. Different web application requires different throughput requirements. For instance, web browsing requires approximately 500 Kbps, whereas high throughput apps such as HD video streaming up to about 3 Mbps. Read this article to know the throughput requirements for your Wi-Fi network.
• Coverage and interference: independently of the access point performance, if users are not reached by  a powerful wireless signal, the number of simultaneously connected clients in a location will be limited. At the same time, interference due to multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs operating on the same channels could affect the propagation of the signal, which would result in less supported concurrent users. Remember to perform a site survey to assess the environment and potential interference affecting your Wi-Fi network: for instance, by relying on a network stumbler or survey tool able to detect coverage and capacity.

Given these parameters, let’s now see the top 7 access points you can deploy with Tanaza when you need to provide your Wi-Fi connection to a large number of concurrent users. The list below shows the maximum number of concurrent users the selected access point support when customers engage with a very low, low, medium, high or very high data usage. As you can see, data is expressed in Mbit/s, the unit of measure used for Wi-Fi speed.

Please note that the following data has been calculated by our tech team based on average results of our lab tests, and it is not precisely indicating how many clients you can connect in a real deployment.

Related articles:

https://www.classichotspot.com/blog/6-steps-optimize-wi-fi-network-infrastructure/