We have an XGS116 Firewall which acts as our gateway. We run a variety of switches through out the school, the majority of which are HP Aruba 2530. Our access points are various models of Engenius POEs. The access points are all at the stage of life where they will need replacing over the next 6-12 months. We have just obtained three APX 320 Access Points on trial to test a proposed site survey / heat pattern prepared by Sophos engineers. The heat pattern was designed to take into account the more modern features of the access points versus the older plans made some 20 years back. If the Sophos heat plan is correct we will need only 1/2 the number of Sophos access points as we now have installed. Our building is virtually 100% cinder block.
If I run a single APX 320 they seem to work fine. If I connect the three at the same time based upon the site survey, I get very odd results. The APX 320s install fine, registered in Central without an issue, clearly show in Central for management purposes, and indicate Green (operational) in Central. However, in practice, they seem to either not find the network, find only some of the devices attempting to connect, or will go "offline" for 20-30 minutes for no reason, then come back on line and operate normally. I have yet to discover any point in time when I have a known problem and the access points show such in Central. It appears as though once they are registered and operating in Central they remain Green no matter what is actually happening.
Needless to say, I am disappointed at this point. Our network runs around 50 PCs, 250 Chromebooks and who know how many smartphones. The network currently runs around 40 access points. I am not trained as a computer science guy, know a little about a lot but not much detail about anything. My knowledge is based upon 20 years of experience. Being what I consider basically plug and play, I love the concept of the Sophos integrated network, but at this point may be ready to move elsewhere.
What do I do next?
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[edited by: Erick Jan at 2:15 AM (GMT -8) on 12 Jan 2024]
