What is the difference between sectorized antennae and beam steering? Which is better in my enterprise environment, which has lots of cubicles and particle boards, as well as a significant amount of corridors? What is the difference between sectorized antennae and beam steering? Which is better in my enterprise environment, which has lots of cubicles and particle boards, as well as a significant amount of corridors?– Bill, Washington D.C.There is a variety of different antennae technologies available today, each with varying levels of intelligence and functionality. To understand which is best for your environment, we’ll take a step back and provide a quick overview of the most common antennae technologies available today: Sectorized antennae are the most common in wireless access points today. This refers to internal antennae that are configurable for either omni- or sectorized-directional antennae coverage. Beam-Forming – Butler Matrix is often viewed as the next step up in antennae intelligence. This type of antennae typically uses a panel of four or more antennae feeding either a digital or analog Butler Matrix to form multiple beams that can be manually or automatically steered for directional coverage.Beam-Forming – Spatial Equalizer is the “ultimate” in antennae intelligence today. It typically uses a panel of four or more antennae, with a full linear transceiver behind each antenna. The spatial equalizer allows the system to produce gain in any given direction but also steers nulls in any given direction to maximize the strength of the desired signal and at the same time minimize the signal from interference sources.While every enterprise environment is unique, nine times out of 10, I would recommend an access point with configurable sectorized antennae for traditional indoor enterprise applications. Access points with configurable sectorized antennae are the lowest in cost, simplest to deploy and provide more than adequate coverage in a business environment.Beam-forming technologies do provide 20 to 30 dBi of antennae gain, which is an advantage over the 6 to 10 dBi provided by indoor access points with sectorized antennae. However, this advantage in antennae gain is greatly reduced when moving from an outdoor environment to an indoor environment due to the number of physical obstacles. As your specified environment has a large number of cubicles and walls, I would expect that you would see minimal extra gain from a beam forming antennae. This will probably not be enough to offset the additional cost and footprint associated with that type of solution. Until the cost and size of beam-forming technology is significantly reduced, it is compelling only for outdoor environments and select specialized indoor applications. But since great progress is being made in this area, I would stay tuned. Related content news Cisco CCNA and AWS cloud networking rank among highest paying IT certifications Cloud expertise and security know-how remain critical in building today’s networks, and these skills pay top dollar, according to Skillsoft’s annual ranking of the most valuable IT certifications. Demand for talent continues to outweigh s By Denise Dubie Nov 30, 2023 7 mins Certifications Network Security Networking news Mainframe modernization gets a boost from Kyndryl, AWS collaboration Kyndryl and AWS have expanded their partnership to help enterprise customers simplify and accelerate their mainframe modernization initiatives. By Michael Cooney Nov 30, 2023 4 mins Mainframes Cloud Computing Data Center news AWS and Nvidia partner on Project Ceiba, a GPU-powered AI supercomputer The companies are extending their AI partnership, and one key initiative is a supercomputer that will be integrated with AWS services and used by Nvidia’s own R&D teams. By Andy Patrizio Nov 30, 2023 3 mins CPUs and Processors Generative AI Supercomputers news VMware stung by defections and layoffs after Broadcom close Layoffs and executive departures are expected after an acquisition, but there's also concern about VMware customer retention. By Andy Patrizio Nov 30, 2023 3 mins Virtualization Data Center Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe