Logistics and Warehouse Network

A logistics warehouse network (WMS, picking, AGVs, RFID, CCTV) combines extensive Wi-Fi coverage (20,000-100,000 m²), massive IoT connectivity, and mission-critical availability. Every hour offline triggers cascading delays. 2026 logistics architecture guide.

Warehouse requirements

• Area: 10,000 to 100,000 m² per building
• Ceiling height: 10-25 m (affects Wi-Fi design)
• Density: 1 AP / 800-1500 m² depending on racking
• Devices: handheld PDA scanners, forklift tablets, AGVs, RFID readers, CCTV
• SLA: 99.9% minimum (one hour of downtime means hundreds of delayed orders)
• Temperature: 0-40°C standard, -25°C for cold storage

Warehouse Wi-Fi challenges

• Metal racking: absorption, reflection, and dead zones
• AGVs/robots: fast roaming <50 ms
• High-level stock (5-10 m): ceiling-mounted APs for coverage
• Frequent layout changes: an active site survey is mandatory
• Interference: RFID scanners (900 MHz), electric motors

Architecture

• Core: 2× Cisco Catalyst 9500 or Aruba CX 8325
• Distribution: industrial IE3400/IE3300 switches (DIN-rail mounted in cabinets)
• Access: Cisco CW9162 or Aruba AP-635/655 (high-power WiFi 6E)
• Outdoor Wi-Fi: Cisco CW9163 (IP67) for loading docks and yards
• Uplinks: OS2 single-mode fiber (>500 m between zones)

Recommended Wi-Fi vendors

• Cisco Meraki MR57 / 9172: simple, cloud-managed, excellent roaming
• Aruba AP-655/665: excellent, with Mist-like AI through Aruba Central
• Juniper Mist AP43/45: predictive AI roaming (Marvis)
• Ruckus R750/R770: BeamFlex+ antenna technology, ideal for high-attenuation environments

Scanners and PDAs

• Zebra MC3300/TC72: rugged Android PDA, WiFi 6
• Honeywell CN80: rugged scanner for order picking
• Battery: minimum 10-12h runtime
• Roaming: 802.11k/v/r is mandatory to prevent VoIP disruptions

AGVs and robots

• Amazon Robotics, Locus, Geek+: WiFi 6 required
• Private 5G (Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens): greater control and improved determinism
• Latency: <20 ms for multi-robot coordination
• Seamless handover: 802.11r required

Warehouse IoT

• Passive/active RFID: 900 MHz, separate from Wi-Fi
• BLE: beacons for indoor location tracking
• Temperature/humidity sensors: WiFi 2.4 GHz or LoRaWAN
• CCTV: 4K IP cameras, POE++

Segmentation

• VLAN 10: OFFICE (administrative offices)
• VLAN 20: WMS (WMS application/DB)
• VLAN 30: SCANNERS (PDAs, forklift tablets)
• VLAN 40: AGV (autonomous robots)
• VLAN 50: IOT (RFID, sensors)
• VLAN 60: CCTV
• VLAN 99: MGMT

Popular WMS platforms

• SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM)
• Manhattan WMS
• HighJump / Korber
• Oracle Warehouse Management Cloud
• Reflex WMS (French market leader)

Budget for a 30,000 m² warehouse

• 30× Cisco 9166 WiFi 6E APs: ~€30,000 excl. VAT
• 3× outdoor dock APs: ~€3,000 excl. VAT
• 10× IE3400 DIN-rail switches: ~€20,000 excl. VAT
• Catalyst 9500 HA core: ~€30,000 excl. VAT
• FortiGate 100F HA + UTM: ~€12,000 excl. VAT
• Installation + fiber cabling: ~€50,000 excl. VAT
• Total: ~€150,000 excl. VAT

Order from OPTINOC

Turnkey logistics network. Cisco/Aruba WiFi 6E + Cisco IE industrial switches. Site survey included. Expertise in AGVs/private 5G. Quote for 5,000-100,000 m² facilities within 1 week.