LebGeeks

Kareem

Member

Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

Hello guys, I'm renovating my apartment and I'm trying to  get the fastest and best coverage in every spot in the house ( I know I'm asking too much )

What I have :

- Server closet with proper cooling and ventilation ( wall mount rack 18U)

- Cisco SG-300-52p ( PoE+ - 375W )
-Cat6 sockets in everyroom
- Crestron home automation
-Amazon Alexa/echo dot etc...
- 10 cm (4") concrete walls 

What I need :

- Full coverage and full speed ( preferably over 5GHz )
- No dropouts when moving between rooms.

I do not have a lot of users connecting to the AP but since most of the home appliances  are "smart" ( fridge / washing machine / oven / TV etc.. )  I expect the number of devices connected to the access point including the users to be around 20 maximum.

I am not sure if a mesh network  ( Amplifi HD / Velop / Orbi etc.. ) is enough or maybe installing a couple of Cisco Aironet / Ubiquity UAP-Pro/HD is the way to go.

Below is the floor plan. 

ironman

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

Wow, i am also facing the same issue, i recently bought an apartment, and i am willing to install a small cabinet, etc etc.

I will be going for the Ubiquity Pro / Nano HD (will be released by the end of April in the US)

Good luck

Kareem

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

Wow, i am also facing the same issue, i recently bought an apartment, and i am willing to install a small cabinet, etc etc.

I will be going for the Ubiquity Pro / Nano HD (will be released by the end of April in the US)

Good luck

Actually I just installed their software and the concrete walls are our best enemy. a UAP-AC-HD alone won't do any better than a decent wifi rounter.

I did the planning and the thing is that you MUST put an AP in most of the rooms to insure a proper 5GHz coverage ( I'm not gonna use the 2.4GHz )

The best setup is buying 4 or 5 UAP-AC-IW-PRO

Draguen

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

as of personal experience, stay away from powerline extenders and wifi extenders.

in your situation i would go with mesh routers, but that's just because i like to dable with (relatively) new tech

Last edited by Draguen (April 24 2018)

ironman

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

Well the thing is... that your apartment is huge, i would need between 2-3 APs to cover my house.
And i guess that the main benefit of the Ubiquity is not the range, it is the number of simultaneous connections, the reliability and the stable speed.

Kareem

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

as of personal experience, stay away from powerline extenders and wifi extenders.

in your situation i would go with mesh routers, but that's just because i like to dable with (relatively) new tech

Actually I'm trying to stay away from both extenders and traditional mesh networks. ideally, ethernet backhaul will give you the best performance as there is no hop between devices.

So far hardwired APs seem to be the best bet. I'll continue my research.

PS: I wouldn't call a 250 m2 apartment " huge"

elserge82

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

as of personal experience, stay away from powerline extenders and wifi extenders.

in your situation i would go with mesh routers, but that's just because i like to dable with (relatively) new tech

Hehe, same here, I like implementing new tech, Mesh tech is by far better than the extenders but you are only limit to 3 AP and the root should be in the center (talking about asus mesh tech not sure about other brands). going wire with AC AP is the ultimate solution.better keeping it "simple".

I'm not sure which brand would make your hand over from AP to another as smooth as possible.

Kareem

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

I'm not sure which brand would make your hand over from AP to another as smooth as possible.

Well no lag usually. Roaming decisions are made by the client so some issues are expected, but in the proper setup moving from one AP to another is mostly seamless. VOIP is the exception as there is no buffering possible, but even carrier WiFi calling on a cell phone works fine.

UniFi has a proprietary roaming acceleration enabled by default which works well, and a deprecated "Fast roaming" which should not be used (the one with APs on the same channel)...

I see a lot of Cisco Aironet in commercial places , hotels etc... but the price is insanly high for a single AP.

elserge82

Member

Re: Best Wifi network setup ? ( Mesh vs Extender vs Enterprise grade )

I'm not sure which brand would make your hand over from AP to another as smooth as possible.

Well no lag usually. Roaming decisions are made by the client so some issues are expected, but in the proper setup moving from one AP to another is mostly seamless. VOIP is the exception as there is no buffering possible, but even carrier WiFi calling on a cell phone works fine.

UniFi has a proprietary roaming acceleration enabled by default which works well, and a deprecated "Fast roaming" which should not be used (the one with APs on the same channel)...

I see a lot of Cisco Aironet in commercial places , hotels etc... but the price is insanly high for a single AP.

Linksys Max-Stream will do the trick you should look for 802.11k