Home WiFi network suggestions

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Vleisie

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Will be moving into a new house and I'm hoping to lay down a solid WiFi network in the new place. (After having to reset my current router multiple times a week). It is a 350m2 double story with the Fibre connection point approximately in the middle on the ground floor. There is a LAN cable running up to the 1st floor.

The idea is to be able to get at least the full line speed at any point in the house, but hopefully a bit more for future proofing.
Currently I'm deciding between the Ubiquiti UniFi Dual Band AC Lite AP (either in-wall or ceiling mount) and MikroTik cAP AC AP. However, I have the following questions that I'm hoping to get some assistance with:
  1. If I go with the UniFi APs, is it recommended to get a UniFi router, switch and controller as well? For example, will the APs still function optimally without the controller software? How much features would I sacrifice by going with a non-UniFi router? Going all-in with UniFi devices will increase the cost substantially.
  2. Is either solution significantly better at roaming? I'm not necessarily looking for completely seamless, zero-handover roaming, but devices should at least move over to the best AP eventually.
  3. How many APs would you recommend based on a 350m2 double story property?
  4. Would a Mesh network work better? (keeping in mind that I'm happy to run cabling for wired APs instead)
  5. Also happy for suggestions other than Ubiquiti and MikroTik as well.
 
You dont need anything else to run Unifi's, just install the controller somewhere and you are good to go.
One on the bottom floor and one on the top should be fine, they handover very well so no stress about roaming.
 
+1 for Unifi. Since installing Ubiquiti some years ago all my wifi hassles and coverage moans are a thing of the past. I have 3 devices (top floor ceiling, dining room, office) that covers the whole property. The controller runs on a little Gigabyte BriX that runs 24/7/365.

Screenshot 2021-06-11 161803.jpg
 
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Awesome, I have a little NUC lying around that currently runs a VPN Server that can probably run the controller software as well. Any suggestions for a router to pair with the Unifi APs then?
 
Vleisie said:
Awesome, I have a little NUC lying around that currently runs a VPN Server that can probably run the controller software as well. Any suggestions for a router to pair with the Unifi APs then?
Click to expand...
The controller sw is pretty light. Easily run on a NUC. Access is via browser.

Screenshot 2021-06-11 162615.jpg

I use a Netgate SG-3100 pfSense box to handle routing, firewall, etc. 2 x WANs comes into the SG-3100 on ethernet.
 
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Vleisie said:
Awesome, I have a little NUC lying around that currently runs a VPN Server that can probably run the controller software as well. Any suggestions for a router to pair with the Unifi APs then?
Click to expand...
Mine worked fine with the ISP sponsored D-Link.



Or you could go all out...

Capture.JPG
 
You dont need a controller for just APs, but having one (controller) gives much more insight. Obviously having unifi end to end makes management easier but there are better routers and firewalls out there

Which APs were you considering? For your size house I would say 2-3 should do the trick
 
Install a routerboard to speak to your ISP. Given what you want to do, I recommend this one:

scoop.co.za

MikroTik hEX PoE 5 Port Gigabit 1SFP PoE Out Desktop Router | RB960PGS

MikroTik hEX PoE 5 Port Gigabit 1SFP PoE Out Desktop Router | RB960PGS MikroTik RouterBoard's hEX PoE is a five port Gigabit Ethernet router for locations where wireless connectivity is not required. The device has a USB 2.0 port and a SFP port for adding
scoop.co.za scoop.co.za

Then install a couple of unifis. The controller works well on the likes of a NUC, as previously mentioned. People have also installed it in RPi's. Our choice is hostifi. We have a large account with them and create sub accounts for our clients, from where they can then manage their unifi setups without on premise controllers.

As for the units, if you want to futureproof, look at these:

UniFi's New U6+ Claims Top Spot in its Price Class | Blog

scoop.co.za scoop.co.za

Tim did a video on them:

or

scoop.co.za

Ubiquiti UniFi6 Long Range Dual Band WiFi 6 AP | U6-LR

Ubiquiti's U6-LR is an indoor or outdoor, dual band, WiFi 6 (802.11ax) long range access point. It delivers an aggregate data rate of up to 3Gbps over its 5GHz (4x4 MU-MIMO) and 2.4GHz (4x4 MU-MIMO) bands.
scoop.co.za scoop.co.za

I'll be installing two of these into my own house as soon as stock arrives.
 
I would avoid the Unifi gateways. Learn from my mistake :p

I wanted all the fancy graphs in the controller and now I've got an overpriced router that has less features than a R300 TP-Link device.

Their Wifi APs are :thumbsup: and switches aren't bad either.
 
Vleisie said:
Awesome, I have a little NUC lying around that currently runs a VPN Server that can probably run the controller software as well. Any suggestions for a router to pair with the Unifi APs then?
Click to expand...
I've got the Ubiquiti EdgerouterX and it's been great
 
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DrJohnZoidberg said:
Their Wifi APs are :thumbsup: and switches aren't bad either.
Click to expand...

The switches don't like load shedding and need to be on a UPS or an inverter.

We've had numerous calls this load shedding cycle from clients who's switches reset themselves to factory defaults after load shedding.
 
portcullis said:
The switches don't like load shedding and need to be on a UPS or an inverter.

We've had numerous calls this load shedding cycle from clients who's switches reset themselves to factory defaults after load shedding.
Click to expand...

That seems weird. Maybe when the power comes back on there might be unstable power for a bit that's causing issues.

I've pulled the power on mine plenty and never had anything reset but I do have all mine on backup power now.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Funny you mention that, I actually just enabled ipv6 on mine today. Seems to be working fine in my instance.
Click to expand...


We did it exactly the same we we do it on any other Ubiquiti device. DHCPv6 from the NAS, /64 Prefix delegation, stateless. It went "bos" and decided it was the gateway for the entire /48 available on the NAS.

This happened during "netflix hour" and caused chaos for every other client connected to the NAS.

I would assume they've sorted the problem. Now we wait for IPv6 in LTU, and AirCube.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
That seems weird. Maybe when the power comes back on there might be unstable power for a bit that's causing issues.

I've pulled the power on mine plenty and never had anything reset but I do have all mine on backup power now.
Click to expand...

We're seeing chaos with "Eskom direct" clients and equipment blowing after load shedding. City of Cape Town clients seem to be protected by filters in their sub stations.

Or maybe CoCT just services their sub stations more often. We have our own Eskom Direct sub station in front of our building. In all the years we've been here, they've not changed the oil once. This past week we lost a microwave oven and a Tripp Lite ATS after load shedding. At least it wasn't a Juniper. We also have all the goodies on the main board: primary and secondary surge arrestors, "zap traps" in the wall sockets and those Ellies surge arrest multi plugs. This should not happen.
 
portcullis said:
We're seeing chaos with "Eskom direct" clients and equipment blowing after load shedding. City of Cape Town clients seem to be protected by filters in their sub stations.

Or maybe CoCT just services their sub stations more often. We have our own Eskom Direct sub station in front of our building. In all the years we've been here, they've not changed the oil once. This past week we lost a microwave oven and a Tripp Lite ATS after load shedding. At least it wasn't a Juniper. We also have all the goodies on the main board: primary and secondary surge arrestors, "zap traps" in the wall sockets and those Ellies surge arrest multi plugs. This should not happen.
Click to expand...

:( I get Eskom power directly too (Table View) - only one casualty so far now with a microwave (touches wood). All my sensitive stuff is on the inverters though.
 
My Ubiquiti PoE switches are on UPS so cant say. The usual on/off/on eskom power is the issue for loads of products. So power resumes as you think, however it actually surges (like a dip in the lights) where power is resumed, fails to meet the demand, goes off, then comes on again. That triggers the reset as we all know. Its not particular to any one manufacturer.
 
I am not as technical as the others on the forum. My solution, cost me only a lan cable (a flat one, glues much easier). I had my old vdsl router which I connected to the fibre router.


I have subsequently purchased another router, slightly better. So will be using the old fibre router to cover the kitchen and garage area. Probably going to need a 25m cable.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
:( I get Eskom power directly too (Table View) - only one casualty so far now with a microwave (touches wood). All my sensitive stuff is on the inverters though.
Click to expand...

Techs en route to Bottelary and Macassar as I type this with generators. Both sites power's "phasing" since load shedding ended. Inverters show 120V incoming.

Our business friends in Polokwane and Mbombela are experiencing the same thing at the same time.
 
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