Wifi Access points

[Eniigma]

...

I'd recommend going with some Ubiquiti products, they make really affordable products for small business needs.

Wireless AP (this should be fine for now): https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-dual-band-ac-lite-ap.html

or if you want to have room to grow your wireless users then maybe rather go for the Pro model: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-dual-band-ac-pro-ap.html

To borrow from another thread.

I need to replace a couple access points in the company and need to find the most cost effective option. I've never heard of these Ubiquiti devices.

We've always used consumer grade Netgrear's, Dlink's etc and I find I'm replacing them more than my nephews diapers.

The AP's will probably need to handle around 20 devices max, more often only around 10 at a time. There are a few offices with pretty think brick (double brick) walls that would need signal and then an open factory with a lot of metal machinery in it. Factory is about 100m in length.


Anyone have any suggestions please? Looking for 2 - 3 AP.

 

[Muttley]

Without doubt, I would recommend going for the Ubiquiti UniFi AP's - their performance is epic and they're reasonably priced. See this channel to see the range. You'll also find really useful vids on his page to set them up.

They also use power of Ethernet so it means just running 1 Ethernet cable to each access point.

I would suggest going the route of their AP AC LR (Long Range units) through out.

The controller software is fairly simple to use but give us a shout if you go this route and get stuck.

 

[Eniigma]

Cool thanks.

I will give them a proper look today.

 

[Muttley]

Cool thanks.

I will give them a proper look today.

Forgot to mention, my friend also has a YouTube Channel
Start at Episode 1 and work your way through all of them or through the relevant ones - lots of good stuff there.

 

[silkenphoenixx]

Can second that. I've used Ubiquiti stuff in a couple of places and it runs pretty reliably, with lots of clients. Coverage per AP is pretty good in a large building but not infallible, so you need to plan a bit.

Only time I've had problems is when the switch that was connecting the APs failed - i.e. not an issue with the Ubiquiti stuff.

The dashboard app is pretty cool too, gives you a lot of functionality.

 

[Muttley]

So I'm running my controller on an AWS so I have access to all my client's AP's (well the ones which I've exported to my cloud hosted controller - still need to migrate others) from any web browser or from my phone:
it's epic!

 

[cdvy]

Been using the Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP Lite for about a month now, Excellent coverage, excellent speeds on all connected devices. Highly recommend it

 

[leonb]

Been using the Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP Lite for about a month now, Excellent coverage, excellent speeds on all connected devices. Highly recommend it

What coverage (meters) does it give indoor, more or less?

 

[leonb]

Approximate indoor coverage of the Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP Lite? Will one be sufficient to cover a 200-300 m2 singe story house?

The reviews on these AP's are a bit mixed.

Any other products to consider in a consumer setting (<10 devices connected, AC type speeds throughout house)

 

[paul5186]

Approximate indoor coverage of the Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP Lite? Will one be sufficient to cover a 200-300 m2 singe story house?

The reviews on these AP's are a bit mixed.

Any other products to consider in a consumer setting (<10 devices connected, AC type speeds throughout house)

You would need two I would say, it is not so much the distance but the number of walls etc..

 

[SauRoNZA]

Approximate indoor coverage of the Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP Lite? Will one be sufficient to cover a 200-300 m2 singe story house?

The reviews on these AP's are a bit mixed.

Any other products to consider in a consumer setting (<10 devices connected, AC type speeds throughout house)

Not the Lite.

But the Long Range should do the job.

The whole point of these though is to have a few and not just one. That's what sets them apart from regular consumer stuff.

 

[Muttley]

So I would also recommend the AC Long Range version. I did a write up for a group on Facebook so I'll share it here - not sure if it's all relevant but may help to clarify certain things.
Most of this info is from the Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Admin course:

So some basics on Wi-Fi as a technology:

Most modern routers/access points are dual band, meaning that they broadcast Wi-Fi on 2 frequency bands, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Within these 2 frequency bands, there are certain channels which are used.

The 2.4 GHz band is very good at penetrating walls/objects but it’s downside is that from a performance/speed point of view it’s not that great and it has limited channels which are often congested by neighboring Wi-Fi devices/other appliances.

The 5 GHz band however is not great at penetrating walls/objects but it’s performance/speed is excellent. It also has many more channels which are often less congested when compared to the channels in the 2.4 GHz band.

Wi-Fi works like 2 people would have a conversation. 1 person talks (in this case your router/access point) the other listens (cellphone/laptop) and then that person (cellphone/laptop in your case) replies. This is how the data is transmitted between the 2 devices.

Now if you have a device such as your router/access point that’s talking/broadcasting to your cellphone/laptop, your cellphone/laptop need to be able to adequately reply. If the cellphone/laptop cannot reply, the whole process needs to start again... this is in all likelihood what you’re experiencing.
This often happens because the radios which broadcast the Wi-Fi signal in your router/access point are much larger & more powerful than those in your cellphone/laptop and thus the conversation between them can’t flow smoothly.

To negate this issue and to achieve the best possible performance, the industry suggests adopting a concentrated (using the 5 GHz band) approach as apposed to a blanketed coverage approach (2.4 GHz band).

This is a achieved by placing a few access points (both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) in strategic places where Wi-Fi is required. This ensures that maximum performance is achieved.

In your case, it would be very possible to achieve the full speed of your fiber line and still be sufficiently future proofed for any future speed upgrades.

On a side note: access points are wired to your main router via Ethernet cable and don’t serve as repeaters/extenders.

Repeaters/extenders use the same congested channels and halve your performance so if you’re after performance, this is not the way to go.

It’s for this reason why a proper assessment is required to determine what would be an ideal solution.

I hope this wasn’t too long winded... please let me know if you’re completely lost and or confused

 

[Nameite]

Ive only ever used Cisco APs in my company, the last one i installed with epic coverage is the 3702E...and the previous was the 3602E...not once have I swapped one of them out over the last 5 years....

But you do require a WLC for them and the cost is not cheap at all....most clients on one AP was like 117 (not so sure on performance)....but 20-30 clients with excellent throughput was the usual

We used a high density design (5GHZ enabled on all, and 2,4GHZ was disabled on more than half the APs)

In regards to your case though, the factory just needs two APs (one AP is enough to cover the whole factory but another one can be used for backup)

Not sure on how many offices, how many doublebrick walls and how far apart, but probably another 2 is enough...would be best if you can share a basic layout

 

[MidnightWizard]

Autonomous Mode

But you do require a WLC for them and the cost is not cheap at all....

There are a number of Cisco AP's that one can run in autonomous mode
Just need to flash them with the correct autonomous IoS version
That said there are drawbacks to autonomous mode.

Do you know where one can find a heavily discounted WLC ( used / previously owned / auction / closing down etc etc )
A basic 2504 would be great -- but -- still EXPENSIVE
Older equipment EoL is often not able to complete all tasks necessary ( for certification purposes )

 

[syntax]

There are a number of Cisco AP's that one can run in autonomous mode
Just need to flash them with the correct autonomous IoS version
That said there are drawbacks to autonomous mode.

Do you know where one can find a heavily discounted WLC ( used / previously owned / auction / closing down etc etc )
A basic 2504 would be great -- but -- still EXPENSIVE
Older equipment EoL is often not able to complete all tasks necessary ( for certification purposes )

Refurb kit would be your best bet,

 

[MidnightWizard]

Import ....

Refurb kit would be your best bet,

ANYTHING in SA ?
I see quite a bit on eBay -- WITH shipping to SA ( somewhere close to the cost of the actual item )
Have to find one of those frequent flyer travelers .........

 

[syntax]

ANYTHING in SA ?
I see quite a bit on eBay -- WITH shipping to SA ( somewhere close to the cost of the actual item )
Have to find one of those frequent flyer travelers .........

Sent you PM

 

[Nameite]

There are a number of Cisco AP's that one can run in autonomous mode
Just need to flash them with the correct autonomous IoS version
That said there are drawbacks to autonomous mode.

Do you know where one can find a heavily discounted WLC ( used / previously owned / auction / closing down etc etc )
A basic 2504 would be great -- but -- still EXPENSIVE
Older equipment EoL is often not able to complete all tasks necessary ( for certification purposes )

Oh yeah, completely forgot about fat APs....they're such a nuisance though when managing though, had so many of them only accessible via console...Most irritating thing ever when its not a local office.

About the heavily discounted stuff, I know there are suppliers that "clears" EOL devices from corporates, just need to find out where those devices go....still wont be cheap though :crylaugh:

 

[MidnightWizard]

Remote Autonomous AP management

Oh yeah, completely forgot about fat APs....they're such a nuisance though when managing though, had so many of the only accessible via console...Most irritating thing ever when its not a local office.

It is possible to set them up on a VLAN and manage remotely
IF you use a proper management VLAN that is local only and use SSL
The VLAN can of course be "distributed"

About the heavily discounted stuff, I know there are suppliers that "clears" EOL devices from corporates, just need to find out where those devices go....still wont be cheap though :crylaugh:

Please let me know when you find such a thing ......

 

[RossCo_]

Novice here,

I am looking to replace this - Asus -RTN12HP. Its for a home environment, this doesn't cover half our house.

Which would you suggest to move to?