Wifi to cover apartment block

[kongwane]

Hi All

I'm fairly new to wireless concepts and methods.

What I'm hoping to do is to establish a wifi signal strong enough to cover my entire apartment building. I plotted the area online an it appears to be 1500m2.

What are my options in terms of gettin this done, I'm hoping for a method with the least amount of repeaters and AP's etc.

Can I purchase on of this omnidirectional Antaennas and plug them into my router/switch? If so which models can I look at.

basically All input is welcome

Thanks

 

[agentrfr]

Wait two or three months for ASUS to release a high powered 802.11 a/c router.

Problem solved

 

[Dolby]

How many floors is your apartment building ?

 

[kongwane]

Hi. It 5 floors

 

[PsyWulf]

Is this a setup with permission from the building owners, and you are going to resell internet access?

 

[rebel998]

I think hes looking for techinical help not legal.

 

[PsyWulf]

I think hes looking for techinical help not legal.

THe method of implimentation also depends on the requirements. People don't always know what they need

 

[rebel998]

Wait two or three months for ASUS to release a high powered 802.11 a/c router.

Problem solved

Link??

 

[Dolby]

People don't always know what they need

Yes, Steve Jobs

 

[paul5186]

Hi. It 5 floors

Over 5 floors you would need multiple AP's for good coverage. Have a look at the ubiquti unfi AP's, they can be mounted on the ceilings or walls, and are controlled via "controller" software for easy management of all the AP's from one screen which is a plus if you are managing >5 AP's.

 

[webtailor]

I think you will need quite a lot of AP's. at least 2 per floor.

What I would do is:
From the primary connection:
- run cable to each floor, ending to a small switch (not a cheapie one, a decent brand with good throughoutput, better if you get POE as it will power the AP's).
- from each switch, put two AP's per floor (again, with POE from the switch you will not require power)

please note that THICK CONCRETE and METAL structures can really kill your signal.

the setup of the AP can also affect the signal, as newer encryption goes further and better (but old devices may not accept the signal).

During your testing process, your signal should be between -60 to -80 db to keep a good traffic. if the signal decreases to -90 or -100 db, that is not good and you may require to add another AP (or move the existing AP) to cover those areas.

For testing, there is plenty utilities for android (where you can see your signal, just to mention Wifinspect and 'network signal info'). For Laptop, you can use Nirsoft Wireless NetView to check your signal levels.

And by the way... not a single of the AP to be set as 'repeater'. Better get all of them as Access Points.

 

[PsyWulf]

Yes, Steve Jobs

Haha joker It's often you have individuals and even businesses that have a plan,but the basic description doesn't necessarily deliver the result they wanted because their spec was too open to interpretation

If I wanted to set up just an Open Wifi for the whole building with very little user intervention I would get 1-2 Ubiquiti UniFi enterprise routers per level ( you get combo boxes 3 in a box lekker price ),drop in a POE switch for the building and route cat5e/cat6 to each unifi point then set all the APs to "No Security"

 

[valiente]

Haha joker It's often you have individuals and even businesses that have a plan,but the basic description doesn't necessarily deliver the result they wanted because their spec was too open to interpretation

If I wanted to set up just an Open Wifi for the whole building with very little user intervention I would get 1-2 Ubiquiti UniFi enterprise routers per level ( you get combo boxes 3 in a box lekker price ),drop in a POE switch for the building and route cat5e/cat6 to each unifi point then set all the APs to "No Security"

I'd stick with a security code, even a form to be filled in to monitor which MAC addresses are connected where.

Different codes for different floors, to narrow down where a DLing pirate might be lurking from...

Since you can't control the range, people outside the building might pick it up and FREE wifi for erybody


EDIT: One of these for each floor
Not the best choice but they look sexy!

 

[PsyWulf]

I'd stick with a security code, even a form to be filled in to monitor which MAC addresses are connected where.

Different codes for different floors, to narrow down where a DLing pirate might be lurking from...

Since you can't control the range, people outside the building might pick it up and FREE wifi for erybody

Ideally,but he didn't specify only the building either

 

[Online IT Warehouse]

Ubiquiti Outdoor Unifi is quiet powerfull or maybe an Engenius outdoor unit, its abit pricer than your asus and dlinks but interms of signal and coverage you wont go wrong..

We had one of our customers use 2 engenius Access points in a 10 floor hotel with Good signal coverage throughout

 

[kongwane]

Hi

been looking at this http://www.itworx.co.za/networking.html which one would you recommend?

 

[Online IT Warehouse]

EN-ENH210EXT

We currently selling these at R3499 Ex vat

 

[rpdii]

We'll IMO - we've had the best results in multi level buildings using Wavion from Alvarion. They are pricey, but they are IMO the best product for such setup.

It offers fantastic throughput, uses beamforming technology, and we run 400 users on a single station with perfect delivery SLA wise.

Maybe have a look here: http://www.alvarion.com/wavion-an-alvarion-company

Pricing is roughly R 20k a device and is available from Miro.