Access Point Suggestion

[Van G]

WRT54GL just died so I'll move the E3000 to the basement to act as router/dhcp.

What should I use on main floor for Acess Point - good wifi with guest access that actually works (unlike E3000).

I've got E3000 runnning Shibby 1.28 Tomato.

 

[Van G]

Moving the E3000 to the basement and hardwire the Netgear EX7000 in on main floor looks like a good design.

 

[boomhower]

Pretty much any router can act as an AP, just turn of DHCP. Or you can go with a dedicated AP from Ubiquiti or many other vendors. I went with Ubiquiti but have not had a chance to install it yet.

 

[Van G]

I ended up getting Netgear EX7000 extender. Setting up now:

On the Tomato 1.28 E3000
- should I name both the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi the same name and password (WPA2 Personal)?

- should I disable 2.4?

Setting up EX7000:
- same name and pass as E3000
- set channels to opposite ends of spectrum

Any other tips?

 

[kevnich2]

Second vote for ubiquiti AP. An extender cuts the wifi speed/performance by half. Best to go with a hard wired dedicated AP. Once you go with a good standalone wifi solution, you won't go back.

 

[Van G]

Have EX7000 hard wired as AP. Speeds and signal are way better than before.

Ubiquiti AP's running current AC speeds or is it dependent on the router they are wired to?

Have 30 days to sort it out!

 

[boomhower]

Have EX7000 hard wired as AP. Speeds and signal are way better than before.

Ubiquiti AP's running current AC speeds or is it dependent on the router they are wired to?

Have 30 days to sort it out!

It is not dependent on the router as long as it can process at AC speeds which is pretty much everything. It's not an extender so it does whatever you tell it you want it to do. The Ubiquiti AP is pretty versatile. Take a look at the specs and poke around the forums/reddit. They just came out with new models that are still a little tough to find but are getting pretty darn good user reviews. Setting mine up over the weekend.

 

[Van G]

I'll take a look at them. We're currently renovating a home and can wire with walls open. Maybe this is the right solution.

While working with this setup - should I use the same SSID on the router and AP and spread the channels out? example: SSID-2.4 with channel 2 on router and channel 11 on AP (same password on both)? Same thing for 5GHz band?

 

[boomhower]

I'll take a look at them. We're currently renovating a home and can wire with walls open. Maybe this is the right solution.

While working with this setup - should I use the same SSID on the router and AP and spread the channels out? example: SSID-2.4 with channel 2 on router and channel 11 on AP (same password on both)? Same thing for 5GHz band?

Definitely run as much ethernet as you can. Hardwire everything that doesn't move. You have the right idea for the wireless but use only channels 1, 6, and 11. Use a software sniffer to see what other AP's around you are using and get on the lease congested channel.

 

[JackMDS]

Just for the record, Extender is a Marketing term and has nothing to do with Real technology.

The real term is Repeater. Meaning, the second unit connects to the source Router via Wireless and then further transmit the signal.

Because the Repeater unit do both the Receiving and Transmitting, Repeaters cut the Bandwidth into half of what it is in the point of their Installation.

E.g., if a Wireless source gives 100 Mb/sec. a foot away from it and at 50 feet away there is a Repeater that gets 40Mb/sec. the signal past the Repeater would be only 20Mb/sec. Then if you have a Wireless device 20 feet further from the Repeater it would get only 10 Mb/sec. (or less).

The numbers above are for illustration only, they can vary up and down according to the environment and the hardware.

Using a unit that connects to the source via CAT cable is known as using and additional Access Point, technology wise it is much superior to the use of a Repeater.

Example - Using Wireless Routers (or Modem/Wireless Router) as a Switch with an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[kevnich2]

I'll take a look at them. We're currently renovating a home and can wire with walls open. Maybe this is the right solution.

While working with this setup - should I use the same SSID on the router and AP and spread the channels out? example: SSID-2.4 with channel 2 on router and channel 11 on AP (same password on both)? Same thing for 5GHz band?

If you're looking at dedicated AP's - buy enough to cover your entire house and disable wifi in your router. Depending on your sq footage, may only need one in the center of your house. A dedicated AP will beat a combo wireless router any day. As far as wiring, I'd suggest wiring the AP's to the ceiling. The signal spreads better horizontally and the finished product looks very clean and professional. They look like white smoke detectors.

 

[Van G]

3 story house, 1120 sqft/floor, basement and main fairly wide open, second floor has wood frame walls (bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.).

If the router is in the basement, I think 1 Unifi on the basement and main floor ceilings should do the trick and 1 Unifi in the backyard shed (80') should cover us. Agreed?

Should I buy a non wifi router or just buy a good wifi router and turn off wifi?

PoE easy with the Unifi AP's or should I just wire power to them?

And lastly, are the Unifi AP's better than simply buying a decent AC1900 router and turning it into an AP?