Connecting 3 Buildings (WiFi)

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Connecting 3 Buildings (WiFi)

bonkas

314 posts

Ultimate Geek

#172082 11-May-2015 14:14

Hi guys,

I am needing to connect 3 building with a wifi bridge. See Image below:

House A has broadband modem and laptops connecting on wifi with a standard vodafone modem. House B would like internet access (No phone lines running into this building) The distance between House A and B is probably 120-130M+ so running cat5 is not an option.

One thought I had was to go point to point wireless from Building A to B but a hill in the way has that idea stopped in its tracks.

I was thinking of going point to point from House A to the Shed C and then from the shed C to House B using 4x ubiquiti nanobeam-nbe-m5-16

Idea was to put a small switch or even a crossover in the shed to link the two Transmitters/Receivers.

Any thoughts would be appreciated if there is a better way to tackle this.

Cheers

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#1301977 11-May-2015 14:28

I believe you can also use the NanoBeams in a point to multi-point configuration and enable the transparent bridge mode. Building C would be configured as an "Access Point" with points A and B connecting to it. That requires one less NanoBeam, and you won't have issues with the close proximity of two units.

On second thought, while you can probably do this with three radios and repeating the signal, the NanoBeam isn't a good choice as an access point due to a narrow beam angle.

trig42

5810 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1301987 11-May-2015 14:43

Can you cable from A to C, switch at C, then cable C to B? Might be more expensive than wireless (digging/trenching etc.)

Lias

5589 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302002 11-May-2015 15:04

I'd go with Trig's suggestion of just wiring from A to C to B, a quick measurement via Google Maps shows each run would be about 50-60m
You could also look at doing the run straight from A to B and using an Ethernet extender technology, but I'd just go with the Cat5/6 via building C.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302066 11-May-2015 16:14

If you want to stick with wireless have a look at the Uniquiti Loco series which have a generous beam angle. We have used the Loco M5 very successfully for short hops in urban areas where modest throughput (adsl/vdsl speeds) is fine.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

chevrolux

4962 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1302106 11-May-2015 17:18

I think your plan of going from A to C to B is fine.

You won't need a switch at C as the Ubiquiti radio's ethernet interfaces do auto-crossover.

If the distances are all less than 200m I would just stick with the NanoStation Loco M5 as they will give great performance up to about 1km. The NanoBeam is a bit over the top. Even on the Loco M5 you will want to pull the power down a fair bit.

Another good (and maybe a tad cheaper) option is the Mikrotik SXT but setting them up will be a BIG learning curve if you haven't worked on Mikrotik before.

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302123 11-May-2015 17:36

Have a think about whether the hill is low enough you could put the wireless devices on poles and go from House A to House C. Too tall and the radios wobble in the wind killing your reliability unless you have a hefty A-frame tower which may not be attractive.

Alternatively, can you cable to the top of the hill and put one radio at the top of the hill looking down to the radio on other house?

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

Predated

177 posts

Master Geek

#1302170 11-May-2015 18:24

Would Ethernet over power be a solution here?

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302185 11-May-2015 18:48

Predated that is a smart suggestion. I'm certain the distance would be too great of the properties would be on a different phase but if a set could be borrowed for testing that would be worthwhile just in case the OP gets lucky.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

bonkas

314 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1302242 11-May-2015 20:08

If anyone has a EoP (Ethernet over Power) device I could borrow that would be great. I am living in Cambridge but could travel to the outer town if needed to pick these units up.

I did think about cabling from A -> C -> B but as others have said, once geting the trenching, buying conduit and gel filled cable that suits the job, wireless is the better option. My only concern is reliability and the access point being in close proximity as said, I could put one on either side of the building to space them out a bit.

Owner of this property is not alowed to be doing any physical work for the next few weeks so trying to avoid the trench option, I think the distance is to great to go overhead...

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302245 11-May-2015 20:15

Had a similar thing at a friends place with some guest accomodation down by the road and the main house with DSL somewhat furthur away from it.

The guest house had a seperate cable up to the early 90's outdoor meterbox with its own breaker coming off there, not the 1970s era breaker board in the house.

Anyway, No signal at all between something plugged into the guest house and the main house. They were on the same phase as the place only had one.

Pair of cheap outdoor 2.4GHz AP's off aliexpress sorted it out, put the guest house one into repeater mode and the wireless clients can hang off that when down at the guest house, the one at the main house is only bridging to the one on the guest house so clients cant connect to it. Speeds good enough to max out the DSL connection and the pair of APs ended up being under $100 landed.

Richard rich.ms

michaelmurfy

meow
13242 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302252 11-May-2015 20:29

Using some Nanobeams + some access points will be the best way to go.

This area is currently served off a Conklin with an upgrade coming very shortly for faster broadband so do it right to ensure good speeds.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

kornflake

409 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1302411 12-May-2015 07:03

richms what units did you get off aliexpress, at that price it would be nice to try get signal in my scenaro.

michaelmurfy

meow
13242 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302416 12-May-2015 07:26

kornflake: richms what units did you get off aliexpress, at that price it would be nice to try get signal in my scenaro.

Don't buy cheap units. The ubiquiti nanobeams are really cheap.

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302773 12-May-2015 13:40

The ones I got were either this listing http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/outdoor-high-power-AP-gateway-AP-client-WISP-rt3050-chip-wireless-network-bridge-POE-support/439946_1838013526.html
or the same thing from another seller. Seems the prices have gone up.

Ignore them saying that its 300 meg wifi, all the cheap ones are 150.

Richard rich.ms