Google WiFi - Will it work in NZ

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sbiddle

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#1704519 17-Jan-2017 09:39

Google WiFi looks like a total disaster to me, all because of the serious limitations it has - the most significant being that remote AP's have to be cascaded via Ethernet which is a totally stupid restriction to have.

Without naming names it was interesting to see quite a big NZ tech entrepreneur get all excited over the Xmas / NY break about receiving his Google WiFi and his experiences were posted on twitter. He'd given up after a day and was looking for a better solution.

richms

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#1704569 17-Jan-2017 11:11

I asked some more about that need to have the other AP's downstream of the first one, and its to do with the need for it to see all traffic in one AP to be able to measure and report on it. On the unifi's you would get the security gateway to do those tasks for you and that doesnt provide any wifi so its not really that much different except that you have to have it configured that way, having it just provide wifi AP functions is not an option with their system.

Richard rich.ms

Ruphus

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#1704850 17-Jan-2017 18:14

sbiddle:
Google WiFi looks like a total disaster to me, all because of the serious limitations it has - the most significant being that remote AP's have to be cascaded via Ethernet which is a totally stupid restriction to have.

Without naming names it was interesting to see quite a big NZ tech entrepreneur get all excited over the Xmas / NY break about receiving his Google WiFi and his experiences were posted on twitter. He'd given up after a day and was looking for a better solution.

Was he able to xero in on the problem?

rhysee

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#1705079 18-Jan-2017 10:25

sbiddle:

Google WiFi looks like a total disaster to me, all because of the serious limitations it has - the most significant being that remote AP's have to be cascaded via Ethernet which is a totally stupid restriction to have.

Without naming names it was interesting to see quite a big NZ tech entrepreneur get all excited over the Xmas / NY break about receiving his Google WiFi and his experiences were posted on twitter. He'd given up after a day and was looking for a better solution.

sbiddle , not sure if you are correct in that statement , as secondary APs DO NOT need Ethernet , see here --> https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/googlewifi/OTgXecnxggU

I have tested 2 fine without need for Ethernet for secondary AP .

mind you I have only 1200 square ft house , so 1 AP was really needed.

Rhysee

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sbiddle

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#1705143 18-Jan-2017 11:50

rhysee:

sbiddle:

Google WiFi looks like a total disaster to me, all because of the serious limitations it has - the most significant being that remote AP's have to be cascaded via Ethernet which is a totally stupid restriction to have.

Without naming names it was interesting to see quite a big NZ tech entrepreneur get all excited over the Xmas / NY break about receiving his Google WiFi and his experiences were posted on twitter. He'd given up after a day and was looking for a better solution.

sbiddle , not sure if you are correct in that statement , as secondary APs DO NOT need Ethernet , see here --> https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/googlewifi/OTgXecnxggU

I have tested 2 fine without need for Ethernet for secondary AP .

mind you I have only 1200 square ft house , so 1 AP was really needed.

Rhysee

Each AP doesn't need to be connected via Ethernet but if they are they need to be cascaded.

Running any AP in a wireless mesh / repeater configuration will always deliver a worse connection than cabled Ethernet, so for this reason you should always cable an AP to the network. The downside of Google WiFi is that you have to cascade every AP rather than plugging them all into your network directly which makes the Ethernet capability severely limited.

grayskull

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#1734719 11-Mar-2017 11:34

sbiddle:

Google WiFi looks like a total disaster to me, all because of the serious limitations it has - the most significant being that remote AP's have to be cascaded via Ethernet which is a totally stupid restriction to have.

Was just about to buy a Google WiFi set. Seems you don't think they are a good idea, what would you recommend to get decent coverage in a ~300m2, 2 level house?

cheers

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Crowdie

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#1735027 11-Mar-2017 20:50

Commonly the issue with wireless deployments is that some smartphones and tablets have low quality radios and/or antennas so the issue is not so much about coverage from the source but whether the clients can communicate back. For this reason it can be better to have two lower transmit power devices (wireless router, access points, etc.) providing coverage rather than a single higher transmit power device.

If your wireless sources have the ability to adjust their transmit power than 15 dBm is a good transmit power when smartphones and/or tablets are in use.

When you deploy the wireless sources take careful attention to the amount of coverage overlap between the sources. You must have overlap to allow wireless clients to roam (move between the sources) but if you have too much overlap the wireless clients can become "sticky" (reluctant to roam).

If you have a two level dwelling then you may want to consider placing one source on one floor and one on the other.

If you have a large, single level dwelling and you just want a single wireless router than consider one with external antennas. External antennas will, all things being equal, provide superior coverage to internal antennas.

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