best AP point for a reasonable price

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#1887283 21-Oct-2017 10:52

meesham:

Has anyone tried the TP-Link EAP245? It seems like a decent ceiling mount AP that runs at the same speed as the Grandstream GWN7610. I'm currently trying to decide between the Unifi AC Pro, GWN7610 or the EAP245. The GWN7610 was at the top of my list based on the review by @michaelmurfy but I'm just a bit concerned about lack of support, Grandstream have been silent on this thread - Ubiquiti came out with a patch the same day as the vulnerability was announced and TP-Link have said that the EAP245 is unaffected. I'm a bit unsure about the quality of TP-Link, I only have one of their devices (an MR3020 portable router) and I put OpenWRT on it as soon as I got it so I've never used their software. At $150 the EAP245 is also the cheapest of the three, but I'm guessing that could be for a reason...

The WPA2 vulnerability is a client only vulnerability - vendors are putting out patches but as far as I'm aware that is only for when the APs are in a client (i.e. bridging) or mesh mode.

So if you're just running an AP as that, no patch required

michaelmurfy

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#1887284 21-Oct-2017 10:53

I personally wouldn't go the TPLink route. The Grandstream GWN series have got confirmed updates coming out however remember this is a client side vulnerability.

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meesham

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#1887285 21-Oct-2017 10:57

jnimmo:

The WPA2 vulnerability is a client only vulnerability - vendors are putting out patches but as far as I'm aware that is only for when the APs are in a client (i.e. bridging) or mesh mode.

So if you're just running an AP as that, no patch required

I understand that, the issue for me is no one from Grandstream has responded to that thread telling people not to be concerned and from what I can find there's been no announcement anywhere by them regarding the vulnerability. It concerns me that the there'll be a lack of support/updates when there is an issue or the product line will be abandoned completely, with VOIP being their primary focus for so long I think it could be a possibility.

meesham

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#1887286 21-Oct-2017 11:09

michaelmurfy:

I personally wouldn't go the TPLink route. The Grandstream GWN series have got confirmed updates coming out however remember this is a client side vulnerability.

Yer I'm really unsure about the quality of the TP-Link, it would be a bit of a gamble.

Where did you see the details for the upcoming Grandstream updates? I really like the look of the Grandstream, it seems to contain all the features I want and the look of it should pass the WAF.

Dratsab

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#1887288 21-Oct-2017 11:11

Grandstream have sent out a mass email to their customers. I got one a day or two back. Don't have it to hand, not sure I even kept it. I'll have a search when I get back home and post the contents if I've archived it somewhere.

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#1887289 21-Oct-2017 11:21

I'm looking to do similar to OP.

The Grandstream is 400mw vs the AC-Lite 100mw

Real world, does this make a difference?

I have 4000sqm and want to try to cover it all (unlikley, I know)

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Dratsab

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#1887299 21-Oct-2017 11:43

It's about 40m from where my AP is located to the end of my property. I'm broadcasting on high and get reasonable signal there. I'll do some wander testing a bit later with devices which operate on the two different frequencies as, iirc, the documentation says signal should travel further than this.

meesham

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#1887377 21-Oct-2017 14:33

Dratsab: Grandstream have sent out a mass email to their customers. I got one a day or two back. Don't have it to hand, not sure I even kept it. I'll have a search when I get back home and post the contents if I've archived it somewhere.

Thanks for that, it gives me more confidence in them continuing to support the product. I've also found a post on their Facebook page.

vulcannz

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#1887679 22-Oct-2017 10:55

jnimmo:

meesham:

Has anyone tried the TP-Link EAP245? It seems like a decent ceiling mount AP that runs at the same speed as the Grandstream GWN7610. I'm currently trying to decide between the Unifi AC Pro, GWN7610 or the EAP245. The GWN7610 was at the top of my list based on the review by @michaelmurfy but I'm just a bit concerned about lack of support, Grandstream have been silent on this thread - Ubiquiti came out with a patch the same day as the vulnerability was announced and TP-Link have said that the EAP245 is unaffected. I'm a bit unsure about the quality of TP-Link, I only have one of their devices (an MR3020 portable router) and I put OpenWRT on it as soon as I got it so I've never used their software. At $150 the EAP245 is also the cheapest of the three, but I'm guessing that could be for a reason...

The WPA2 vulnerability is a client only vulnerability - vendors are putting out patches but as far as I'm aware that is only for when the APs are in a client (i.e. bridging) or mesh mode.

So if you're just running an AP as that, no patch required

Correct. It also requires APs be running 802.11r which not all support (fast roaming).

vulcannz

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#1887680 22-Oct-2017 10:56

muppet:

I'm looking to do similar to OP.

The Grandstream is 400mw vs the AC-Lite 100mw

Real world, does this make a difference?

I have 4000sqm and want to try to cover it all (unlikley, I know)

For that size look at a 2nd hand Ruckus (I don't work for Ruckus!) on trademe. They have insane coverage and you can get some good deals on the older models.

Dratsab

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#1888913 24-Oct-2017 19:39

As per this post, I finally got around to doing a walk test for signal coverage. It drops out at about the 50m mark so with that sort of coverage in every direction you could say, end to end, 100m. Squared off for convenience that's 10,000m² so if you were able to put the AP in the centre of your property, in theory you'd easily get the coverage you're after. I guess in reality it would depend on the actual shape of your property, its topography, and where you can actually locate an AP.