Wireless access points

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bbunnys

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#109683 25-Sep-2012 06:56

So moving into a new house next week and its a good sized 4 bedroom place and quite long.

I want to set the house up so I can use wireless throughout the house as have several TV's and Ipad and phones that work off wireless. But my wireless modem sits in the house at one end, so no range at other end of house.

Would putting one or two wireless access point in be best option for increasing wireless range on same network. And what are some good recommendations and ways to do it so I get a strong signal all over house and can run several devices at the same time.

Current modem is a Netgear N600 DGND3700

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#690911 25-Sep-2012 07:48

Hi, deploying another couple of AP's is not a problem, depending on the actual house layout and construction maybe one more will do the trick.

You will need to run a couple of cat5e or cat6 cables from the current location to the other APs, tplink do reasonable priced ones that support passive POE so you dont need to have power nearby.

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=386440

Ensure you dont use bonded channels otherwise you will create interference issues, so put each AP in 20MHz mode and allocate each a seperate non overlapping channel (1,6 and 11), either give them all the same SSID and clients should move between APs when they scan and attach to the strongest, otherwise give them all seperate SSID's so you can determine which one you are closet to and connect to that.

Dont be tempted to not run a cable to each AP and instead use it repeater mode, this immediately halves throughput and adds latency.

Cyril

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wasabi2k

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#690926 25-Sep-2012 08:34

Ubiquiti Unifi APs - from gowifi.co.nz (customer - no commerical interest).

Able to be wired or a repeater - can do a bazillion cool things if you want, really nice management interface, great range and throughput.

Don't waste time and money on cheap crappy APs.

ventolin

110 posts

Master Geek

#691049 25-Sep-2012 11:59

I definately second the Unify's they are brilliant.

bbunnys

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#691103 25-Sep-2012 13:11

Ok,

Thanks guys for replys. I presume they are pretty easy to setup as im not super up with this sort of setup. I guess its pretty much plug into Cat 5 and connect to modem then they should work.

xpd

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#691107 25-Sep-2012 13:16

wasabi2k: Ubiquiti Unifi APs - from gowifi.co.nz (customer - no commerical interest).

Able to be wired or a repeater - can do a bazillion cool things if you want, really nice management interface, great range and throughput.

Don't waste time and money on cheap crappy APs.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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cyril7

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#691110 25-Sep-2012 13:17

Hi, the unify devices dont have an onboard web interface like most devices, instead there is a java app that you run (only needed to setup or whenever you decide to monitor or change things) on any PC within the network, its all very straight forward. The Unifys are also passive POE devices to remotely powered, they are supplied with the power injector etc.

So yes all you need is the AP's, cables run from the modem to each AP location and a few minutes to set it up.

And just to say, I have installed a quite large number of Unify's and they are a great product, however for domestic use the basic TP-links I linked will work just fine, infact they use the same atheros chipset, but obviously the firmware in the Unify is way more capable, however for a basic AP in a domesitc situation probably not much in it. The Unify however does present better aesthetics.

Cyril

ajobbins

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#691134 25-Sep-2012 13:40

I'm curious about this too. What's the best setup so that devices cleanly move between APs?

I'm had a similar setup before with 2 APs, but if I connected on one and moved through the house, the device would hold on to the first connected AP for as long as it could, despite being in a place where the 2nd AP had a much better signal. It wouldn't change over until the first AP went totally out of range.

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cyril7

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#691147 25-Sep-2012 14:02

Hi, unfortunately 802.11 is a bit dumb in this respect, unless the unwanted AP fades well out the client wont rescan and attach to the closer AP. Thats why its often easier to use different SSID's and manually manage the switch.

Cyril

callumb

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Devoli

#691204 25-Sep-2012 15:30

Just use the UniFi's and set the Tx power to Low and your device will manage the handoff fine

Zeon

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#691209 25-Sep-2012 15:43

Definately use Unifi as they come with the PoE injectors too. They have the 3 pack which may be OK for you but tbh even in big houses (OK maybe not Kim.com's house) 2 should be ample. The software isn't great if you haven't got a large network but meh its a small price to pay.

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bbunnys

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#691559 26-Sep-2012 10:12

Can anyone recommend anyone in Christchurch to do the wiring or should I just get a sparky to do it.

Zeon

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#691571 26-Sep-2012 10:27

Sparky's are pretty average for data wiring in my experience. TBH have you thought about taking the plunge and wiring the whole house? Will be important with UFB coming out and give you better speeds/more reliability for fixed devices e.g. IPTV, home alarm, fridge connected to internet etc.?

If you want to save some dosh you could always run the cables yourself and then get the expert in just to terminate them/put face plates on?

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bbunnys

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#694661 2-Oct-2012 09:58

Has anyone had any experience with theses. Might be a better way for me to go rather than trying to wire up house. Also looks pretty easy to install for a noob like me.

Only question is could I run more than one in the house.

Netgear WN3000RP

http://www.netgear.co.nz/home/products/wireless-range-extenders/WN3000RP.aspx

eXDee

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#694776 2-Oct-2012 12:26

cyril7: Hi, unfortunately 802.11 is a bit dumb in this respect, unless the unwanted AP fades well out the client wont rescan and attach to the closer AP. Thats why its often easier to use different SSID's and manually manage the switch.

Cyril

Some wireless drivers allow the adjustment of "roaming agressiveness" which i increased slightly to make my laptop hop to a stronger AP when using it in a commercial wifi network with multiple APs. It seemed to help with it not clinging to a weak signal as much.

Zeon

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#694786 2-Oct-2012 12:44

bbunnys: Has anyone had any experience with theses. Might be a better way for me to go rather than trying to wire up house. Also looks pretty easy to install for a noob like me.

Only question is could I run more than one in the house.

Netgear WN3000RP

http://www.netgear.co.nz/home/products/wireless-range-extenders/WN3000RP.aspx

Using one of those will halve your speed..... You could use powerline to use the power cables in the house and connect another wifi AP into those.

Speedtest 2019-10-14

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