2.4 and 5 ghz same SSID or different

[TonyH]

Do as you wish - just remember, when using a different SSID, you introduce, explicitly, an OBSS issue, and that will impact performance of both SSID's...

If you keep a common SSID, then all BSS's are part of the same network as an ESS set...

This is all basic stuff...

But performance is not every thing. Some times there needs a trade-offf

 

[sfx2000]

With all due respect - I see zero trade-offs with a common SSID approach with dual-band or multiple AP solutions.

sfx

 

[bodean]

Sorry to reopen old post, but can you clarify. I've read
that if you keep 1 SSID, You'll end up with everything crowded on 2.4GHz like retards if you keep them the same. A stronger 300Mb signal is not better than a less strong 866Mb signal.
Any truth to this or is it bs?

 

[thiggins]

Sorry to reopen old post, but can you clarify. I've read
that if you keep 1 SSID, You'll end up with everything crowded on 2.4GHz like retards if you keep them the same. A stronger 300Mb signal is not better than a less strong 866Mb signal.
Any truth to this or is it bs?

It depends on the device. Band preference can sometimes be controlled in the device properties.

 

[Klueless]

I usually do both.

Separate SSIDs for my main setup. Then I take my main devices, like the ones I wish I could have connected with Ethernet, and cherry pick 2.4 or 5.

Then I set a "guest" SSID that uses a single name for both radios. That SSID is for mobile / everything else.

I think this setup gives me the best of both worlds as well as the flexibility to change device connections if need be.

 

[stevech]

Separate SSIDs for my main setup - since clients aren't likely to automatically choose "best".

 

[htismaqe]

I only enable Guest SSID when I have company over for more than just a social visit - otherwise it's off... the second SSID does have some overhead that'll slow down bandwidth, even just broadcasting the Beacon for the Guest SSID (about 10 percent actually).

I have my home office connected to Guest. I treat my corporate devices and their software as untrusted.

 

[htismaqe]

I must have smart clients. I haven't used separate SSIDs for a long time now. My devices behave pretty much how I want them to.

 

[L&LD]

I have my home office connected to Guest. I treat my corporate devices and their software as untrusted.

Yup! 'Corporate' doesn't mean safe, secure or trusted, on a home/personal network.

 

[htismaqe]

Especially when all of the staff responsible for desktop setup, imaging, deployment, security, and support are all in the Philippines.

 

[sfx2000]

Yup! 'Corporate' doesn't mean safe, secure or trusted, on a home/personal network.

Exactly - I have a trusted side of the network, and an untrusted side... it's all vlan'ed out at the router, and the corpPC along with some other services all live over on the untrusted side. It doesn't even hit my switch - and that VLAN has it's own Router/AP (something I pulled off the shelf) as it's sandbox.

Works great!

Makes me think of a good application for these triband router/AP's out there - getting with IP tables, you could do the same without impacting the guest network functionality and let the untrusted side use one of the 5G radios, and one of the LAN ports, and keep the trusted side safe...

 

[sfx2000]

Especially when all of the staff responsible for desktop setup, imaging, deployment, security, and support are all in the Philippines.

Same boat here... and I don't need to worry about the untrusted stuff interfering with my internal SMB network either...

 

[speedlever]

I am revisiting this subject after much discussion some months back when I picked up an AC56U and moved my N66U to AP duty.

I have now picked up another AC56U to replace yet another WRT54G at the family beach condo. I was all set to continue my practice of separating the SSIDs by radio... but then got to thinking that might just confuse the issue for the non-techies that go there.... so I plan to have one SSID for both radios.

And then I got to thinking about my AC56U/N66U router/AP combo and, well, it may be time to tinker again. I think I'll try a common SSID for both the AC56U and the N66U/AP radios and see how that goes. I don't think it will be very transparent to me as to what connection I'll be on... unless I just happen to memorize the MAC addresses of the 4 radios between the 2 devices.

Edit: after several days of having a single SSID for 4 radios/2 routers, it seems to be working well and my OCD-ness about not knowing which radio I'm connected to has been manageable... so far.