Buying Advice - Unify Start up

[Neeiro]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone can help with advice on Unify Equipment as the Netgear router is a bit flakey at the moment, current setup is

Virgin Media superhub (cable modem mode) ---> Netgear r7000 ---> 48port network hub ---> Accesspoint (old Slow one in summer house in back of garden (40m away))

I'm looking at maybe upgrading to a Unifi system an would like to know the whats the minimum I would need to start up with and what current hardware I can use that I already have (with a view to maybe upgrading it later). Would need to keep the 48 port switch in place and was thinking of using the r7000 as an access point.

Currently reading up on the Unifi equipment so just trying to figure out what bits do what.

Edit:
Forgot to say that the wired network uses Link aggregation on some devices (not sure if this in relevant.

Clients on network is about 30 but theses are mainly echo devices, printers, phones and tablets - so not to demanding.

Also I have a server which is on 24/7 (windows) - I read somewhere that this can be used as a controller?



Thanks
N.

 

[Gouldin]

Ok so.
Run the controller on your server. Or you can buy a CloudKey controller if you wish.

A USG Gateway and however many access points you want really. NanoHD AP's are the most popular in terms of cost/performance.
They come with a PoE injector when buying the AP's in a single pack, so should be fine with your current switch.

One main suggestion, if going for unifi AP's, don't run your old netgear as an AP. Roaming won't work properly between them. Also ditch your old AP too.

Link aggregation is fine, that's between your switch and devices anyway.

 

[Trip]

If you're going to put in multi-AP, centralized wifi, I would probably move on from the R7000 altogether and run a wired gateway/router. Even with wireless "disabled" on the R7000, I'm not sure one can physically turn it off, so all it would end up doing is just needlessly pollute the airspace for your other APs. I would also junk the old access point, as it won't work in conjunction with UniFi, or any other centralized product, and will only pollute the airspace just like the R7000, if left powered on.

Regarding the 48-port "hub", not to be too pedantic, but I presume you meant a switch? A hub would not be a good thing, packet storms being the most obvious reason. Assuming it is a switch, say, web-managed or fully managed from the last 10 years or so, if you can't find anything particularly wrong or lacking, then you could probably keep it.

Now onto products. UniFi is best used when you run it full-stack, ie. gateway, switching and wifi are all UniFi hardware. That allows for the single pane of glass from access layer to WAN. This would require a 48-port UniFi switch and either a USG or USG Pro gateway, in addition to the APs and controller (run in a VM, on a PC or as a CloudKey). If you choose to keep your switch, and especially if internet speed is high, the benefits of a USG as a gateway are mostly null. Plenty of better value options for sheer power per dollar. Even an EdgeRouter 4, plus EdgeMax firmware is way more robust than UniFi. Or an x86 box running pfSense. Or a security appliance like a Fortigate. For wifi, if you keep your switch, you could still run UniFi, but especially for small deployments, I prefer a controller-less or embedded controller product. A cluster of two or three Cisco Small Biz WAPs might suffice. If interference is something to tackle, and/or you simply want tops reception stability, especially for mobiles, you might consider Ruckus Unleashed, although it is spendy. That being said, an R710 often covers entire houses, versus lesser systems requiring two or even three APs to match it -- with all due respect to more APs at lower power usually being superior to fewer at higher power (and I still abide by that, generally).

Lot to consider. I guess it all depends on how fast your internet is and how much you want to hang onto your current 48-port switch.