Ditching UniFi but need an alternative

[Ranger]

Hi

We are about to get gigabit each way internet installed where we live. My home network is currently a UniFi Security Gateway and 2 UAP-AC-Pros. I’ve no real issue with the USG, but the single device throughout on the APs is lousy, so I’m going to replace the lot.

My plan is to use the ISP supplied router as it has to be used and cannot be placed into bridge mode. I’m sure it’ll be fine, if basic.

The question is - what to use as APs? I was considering a pair of Netgear R7800s to get good 5Ghz coverage across the house. But that seems overkill as I need none of the router functions - they’ll just be in AP mode.

What would you recommend for a low cost but high throughput (on 5Ghz) AP? Both will have wired backhaul.

Many thanks!

 

[thiggins]

but the single device throughout on the APs is lousy

Please say some more about this. Class/type of client? Bad throughput no matter how close to the AP?

 

[Ranger]

Sorry, on Mac laptops, so 3 antenna machines.

Yes, even on a high link rate (never seen 1300, but near enough) I only get about 200mbps or so throughput on iPerf. I know the 1300 isn’t possible due to the medium, but I’d hoped for more. Happy to stand corrected though.

 

[thiggins]

Your throughput does sound low. Have you tried any other measurements, like down/up
loading a large sequential file?

iperf can be misleading if not configured correctly. try iperf3, which has better defaults.
It also has a -R switch that makes it easy to run server to client throughput.

This is the command line I use for my max wireless throughput tests. It runs test for 60 seconds with 8 simultaneous connections, 2MB TCP/IP window, 32KB buffer.

iperf3 -c [iperf3 server IP] -t 60 -f m -P 8 -l 32K -w 2M

 

[VisionxOrb]

I Issued a return on my dlink 3900 yesterday and ordered a ubiquiti ac hd, Ill test throughput on that and report back here to compare. Should be here tomorrow so I hope to have it setup tomorrow evening.

 

[jec6613]

Netgear's ProSafe WAPs, for instance the WAC730 or WAC740, are going to give you much better throughput than using their routers, as would something like the Cisco WAP581. They're pricey, but if you really want throughput, just go straight to business products and they won't let you down.

 

[Ranger]

Your throughput does sound low. Have you tried any other measurements, like down/up
loading a large sequential file?

iperf can be misleading if not configured correctly. try iperf3, which has better defaults.
It also has a -R switch that makes it easy to run server to client throughput.

This is the command line I use for my max wireless throughput tests. It runs test for 60 seconds with 8 simultaneous connections, 2MB TCP/IP window, 32KB buffer.

iperf3 -c [iperf3 server IP] -t 60 -f m -P 8 -l 32K -w 2M

Thanks - I will give that a go. Unfortunately it will take a few days while I can get my hands on a wired iPerf 3 server again! My Macs don't have ethernet ports..

I wonder if my issues are more down to antenna placement, as I have to mount them on the wall, and fairly low, to avoid trailing wires. I know these things are best on the ceiling, hence considering a table-top solution. Sounds like they are quite capable though, in general, from what you are saying.

 

[thiggins]

"Smoke detector" format APs had antenna patterns designed for horizontal ceiling mounting. But should also work ok on table tops.

But if you can only get 200 Mbps when you're within 10 feet or so of the AP, something else is at play.

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks - I will give that a go. Unfortunately it will take a few days while I can get my hands on a wired iPerf 3 server again! My Macs don't have ethernet ports..

I wonder if my issues are more down to antenna placement, as I have to mount them on the wall, and fairly low, to avoid trailing wires. I know these things are best on the ceiling, hence considering a table-top solution. Sounds like they are quite capable though, in general, from what you are saying.

Temporarily orient them on the horizontal access (as though they were on the ceiling or tabletop) - the antenna beam patterns have that in consideration...

grab the iperf3 out of homebrew, it's more up to date than some of the recompiled packages...

 

[MichaelCG]

To note, on my UAP-AC-LR (2x2 on 5GHz) I get over 400Mbps on my 2x2 HP laptop. Something else is at play in your environment. The UAP line is not the fastest to a single client out there for sure...but being limited to 200Mbps...something else is giving you problems.

Also for what its worth...my UAP-AC-LR are both wall mounted. One was mounted high on my 1st floor stairwell and the 2nd was mounted high in the floor joists of the basement. Both less than optimal, but worked just fine.

 

[VisionxOrb]

Ok got my UAP-AC-HD in last night, just did some testing.

My LG v20 only gets to about 200mbps before the speed test ends, HOWEVER I get max fileshare throughput 0f 68MBps ( coping a movie from server to laptop ) and in task manager saw peaks of over 620mbps of network throughput. The wireless card in my laptop is a broadcom 2x2 ac ( forget the exact model atm but im sure wave 1 as I put it in few years ago when I first got a r7000 ).

Somethings observed.
Transfer speed is more varied than doing the same test on old netgear R7000 however I dont think I ever got over 60MBps transferring files on it.
UAP-AC-HD defaulted to HT40 for the 5ghz range, had to manually set to HT80.
Also bandsteering is disabled by default, had to enable advanced settings under site in order to be able to turn that on.
In addition, my laptop connected originally to the 2.4band even though Im near it. had to go into laptops driver settings and set roaming from auto to optimize bandwidth then it connected to 5ghz. perhaps setting 2.4 transmit from auto (high) to medium will help clients select 5ghz.

 

[janthony6]

Ditching UniFi for consumer gear is a bit crazy. I just did the opposite.

Cloud key + USG Pro + 24 poe switch + ac shd + in Wall Pro. Can’t imagine doing gigabit internet any other way....unless the USG-XG is ever available again.

 

[dfarning]

Ditching UniFi for consumer gear is a bit crazy. I just did the opposite.

I am also going through the same process. The question of which is better seems to depend greatly on one's use case. Many of the consumer grade router with flashing leds and lots of antennas seem to do a good job at raw throughput. Great if the router only needs to serve one client at a time.

The prosumer (ie UniFi) grade devices seem do seem to be better at handling the load of a house or small office with multiply concurrent users. There can be a good deal of tweaking to get it set up correctly.

One thing to look at is QOS in the USG. The USG doesn't have enough CPU to do much more than 150-200 Mbps with QOS enabled.

 

[janthony6]

With a 1gig connection, I have no use for QOS

 

[dfarning]

With a 1gig connection, I have no use for QOS

I think your USG pro can handle 3Mbps throughput with QOS turned on. It has a much better processor.

There seem to be a lot of complaints on the unbt forms about unexpectedly slow performance on the basic USG with QOS turned on. Just thought I would point out the issue for the OP.