Fiber optic service and wireless network setup

[BluishGreen]

Hello everyone, been lurking for a while trying to find a situation similar to mine but couldn't.

I have a fiber optic service without cable TV running from a modem with ONT input and four LAN ports. I found a decent AirPort Extreme (6th gen) on sale and bought one to utilize the few 802.11ac capable clients at home.

I connected the AE to one of the modem LAN ports, disabled wireless on modem, and disabled DCHP on AE. So far it works ok with no issues. However, I need to extend the wireless network to the other half of the house that has little to no signal.

I reached to the drawer where I keep all of the old outdated electronics and found a G-wireless router that was used back then when I had DSL service. I set it up so that it acts as a wireless access point and connected it to another LAN port in the modem and it worked ok but obviously relatively slow. I can't connect it to the AE because it wants nothing to do with any router/access point outside the family.

Now, here is what I'm trying to figure out; am i better off

1) Buying a decent non-apple cheap AC router and hook it up to the modem through 500AV powerline plugs and place it in the other half of the house, or

2) Buy another AE and connect it to the first AE through a 500AV powerline plug?

What I'm trying to figure out essentially is what effects will running two or possibly three wireless access points connected to the modem directly through an eithernet cable or 500AV powerline adapters have? Will there be any interference? Am I better off just buying another AE and hook it up to the first AE (bridge) through powerline?

I've read somewhere in this forum that it might not work because ISPs will only provide one physical IP address but I'm not in the US and it worked ok with me maybe because I'm not using the WAN port.

Thanks and I apologize if it's repetitive in this forum.

 

[htismaqe]

Whether it's an AE or not, I would connect the AP directly to the modem.

I have 2 APs hooked up that way and they work fine.

 

[BluishGreen]

htismaqe, thanks for your feedback.

Wouldn't running two or three routers as independent access points cause some interference? In your case, have you set a unique channel numbers for each band for each router?

 

[htismaqe]

htismaqe, thanks for your feedback.

Wouldn't running two or three routers as independent access points cause some interference? In your case, have you set a unique channel numbers for each band for each router?

That's correct. Each AP would need to be set on a different channel to ensure compatibility.

 

[chadster766]

Hello everyone, been lurking for a while trying to find a situation similar to mine but couldn't.

I have a fiber optic service without cable TV running from a modem with ONT input and four LAN ports. I found a decent AirPort Extreme (6th gen) on sale and bought one to utilize the few 802.11ac capable clients at home.

I connected the AE to one of the modem LAN ports, disabled wireless on modem, and disabled DCHP on AE. So far it works ok with no issues. However, I need to extend the wireless network to the other half of the house that has little to no signal.

I reached to the drawer where I keep all of the old outdated electronics and found a G-wireless router that was used back then when I had DSL service. I set it up so that it acts as a wireless access point and connected it to another LAN port in the modem and it worked ok but obviously relatively slow. I can't connect it to the AE because it wants nothing to do with any router/access point outside the family.

Now, here is what I'm trying to figure out; am i better off

1) Buying a decent non-apple cheap AC router and hook it up to the modem through 500AV powerline plugs and place it in the other half of the house, or

2) Buy another AE and connect it to the first AE through a 500AV powerline plug?

What I'm trying to figure out essentially is what effects will running two or possibly three wireless access points connected to the modem directly through an eithernet cable or 500AV powerline adapters have? Will there be any interference? Am I better off just buying another AE and hook it up to the first AE (bridge) through powerline?

I've read somewhere in this forum that it might not work because ISPs will only provide one physical IP address but I'm not in the US and it worked ok with me maybe because I'm not using the WAN port.

Thanks and I apologize if it's repetitive in this forum.

I recommend you run a Cat5e\6 line to the area with low signal and install another AE there. This will give you performance, reliability and the line will be useful in the future.

 

[BluishGreen]

Thanks chadster766. If I choose to get another AE should I connect it to the modem or the first AE? I wish a physical cable was an option but my home is fairly old and either the cable would be dangling and cutting through corridors or visible on walls and roofs until I reach the area where the signal is low. I've had good experience so far with powerlines.

 

[chadster766]

Thanks chadster766. If I choose to get another AE should I connect it to the modem or the first AE? I wish a physical cable was an option but my home is fairly old and either the cable would be dangling and cutting through corridors or visible on walls and roofs until I reach the area where the signal is low. I've had good experience so far with powerlines.

Get the powerlines going first then add the new AE.

 

[htismaqe]

Thanks chadster766. If I choose to get another AE should I connect it to the modem or the first AE? I wish a physical cable was an option but my home is fairly old and either the cable would be dangling and cutting through corridors or visible on walls and roofs until I reach the area where the signal is low. I've had good experience so far with powerlines.

As long as it's feasible and functional, I would connect the 2nd AE to the modem.

 

[paranoised]

I have a similar set up

I have a similar set up to some extent:

I have a Fiber Optic service with ONT input and 4 LAN ports. I have it set up like this:

Huawei Fiber Optic modem (100mbps internet) [wireless turned off] ----> Homeplug AV2 1200mbps link -----> via WAN to Linksys X3000 which acts as DHCP server -----> simple 6 way gigabit switch with an access point connected to each.

All the access point are 802.11n or 802.11ac generation routers/access points and automatically negotiate the frequencies for both 2.4 ghz / 5.8 ghz modes. These are all different brands but it didn't matter.

This set up works very well.

In my experience having your most capable router as the DHCP server goes a long way in maintaining the stability of the network and eliminates DHCP errors.

If your budget allows it, go for all Airport Extreme just to save you from learning how to configure each router separately.

 

[BluishGreen]

Update: thanks all for the feedback, I went and bought anther refurbished AE. Now, I read here and elsewhere different opinions in regards to DHCP and the small network composed of one modem and two routers; I have two scenarios that I'm testing now but I'm absoultly a beginner when it comes to networking but willing and interested to learn. I'm struggling to understand the difference between the two following scenarios that I hope someone here could explain it;

1. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1 via physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to modem Ethernet port 2 via powerline. DHCP disabled on AE 1 and AE2 and carried out by the modem. Wireless on modem is of course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1and AE2 but 2.4 and 5 GHz channels are unique for each AE.

2. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1 via physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to AE1 Ethernet port 2 via powerline. DHCP disabled on modem and AE 2 and carried out by AE1. Wireless on modem is of course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1a nd AE2 but 2.4 and 5 GHz channels are unique for each AE.

Is what I'm trying to do ok for both scenarios? If so, what you would choose and why?

Thanks a lot this forum has been very helpful and I'm learning a lot from the website as well!


To paranoised: thanks for your feedback, we indeed have the same setup and probably the same router as well. However, I could not rationalize the cost of 1000+ powerline as I could only find ZyXeL and it's $100+. I found few from china online at 60 but haven't heard of the manufacturer so I'm hesitant to buy it. Instead, I opted for TP-LINK 500 for $30.