gigabit ethernet connection necessary for WAP?

[jeffy1021]

I have been using a Cisco AP1231G at home for a few years. It has been rock solid, no dropped connections or needing to reboot, but I am thinking that it is time to move to N soon. So far I have looked into the Ubiquiti UAP-PRO and the Cisco AP321, but am leaning toward the Cisco AP1042N. I think the stability will be in line with what I currently have, but with N speed. Also, the simultaneous dual band is nice to have since I have both 2.4GHz and 5GHz clients.

I currently have a 6-port 10/100 802.3af injector. Do you think it is necessary to get a separate gigabit injector for a new AP? Right now, I don’t have more than 1 HD video stream going at once, but might in the future and want to make sure I address any bottlenecks.

Also, does anyone have any other AP recommendations?

 

[thiggins]

Theoretically, since most N APs support wireless link rates higher than 100 Mbps, you would need a Gigabit network to avoid having the wire be a bottleneck.

But wireless link rate and effective bit rate of the stream that hits your wires are two different things. With a single access point and low traffic, your actual throughput is going to be well below 100 Mbps. And even an uncompressed 1080p stream is going to peak in the 40 Mbps range, with average rates 10-15 Mbps lower, depending on content.

I would stay with what you have for now and upgrade to Gigabit as your budget allows or if you see any bottlenecking. Using a tool like Hoo Tech's NetMeter will let you accurately see your traffic's bitrate.

 

[jdabbs]

I haven't used the Aironet 1040 series, but my work has a handful of 1140s--we're pretty satisfied with them.

If you anticipate a heavy user on each band, I'd consider the gigabit injector since a Fast Ethernet connection could easily be saturated between them. Otherwise, I'd suggest delaying until the AP is in place, then make a decision based on how intolerable the saturation is.

 

[jeffy1021]

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I will stick to my 10/100 injector for now. The prices on used Cisco 1040s and 1140s are actually not that far off from each other so I'll definitely keep an eye out for either one. It's also helpful that the IOS can easily be changed from controller based to standalone (more selection when searching the used market).

 

[darkphader]

The UniFi UAP-Pro's came with a PoE injector so if you have a non-PoE enabled GbE switch you can use it and not be tied to your 10-100 speeds.

Chris

 

[sfx2000]

The only caution I would suggest is that some of the newer WAP's may pull more current that the older POE injectors can deliver.

Check the specs on the WAP before jumping in.