High end wifi for home - recommendations?

[mrpetrov]

Hi folks. Just bought an old (110 years) 6200 sqft 3-floor house (+ basement) which has Cat5e cabling throughout (and a bit of new Cat 6 which I got installed for the media room) - other than the basement, which is largely unused. It currently has a Luxul Wireless system, which is pretty awful.

I wanted to buy a new hardwired wireless system to provide high quality seamless roaming through the house, with excellent throughput, coverage and low lag. Speed and stability of connection while roaming are important to me.

It would be connected to a 400mbps Xfinity 4k modem in the basement, which would be hardwired to a network switch and thereby to ethernet jacks all around the house.

We use mainly Apple4k TV, Amazon Fire TV, PS4 Pro, multiple laptops and smartphones. We also need an ethernet switch or somesuch to activate a selection of the ethernet jacks around the house.

The three systems I am thinking of based on this thread are: Ruckus Unleashed, Eero and Ubiquiti Unifi Pro.
- I like the idea of Ruckus Unleashed's seamless roaming
- I like that Eero can be a hardwired mesh system (can each wireless AP be connected via Ethernet for additional stability??)
- A lot of people seem to like the Unifi system

Assuming that price is no object (of course it is, but let's suspend disbelief...) - is there anyone of these, or another high end wireless AP setup, which is an obvious choice (I don't mind paying for performance)? What network switch would you pair it with to enable say, 12+ ethernet jacks?

Many thanks, any advice hugely appreciated!

P.

 

[thiggins]

Similar question/discussion here:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/choosing-wifi-network-solution-for-multi-level-house.46943/unread

 

[mrpetrov]

Similar question/discussion here:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/choosing-wifi-network-solution-for-multi-level-house.46943/unread

Thanks, just read that thread. I think most of that thread is convincing the OP to wire his house - which mine already is?

I’m hoping perhaps to get some advice on which wired APs would best suit my situation? For example, how should I think about the eero va Unifi vs ruckus unleashed (given they can all be Ethernet wired)...

Thanks a lot once more!

 

[thiggins]

If you want a "set and forget", then mesh products with Ethernet backhaul can work. They don't provide many controls for you to futz with and possibly configure.

Ruckus isn't really after the consumer or pro-sumer market. You'd be on your own if you went that way.

There are plenty of low cost access points that can do the job. When you have Ethernet backhaul and are installing multiple APs, the performance of each AP is less critical. You actually don't want wide coverage because too much overlap will cause device roaming problems. Look at our two roundup articles.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33159-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33191-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup-part-2

Finally, don't believe any claims for "seamless" roaming. Devices decide when and where to roam. Newer devices may be more amenable to "guidance" from APs. But there are not guarantees.

 

[mrpetrov]

If you want a "set and forget", then mesh products with Ethernet backhaul can work. They don't provide many controls for you to futz with and possibly configure.

Ruckus isn't really after the consumer or pro-sumer market. You'd be on your own if you went that way.

There are plenty of low cost access points that can do the job. When you have Ethernet backhaul and are installing multiple APs, the performance of each AP is less critical. You actually don't want wide coverage because too much overlap will cause device roaming problems. Look at our two roundup articles.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33159-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33191-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup-part-2

Finally, don't believe any claims for "seamless" roaming. Devices decide when and where to roam. Newer devices may be more amenable to "guidance" from APs. But there are not guarantees.

Thanks a lot for the reply, links and explanation - it is greatly appreciated. Would an Ethernet connected Eero system be comparable to the APs analysed in those roundup articles? My only concern with the Eero is that it didn’t perform well in throughout in your review iirc.

 

[Easy Rhino]

What's the most demanding wireless client you have? (where you'd need the most bandwidth?). Everything you've described so far is a 2x2 device or less. Unless you have MacBook pro or something.

2x2 access points might be a good solution. Each one would be able to max out the performance of your clients (and get close to 400mbps performance under ideal close range conditions), and they're fairly cheap so you could get lots of them to fill in any coverage gaps.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33159-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33191-2x2-ac-access-point-roundup-part-2

You very likely may need a power over Ethernet switch if you go with the APs.

if you're just looking of ease of install, though, maybe a mesh system like eero or Orbi that supports Ethernet backhaul.

If you want to futz more with setup yourself (or pay someone to do it), then a switch an AP's seems better.

 

[coxhaus]

Don't forget the Cisco small business APs. They are simple to setup in a cluster.

 

[mrpetrov]

Many thanks for all the great advice!

I grabbed the eero pro 3 pack today along with a Netgear GS-116 unmanaged 16 port switch, all at B.B., so I’ve got a 15 days return window to test it out.

It was ridiculously easy to setup. Internet speed of 475mbps downstream (400mbps Xfinity service) to the base eero. Wireless coverage seems excellent throughout the house (still testing). Wireless client (iPhone 7) internet speedtest at 300-375mbps when next to the second (wired) or third (wired) eero.

At distant parts of the house (eg top floor, diagonally opposite corner to nearest eero on level below), still getting 25mbps speedtest.

I’m using the eero Smart Queue Management (beta), and I’ll use their Band Steering beta when it’s implemented soonish.

I’ll report back after more testing.