Multiple WAPs Wi-Fi installation in Motel : Need advice

[Robert Edwards]

Jim Lafleur and I have a very similar situation. I do not want to hijack his thread, but allow me to ask a couple questions, and perhaps your input would help him too!?
I too am reworking my wifi at my small motel property (24 rooms + 1 office, single level, long building totaling 600 linear feet) Just switched from DSL to Cable Broadband (bandwidth issues w/ DSL). My present setup has a wireless n router located in the office at one end of the property broadcasting SSID motel1 and a second n router setup as a AP located 3/4 of the way down the building broadcasting SSID motel2 (connected to the back of office router via Ethernet). Major issues I'm dealing with now is the gap between the office router and AP creates a dead spot that a few rooms cannot connect and the second router/AP keeps losing the internet connection.
After the research I've done, I'm planning on changing the setup to the following:
Office (indoor location):
-cable modem and Netgear AC1900 wireless router
*Connecting 1 computer via wired connection for my office (low use)
Along the motel front (outdoor installations):
-2 seperate AP's evenly spaced along the length of building. Due to the need of outdoor installation and building construction components, I'm opting for the Hawking Tech HOAWBN1 for the Access Points. There temperature ratings are safe for my geography and signal strength should penetrate block and metal siding building materials.
I want same SSID for router and both AP's for seamless roaming and will span the channels (1,6,11). Also, I want to have the AP's connected to router/modem via Ethernet cable so as to not lose bandwidth. The network will be secured with WPA2-PSK protection.
Here are my questions -
*- I know the AP(s) are single band 300n and my router is a dual band AC, so should this be a problem I need to consider?
*- Will the AP's be better to connect in star topography? Also, they connect to the office Netgear AC router not the cable modem, right?
*- Any other setup concerns or advice? Like advice on the router setup.
*- If you do not like the hardware selection, please advise with alternate hardware choices. Outdoor equipment must be rated to temperature between 0-90 F.

Thanks in advance & Jim, I hope the replies help you too!

 

[L&LD]

Without a diagram of the layout, I think that outdoor AP's should not be considered. Why provide a better WiFi experience outdoors than almost anyone will receive indoors?

If maintaining this network falls on you personally (and possibly an assistant or two), I would be looking at equipment more suited to non-tech personnel.

First off, I would be isolating the office network from the guest network by physically using two routers on different subnets.

Second, I would be using a current three radio router like the RT-AC3200 with RMerlin firmware to act as the AP's (but still be configured in Router mode, so as to enable isolated Guests).

While using an AC router as the main router and additional N Class routers as the AP's is not a problem in itself, at the price of the HOAWBN1 units, I'd rather have AC Class equipment instead (even if a little more expensive right now).
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Third, seriously consider separate ssids for each AP. The password can be the same, but it is simple to point out to guests to use either Guest1 or Guest2 depending on which has the higher signal on their device. This has proven to reduce support calls from my customers of weak or intermittent signals.


To set this up:

1. Modem connected to the current Office Router (Netgear AC1900)
   1. Netgear AC1900 (MR1=Main Router 1)
      1. IP address 192.168.273.1 (as an example, just need it to be the highest IP numerically)
      2. Guest wireless with client isolation turned on for rooms near office
      3. LAN Port 1 to switch connecting remaining AP's (less than 300' run on CAT5e or higher cable)
2. MR1 connected (via Switch) to first RT-AC3200 (AP1) in Router mode
   1. RT-AC3200 (AP1)
      1. From Switch to WAN Port of AP1
         1. IP address 192.168.1.1 (as an example, just need it to be lower than the MR1 IP address)
      2. Do not use the main WiFi networks. Instead, enable Guests and set as isolated
3. MR1 connected (via same Switch with less than 300 foot run from MR1) to second RT-AC3200 (AP2) in Router mode
   1. RT-AC3200 (AP2)
      1. From Switch to WAN Port of AP2
         1. IP address 192.168.2.1 (as an example, just need it to be lower than the MR1 IP address
      2. Do not use the main WiFi networks. Instead, enable Guests and set as isolated

Physically locate the three routers in use here as evenly as possible along the 600' length of the property. Consider the Netgear AC1900 to be located outside of the office, if at all possible too.

Ideally, the locations should be at the 100', 300' and 500' marks for the most coverage.

If the office does not require WiFi, consider shifting all routers an additional 30 to 50 feet away.

I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but I hope it gives you another set of options to consider.


What the above offers is 8 radios in the area to be covered which should cover not only current expectations, but also a little into the future too for not much more money than mere AP's offer.

If cable runs are needed at this time, consider multiple runs back to the main office and all the way to the end of the building now. With switches along the way as appropriate (at less than 100M for quality CAT5e cable or better). Designed properly, you can add additional AP's, configured as points 2 and 3 outline effortlessly as needed.

I also suggest you make a strong password for each AP on the main ssid's that only you or the support staff knows, along with an identifying ssid. This will make administering the AP's much simpler.

With more details of the actual layout, the above could be tweaked as needed. But I think this is sufficiently presented to modify as necessary?

 

[Robert Edwards]

I've just tried my best to attach a diagram for clarification.

 

[Robert Edwards]

OK, that worked.
Don't know if you can see all the details, but the lines represent roughly 20ft increments. The building is older style with no indoor areas besides the office and actual guest rooms (besides 1 closet that will not work due to location and building material). With the linear design and building materials, my thought was the broadcast power of the HOWABN1 or other high-powered outdoor rated AP would give sufficient coverage inside the rooms, with the likelihood of plenty of coverage around the outdoors area which include guest access areas like the pool and garden areas (located at the 6 o'clock in above diagram). But, I have no knowledge or experience with that particular product so your opinion is noted.
My motel office location has a laptop that I use for guest registration, but it really doesn't get online hardly ever, as it isn't my business office. But, I would consider your note about securing the office computer from the guest network. All of my typical daily business that occurs online is in another building located on a completely different secured network.
Presently, the wireless setup I use has 3 seperate ssid's, I just have the under-powered and older routers/ap's spaced too far apart to be effective. The diagram depicts what I thought would be a good solution as I'm ready for the upgrade and hopeful that I will not have to constantly go out and 'reset' the routers as much as I do now.

 

[Robert Edwards]

BTW...anyone who wants to trade out a few nights in the mtns of western nc for some network installation, let me know ;-)
But time is of the essence, busy busy times are just weeks away so I've got to get this figured out sooner than later. Thanks for your time and wisdom!!!

 

[Deleted member 36463]

I'm running a hotel also (2 in fact) and I have some dead zone coverage issues as well. I am looking at AMPED wireless extenders to fix them. I can't give you feedback on actual performance as I am in Asia and they are being shipped to me (I haven't gotten them yet) but they might be very helpful for you. And no Ethernet connection required. They will connect to you existing APs. - They can 'clone' the existing WiFi configuration from your current AP - They end up with the same name WiFi_RE I think and the same password.

Just a thought

 

[L&LD]

989art, the Amped wireless extenders seem to be repeaters? In this example, they would be halving (or more) the speed possible for the clients connected to them.

Robert, thanks for your mountain getaway offer, but I too am busy these days.

If you can get the HOWABN1 units to be truly isolated from the office network, this should work.

I would still recommend if possible (don't know the capabilities of these other routers) to place the existing Netgear AC1900 router at the highest IP address relative to the AP's. This alone should isolate them (hopefully). Before giving any passwords out to random guests; make sure you test that only the internet is accessible from the Guest network (make a day out of it by inviting a couple of local college IT nerds to try to break into your network through the Guest WiFi).

Wish you luck with the project.