Hey Guys!
Ive been tasked with building out our office and setting up the network and voip phones. I don't have too much experience with this however so I've been doing some research over the past few days. I really could use a helping hand in what to buy and what constitutes as an appropriate setup.
Our office is two stories with the primary office and reception area on the upper floor. The lower floor is a conference room and kitchen/living space. The hub where all the wired Ethernet ports lead to is also in the lower floor. The structure is mostly concrete and metal with lots of exposed metal AC ducts.
What we need is a network where we can have priority on the VOIP phone service and video conferencing through Lifesize. There will be a couple of wired computers but the majority of the people in the office will be operating off of their respective laptops and mobile devices. The network needs to be able to accommodate ad maximum 15 voip phone lines and 15 computers.
I've been reading a lot about the tomato firmware for being a good start in being able to manage QoS. I'm a bit afraid however that I wont be able to get a wireless signal upstairs with all the concrete so I was planning on setting up a Asus RT-N16 downstairs and another router/access point upstairs to extend the network. In this scenario would it make more sense to have the Asus Tomato as the primary router or the access point? Does it even matter? I'm also assuming I need a nice switch to connect all the phones to so it would be great if i can get a recommendation on that as well.
Lastly, in my situation I would like some clarity on what order everything plugs into each other. I'm thinking something like :
(1F) Internet -> (1F) Primary Router -> (2F) Access Point Asus RT-N16 QOS -> (2F) Gigabit Switch -> Phones/Computers
Does this look right? Sorry for the long winded post. I'm trying to learn alot really fast here =_= Hardware recs outside of the Asus Router would be a plus =D
Thanks ALOT!
Ive been tasked with building out our office and setting up the network and voip phones. I don't have too much experience with this however so I've been doing some research over the past few days. I really could use a helping hand in what to buy and what constitutes as an appropriate setup.
Our office is two stories with the primary office and reception area on the upper floor. The lower floor is a conference room and kitchen/living space. The hub where all the wired Ethernet ports lead to is also in the lower floor. The structure is mostly concrete and metal with lots of exposed metal AC ducts.
What we need is a network where we can have priority on the VOIP phone service and video conferencing through Lifesize. There will be a couple of wired computers but the majority of the people in the office will be operating off of their respective laptops and mobile devices. The network needs to be able to accommodate ad maximum 15 voip phone lines and 15 computers.
I've been reading a lot about the tomato firmware for being a good start in being able to manage QoS. I'm a bit afraid however that I wont be able to get a wireless signal upstairs with all the concrete so I was planning on setting up a Asus RT-N16 downstairs and another router/access point upstairs to extend the network. In this scenario would it make more sense to have the Asus Tomato as the primary router or the access point? Does it even matter? I'm also assuming I need a nice switch to connect all the phones to so it would be great if i can get a recommendation on that as well.
Lastly, in my situation I would like some clarity on what order everything plugs into each other. I'm thinking something like :
(1F) Internet -> (1F) Primary Router -> (2F) Access Point Asus RT-N16 QOS -> (2F) Gigabit Switch -> Phones/Computers
Does this look right? Sorry for the long winded post. I'm trying to learn alot really fast here =_= Hardware recs outside of the Asus Router would be a plus =D
Thanks ALOT!