RT-N66U + a couple of UniFi APs a reasonably best choice

[alternety]

I have been poking a stick at this for weeks. I almost had a solution; then I saw UniFi.

I have a large house with floors not friendly to RF penetration. Windows not RF friendly either. All useful points have Cat 5e (inside and outside). RT-N66U currently my only net component. I just need a dead simple network system. No current odd devices or internet connections. Primary purpose to allow cellphones to wander around the house while being used without problems. Everything else can use Cat 5. Possibly later, maybe some remote sensors.

I want the APs to be able to use PoE. I will probably need at least one AP outside the house.

I have seen two answers to this - To get proper performance, the router needs to have its' WiFi off. It seems reasonable that off would be a good idea. The firmware in the router may or may not play well with the APs where signals overlap. But it probably would not be equally effective at handing off devices as they move around.

Question 1: Router WiFi on or off?

Question 2: Is this a reasonably optimal solution?

 

[MichaelCG]

This is exactly what I have setup and running at my in-laws and similar to what is running at my house.

In-Laws:
- ATT U-Verse RG as modem
- Asus RT-N66U as router & OpenVPN (WiFi disabled)
- x2 Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LR

My House:
- Google Fiber Modem
- pfSense on HP desktop as router & OpenVPN
- x2 Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LR

Our devices roam about the property just fine on the Ubiquiti APs. The Asus router at the in-laws helps isolate them from the crappy RG since ATT was blaming their issues on the Sonos equipment for some reason. Just leave the router to route...and that is all. I have OpenVPN enabled on their router purely for me to remotely support them. I get away with OpenVPN on my pfSense box since x86 has quite a bit more speed and power.

If you are using mostly cell phones, consider a bunch of UAP-AC-LITE all over the place on low power. Look at a UAP-AC-PRO or the UAP-AC-M for outside. Doubtful you will find the UAP-AC-LR useful if the environment is not RF friendly....those are mostly beneficial when you are just trying to cover distance.