SSID Naming Protocol for Access Points?

[cjb4]

I have had problems reaching all parts of the house with a steady strong WiFi signal so I set up two Access Points using coax-MoCa connections. I have a number of wifi enabled devices connected (garage doors, cameras, TVs, speakers, watering system, phones, computers, ipads, alexa). I now get strong signals everywhere. My question is what SSID naming protocol should I use, same names for the main router and access points or different. I've heard some devices (Sonos speakers?) connect not just based on the SSID name but also MAC address. Is this true and will I run into issues if I use the same names? I am using all Asus wifi routers a AC5300, a AC66U, and a AC1200. Thanks for any advice

 

[ACwifiguy]

I’d have a 2.4ghz SSID and a 5 ghz SSID (example: 24slowandlong, 5fast) Connect all smart devices to 2.4ghz only. Connect all phones, tablets, and wireless based computers to 5ghz only. Your devices are smart enough to bounce between the APs, roaming is client driven.

Set all the routers with mostly the same settings - the only difference between the routers is to use non- overlapping channels for the three different access points (use channels 1,6, and 11 for 2.4ghz; use 80Mhz wide channels 42, 58, and 155 for 5 ghz). This prevents radio interference. Scout out for any neighbors WiFi signals to see which access point would do best with which channel (try to non-overlap with any strong nearby neighbors).

Channels visualized: https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/images/stories/wireless/160mhz/80_and_160mhz_channels.jpg

 

[cjb4]

Thanks, had not thought about restricting smart devices to 2.4ghz.

 

[ACwifiguy]

Smart home devices don’t need much bandwidth... the slower 2.4ghz is perfect for that. Additionally it keeps 5ghz less cluttered - maximizing all the theoretical benefits of beamforming and MIMO for the few devices that need max speed.

Keeps the fast devices on their own clean 5ghz WiFi network.

 

[sfx2000]

I’d have a 2.4ghz SSID and a 5 ghz SSID (example: 24slowandlong, 5fast) Connect all smart devices to 2.4ghz only. Connect all phones, tablets, and wireless based computers to 5ghz only. Your devices are smart enough to bounce between the APs, roaming is client driven.

As a contrarian view - keeping the primary network (both 2.4 and 5GHz) as a common SSID resolves a lot of roaming problems - esp with things like WiFi calling from SmartPhones.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/bas...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

I have a dedicated Router/AP just for IOT devices development/testing/use -- (it's a nice little N150 class device running OpenWRT - 25 bucks on Amazon) running on it's own port off my pfSense router/gateway.

 

[mjc775]

As a contrarian view - keeping the primary network (both 2.4 and 5GHz) as a common SSID resolves a lot of roaming problems - esp with things like WiFi calling from SmartPhones.

Similarly, I have both the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks and extender all using the same SSID. I’ve had no problems with smartphones and laptops roaming, nor problems single-band cameras and other IoT devices maintaining connections.

Basically I’ve built my own mesh system, but without the benefit of the dedicated backhaul to the main AP. Instead I’m using powerline ethernet adapters to bridge the connection from a Netgear R7000 in my office on one side of the house, with an Apple AirPort Extreme in the middle of my house. The only drawback is that the powerline adapters I’m using cut my download speed to around 45 Mbps. I plan on getting a Netgear Orbi system once their Wi-Fi 6 model comes out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ACwifiguy]

I like keeping the 2.4ghz and 5ghz separate. The radio frequencies have different overlap and I’ve found it’s easier to physically space out APs based off of a single band. Makes the device only do a single roaming event and prevents any double roaming events.

I don’t pay much attention to 2.4ghz spacing because I keep it to low bandwidth non-roaming smart devices.

 

[cjb4]

I agree with ACwifiguy. I tried it both ways and found my smart devices roamed without a problem but would not automatically connect to the much faster 5G and there didn’t seem to be a way to force things. Different SSID names made it easier to do so. With my system that a potential difference of 20 Mbps and 500
Thanks all for the input