Trade Beer for wireless advice

[Oddball]

Here is my problem, I have a 3000 sq ft home shaped in an opened C that I am looking to blanket in wireless goodness.

My last home was covered by a Meraki MR 12. I loved having multiple networks, one for infrastructure the wife and I, and one for the kids and guests. QOS, application awareness, all nice things. Also the system could be controlled by an android app...

I'm thinking I will need multiple APs due to the shape and size of the home. I also work in the garage frequently so I need good coverage everywhere.

I like Meraki but the high price point and yearly subscription are deal breakers.

Is there anything out there that come close to the feature set without being $700 a unit?

eGenius, ubiquity?

Thanks

 

[coxhaus]

I run three Cisco WAP321 wireless uints I bought off eBay cheap. I think I paid $50 for 1 and $35 for the other 2. I only run 5GHz. There is no AC support but 5GHz is really fast. I had to flash the units to the latest firmware. I now use the Cisco tool Findit on one of my desktop computers to maintain them software wise. It tracks the software updates.

I run the same 2 SSIDs on all three wireless units. One is for a guest network and one is for the real LAN. I have no issues they are rock solid and never go down except for power outages.

Any cold beer is good. I am not choosey with free beer.

 

[stevech]

3K ft. Two story? C shaped.

I'd guess you'd need the WiFi router and 2 access points. Presuming drywall (not plaster interior walls).
The challenge is how to wire the APs to the router - cat5 in attic/under floor is best.

A $75 AP will be fine.
I use such, from ASUS. Their combo router/AP, and run it in the explicit AP mode.

I suggest giving the router and each AP a unique SSID, such as smithFR, smithGar, smithBR1

so that client devices that don't make smart AP choices (and most don't) can be dealt with.. the human can choose the AP that makes sense, proximity-wise.

 

[sfx2000]

Here is my problem, I have a 3000 sq ft home shaped in an opened C that I am looking to blanket in wireless goodness.

send over a floorplan - single floor or two?

 

[Oddball]

send over a floorplan - single floor or two?

Single

 

[Oddball]

I run three Cisco WAP321 wireless uints I bought off eBay cheap. I think I paid $50 for 1 and $35 for the other 2. I only run 5GHz. There is no AC support but 5GHz is really fast. I had to flash the units to the latest firmware. I now use the Cisco tool Findit on one of my desktop computers to maintain them software wise. It tracks the software updates.

I run the same 2 SSIDs on all three wireless units. One is for a guest network and one is for the real LAN. I have no issues they are rock solid and never go down except for power outages.

Any cold beer is good. I am not choosey with free beer.

The Cisco solution would work well for reliability but no advanced features...

 

[coxhaus]

Would a wireless device with 5GHz 40MHz wide channel be faster than a 2.4 GHz 20 MHz wide channel with advanced features? I would think so but I don't know. I am happy with my system.

 

[stevech]

40MHz can be faster if both client and access device support 40MHz @ 5GHz
AND
if both have ideal signal strength.

Most wifi clients are handhelds and almost never need these high speeds.

"Without mobility, there is [rarely] a need for wireless"

 

[Cloud200]

The ubiquiti Unifi line is probably the best bet for getting you the multiple networks.
As for the application aware QOS . . . Your best bet is to move it to the router.

 

[sfx2000]

Single

Couple of dual-band AP's on the legs of the "C", and maybe a 5GHz in the middle run for a filler?

 

[coxhaus]

40MHz can be faster if both client and access device support 40MHz @ 5GHz
AND
if both have ideal signal strength.

Most wifi clients are handhelds and almost never need these high speeds.

"Without mobility, there is [rarely] a need for wireless"

The problem I see with 40MHz is it works fine for 5GHz but there are now too many other 2.4GHz networks and nobody can run 40 MHz wide on 2.4GHz anymore. In the past it worked but now days it has become undoable.
So my question still stands. 5GHz 40MHz wide is going to be faster than 2.4GHz 20MHz wide. I will say yes 5GHz is faster.

PS
The speed becomes very apparent when you start scrolling pictures on handhelds.

 

[sfx2000]

Actually what I've seen is that handhelds (phones/tablets) and media streamers can and do take advantage of the higher data rates afforded by 802.11n wide channels in 5GHz, and suffer more* in crowded 2.4GHz networks due to lower Rx sensitivity and Tx power...

* Relative to laptops/desktops with better antenna designs..

In the last couple of years - phones have gone from N72 (20MHz) to N150 (40MHz) to N300 (11n MIMO) to recent devices with 11ac 2*2:2 for AC867 support in 5GHz...

In most areas, wide channels in 2.4GHz shouldn't be done - there are exceptions, but with dual-band devices, better to go fast in 5GHz if at all possible.