OT: Looking for Some WiFi Networking Advice

Thu Oct 15 09:51:43 MST 2020

I'll pile on here. I have been extremely happy with my Unifi gear. Other
mesh products I've used weren't nearly as solid.

On Thu, Oct 15, 2020, 7:56 AM Ryan Petris via PLUG-discuss <
plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:

> I second the use of Ubiquiti devices, specifically UniFi. While the
> management interface is proprietary, you can run it in Docker or as I do on
> Debian in a virtual machine. It will automatically discover all Ubiquiti
> UniFi devices on the network and allow you to configure them all through
> the same interface with the same or different configuration as the rest.
> Updates and whatnot all happen through the same interface and makes
> managing many of them a breeze; for instance, want to change your wifi
> password? Update it in one place and all of your access points pull in that
> change.
>
> They're not necessarily that expensive either; you can get the UniFi
> AC-Lite's on Amazon for $89 each; I have 6 of those and one nano HD
> scattered throughout my house and I have yet to roam to a spot that does
> not have excellent wifi coverage.
>
> They're also all powered via POE so if you're able to run ethernet to all
> of them and plug them into a POE switch then you don't have to worry about
> a mess of wires.
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020, at 8:58 PM, Stephen Partington via PLUG-discuss
> wrote:
>
> I have been using Ubiquiti for the last few years. Their edge devices have
> been really solid, and the AP I have has been super stable. All the
> management software is free as long as you are willing to set up some
> containers or vm's which in my mind is rather nice.
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 5:11 PM Michael Butash via PLUG-discuss <
> plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>
> A lot of the consumer "mesh" products I find are pretty janky after review
> or use.  Not tried Eero, but I did try Samsung mesh AP's for a bit, and
> found them mostly inept.  I considered the google units, but didn't want
> them uploading everything I do back to google.
>
> The term "mesh" tends to imply remote units are NOT wired, and I need both
> ideally.  Dealing with a number of wired AP's usually requires some level
> of "controller" to orchestrate them, but consumer stuff just doesn't seem
> to get how this "should" work...
>
> I got the Samsungs a few years ago for the "SmartThings" hub with zwave
> integrated, but their wireless was terrible, and only the root AP did
> zwave, which I thought would be more distributed across my house.
> Apparently whoever developed samsung's wireless had no idea how wireless
> works, and would put my 2.4ghz network running most often on channel 5, all
> 4 of them, which if you know anything about wireless, you just don't do
> that.  You always use channel 1, 6, or 11, really only channels you should
> ever use in 2.4ghz.  Not sure how common this is among "consumer"
> products.  I crap-canned these after about a year as wireless was terrible
> at 2.4ghz and even 5ghz was pretty wack as they seemed to think using the
> same channel was a great idea.  Hopefully that person at samsung got fired.
>
> Prior to that, I ran a number of wired Cisco AP's (4-5) around my house
> using a Cisco wireless controller appliance for them, which I installed a
> lot of across enterprises.  Any enterprise solution you can configure to
> use the right channels, and introduce some channel avoidance between them
> for proper wireless channel distribution.  In the 2.4ghz range, with only 3
> usable channels (all of which are used by all your neighbors), you're
> mostly screwed, but at least at 5ghz should be ok if they adjust/avoid used
> channels, and you get some features like band steering to "influence"
> devices to move from 2.4 to 5ghz if they behave right.  Consumer stuff just
> doesn't seem to do these features sadly, but good thing you can usually buy
> old enterprise kit cheap on ebay.
>
> I now run a single Arista enterprise AP that does a well enough job of
> covering my house for my purposes.  I also have some Fortinet AP's wired in
> with my Fortigate firewall as a controller I test with that work both wired
> and wireless, but use a different SSID for those.  I mostly use the Arista
> for my primary SSID as it's an 802.1ax AP, but the Fortinets work in full
> mesh (non-wired) using 5ghz for backhaul or as individually wired ap's
> orchestrated via my Fortigate ala my prior Cisco's, and Arista via the
> "cloud".
>
> I have heard good things about Ubiquiti, but no experience thus far.  I
> almost bought into some, but figured I'd screw with the Fortinet and Arista
> kit as I work with both lots, and found it best staying with enterprise kit
> I can granularly control understanding how wireless "should" work.  I'd be
> curious to know how well Ubiuquiti deals with dynamic channel selection,
> band-steering, and other "enterprise" features consumer crap sorely misses
> on.
>
> -mb
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 12:09 PM Mark Phillips via PLUG-discuss <
> plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>
> I need to upgrade my home wifi network with a high speed mesh network
> (primarily for better phone coverage in my house - I make a lot of video
> calls to the UK). I have Cox Gigablast on my wired network. The issue I am
> running into is that the "base" unit of the eero units and other vendors'
> boxes have to connect to either (1) the cable model or (2) the router and
> not the switch. My modem, router, and switch are all in a cabinet above my
> desk in the office, so (1) I don't need wifi in the office and (2) I don't
> relish the thought of having a wifi transmitter sitting 3 feet from my head
> 12 hours a day. I want to connect the wifi boxes to my wired network in a
> couple of different rooms away from the office. Eero (and other vendors)
> says the "base" unit has to act as a gateway (my router does that now), so
> it cannot be after the switch. Any suggestions on how I can get a high
> speed mesh network in my house and not take a daily showert in 2+ GHz
> radiation? I also want to use the wired network as the backhaul channel.
>
> Please don't start a discussion on the health effects of wifi radiation.
> Just assume I am so unscientific and superstitious that I believe in wifi
> gremlins and I don't want them invading my head.;)
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mark
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>
> --
> A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from
> rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
>
> Stephen
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