dcwhitworth Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 I've been persuaded by a very worthy charity to look into their networking / internet requirements on one of their sites. Unfortunately I'm operating a little outside my comfort zone so I thought I'd throw this to the EduGeek hive mind and see if you kind people can help me feel more comfortable about this. We're trying to get reasonable wireless coverage, largely for casual browsing, throughout a building. We want to take an ADSL link that comes into the building in one room and make it available via wifi in most places. I've done a crude wireless survey by setting up a home AP various places and then wandering around using a free wifi scanner program and seeing how the signal permeates through the building. I think we could possibly get away with three, possibly four APs. So my question is, what sort of kit should I recommend and what sort of configuration should we be looking at ? They are, like most charities, strapped for cash, so a 'cheap as chips' recommendation is needed, although I have also agreed to provide a more upmarket solution if they should be able to land some money. Anyone got any thoughts or experiences in doing this please ? The problem I have is I've little practical wireless experience outside of home wifi/routers and enterprise managed wireless, the former won't be adequate and the latter is serious overkill.
Joanne Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Couple of cheap access points. Give them static IP addresses, give them the same SSID and code as the router (or change as required) make sure the channels are different... 1, 6 and 11 are popular. Run long cables from router to access points... assuming there are no network points and assuming the router has built in switch! 1
dcwhitworth Posted January 26, 2015 Author Posted January 26, 2015 Couple of thoughts someone has given me are to use wireless extenders, or ethernet over mains adapters to connect around the building both of which would save on needing to put much cabling in.
Oaktech Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Unifi standard... 60 quid a point if you bargain hard or buy a 3 pack... 1
jmak Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Couple of thoughts someone has given me are to use wireless extenders, or ethernet over mains adapters to connect around the building both of which would save on needing to put much cabling in. Ethernet over mains will be better than wireless extenders - you half your connection rate if you use wireless-wireless extenders. Not as good as proper cabling, but that's not always realistic, especially if you're doing it as a favour. +1 for the Unifi kit. For a decent ADSL router, you could ask schoolsbroadband very nicely on here and they might have something to help you out... 1
Joanne Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Yeah the ethernet over mains are good if it is an awkward run. Just make sure people know that if they unplug them or switch them off they won't work. Also they sometimes need a bit of a reboot because of reasons unknown! 1
sturgeo Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 I'd be wary using the ethernet over mains adapters, sounds like the building is a reasonable size and the circuits will most likely spread across multiple breakers possibly even phases. 1
JRowley Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 My experience with power over Ethernet is that they are great 95% of the time and the other 5% they just randomly disconnect because of certain devices being switched on. If its just browsing I would recommend wireless with unifi kit as it will offer you greater flexibility. 1
dcwhitworth Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Ethernet over mains will be better than wireless extenders - you half your connection rate if you use wireless-wireless extenders. Not as good as proper cabling, but that's not always realistic, especially if you're doing it as a favour. +1 for the Unifi kit. For a decent ADSL router, you could ask schoolsbroadband very nicely on here and they might have something to help you out... I'm not too worried about the drop off in connection rate caused by using wireless extenders since the wireless is likely to be at least an order of magnitude better than the internet connection itself which is going to be the bottleneck.
spadam Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Also remember that the sockets need to be on the same ring main for the Ethernet over mains adapter to work so may not be possible depending on the wiring. Another +1 for Unifi here 1
IrritableTech Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) If you are donating your time (well done you) then a bit of wire isn't going to cost them much as long as you are willing run the cable. In my own experience at home, wifi extenders and homeplugs do cause latency - massively reducing end user experience. Sending a tweet takes no bandwidth at all, but adding 35ms internally to every packet can soon add up to a frustrating experience. Unifi standards work really well for general web browsing, and will support a surprising amount of devices. You don't have to run the controller software all the time (but I like to at home on a raspberry pi) but if you do it allows you a captive portal and 'insights' into connected devices. I managed to get my unifi standards for just over £50 a piece (inc VAT) and a raspberry pi for just under £30. With some wire and a plug adapter to plug them all into next to your switch you'd be looking at ~£200 for a three AP solution or ~£250 for four. Running the controller software on a machine you've already got will save you £50 I'd guess, but unless it's running for another reason the electricity can soon add up. Edited February 3, 2015 by IrritableTech 1
dcwhitworth Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I've written up a report and will see what they think. The major hurdle will be getting an acceptable broadband service in the first place, it's a fairly remote location and broadband estimates are 2-3 Mb for ADSL. I'm proposing that we sort the internet connection, then try using wireless extenders for a while to check how good a coverage we can manage and to assess where best to place some APs, then after a while we can hardwire some APs in and provide a permanent solution. Luckily we don't need to provide coverage to the whole building in one shot as it will only gradually be occupied over the course of probably a year, so we have time to take things one step at a time.
sparker Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 I have just left my school and joined a school support company that sells all the major wifi vendors Meru Meraki Aerohive Ruckus etc but they are offering a free try-before-you-buy on Unify if that might help you. Sorry if this is in poor taste as I am now on 'the other side' but just trying to help. Other vendors may offer the same of course!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now