avenn

Hi Tribal Tiger, Used a variety of kit in the past - HP, Netgear, Cisco,TP Link etc. All generally good for the specified job. Currently using Mikrotik kit at some sites and found it to be v good and cheap. After setting it up correctly its become a install and forget (apart from monitoring it, general maintenance etc) - which we like. ink: RouterBoard.com : Products They are used by many WISPs in Asia, Africa and East Europe but are slowly (crap/no marketing?) getting known here to. My Pros: Fast and reliable VERY Feature rich - this has saved my bacon when dealing with unforeseen issues. http://www.mikrotik.com/pdf/what_is_routeros.pdf cheap No complex licence issues free updates My Cons: Initially needed to get use to config etc - but now ok - the same as switching to any vendor? Many similar commands/gui to others Manuals need updating more often. Main Website looks crap Takes time to digest the amount of what's on offer Have you got any more details such as network diagrams, number of users, uplink needs etc Hope the above helps. Regards Aidan

I`ve used netgear home plugs for about 5 years - never failed. However I only have light traffic requirements at home. I put a netgear with wifi at a friend’s recently and it works well. Again light traffic. Your wiring will need to be up scratch for ether over power. If you’re in an apartment building or for some reason share the same electric circuit with another premises then ensure its adequately secured. If not possible free internet via neighbors home plugs. If very high traffic needs put in a cable. So perhaps define your needs: delay / data rates etc then pick the one best suited. Regards Aidan

Hi Zag, Amazing connectivity speeds. Have you tried any throughput tests? Not to sure whats available on macs. I use nuttcp on linux and win. Apparently lperf works on mac osx. It would be interesting to see. regards Aidan

Hi njc235 & craig4gon, Some interesting points - did you know that the802.11ac standard is 5 GHz only. Not many of the sales guys tell you that the 2.4ghz bit is only 802.11n. To me (looking at the macro level) it’s more of a steppingstone to 802.11ax which is looking at combining 2.4 and 5GHz and hopefully(please do!!) 60ghz but it isn`t standardised yet. I also wonder if it will get canned like others have. Itmight be better if they merged, if possible/suitable the mobile (LTE etc.) and Wi-Fi(802.11...) standards - just a thought! If you want a glimpse of the wireless future then have alook at this video on the BBC BBC News - How will the 5G network change the world? If this doesn`t get your techie bits excited then I`m notsure what will! regards Aidan

we have used openVPN and SSTP (road warrior and site 2 site) a lot and all appears good so far. we looked at PPTP but to many vulnerability reports/issues however quick and easy to setup. IPses - used in the past (site 2 site) but can be complex and we found cross platform compatibility issues. SSTP - i believe - is now the default for windows - ensure enough BW to cope with encrypted data TCP timing issues. L2TP - no encryption - generally paired with IPsec if enryption needed. a few things to consider: site to site or roadwarrior connections? bandwidth available? can this be know for road warrior? good luck! regards aidan

we use mikrotik so pick what VPN you want from OpenVPN, IPsec, PPTP, L2TP or SSTP which is what we use. We create self signed certs for win7 and mikrotik box to box. so far very stable.

Hi All, A good forum post to read, looking at the tech level and then the external impact of the tech decision - regs etc. Love it. Based on some discussion points i`ve had quick play with visio and attached some possible ideas. However without knowing more about current setup its a bit tricky. It seems to me that the regs need sorting first before the tech otherwise possible hot water. This is tricky as engineers minds tend to play, tinker and fix first! Regards Aidan

hi nick3young, you could use mikrotik router this way whatever and where ever the data comes from you can send down the BT line. You can use whatever is in the headers. if data from headteacher PC only send down BT if from vlan 1 or 3 send down BT if vlan2 only use MAIN etc etc why not also add in fail over (part of mikrotik default kit also) if main line fail switch to BT you can pretty much do what u want - its down to your needs and imagination. if you can`t add in / replace new kit (Mikrotik £59+) then perhaps a seperate VLAN with a greater default route metric for the BT. If main line fails it falls over to BT (which is then the lowest metric). Perhaps eliminate the BT lines router and just use the modem (unless its an all in one on an ADSL?) and have as a secondary default route? no need for VLAN - just bridge to the modems IP but ensure security implemented appropriately. You haven`t mentioned make/model of your L3 switch which hinders answers. Perhaps more details on your network would also be beneficial. Do you have a detailed diagram? Anyway hope the above helps. Regards Aidan Venn

Hi techsupp, mikrotik trans proxy: Manual:IP/Proxy - MikroTik Wiki RBS2011 about £80 - WiFi, Broadband Routers, Ethernet Switches, VoIP, NAS, Bonding - Broadbandbuyer.co.uk check its the correct performance for your needs or will you need CCR spec. regards aidan

Hi techsupp, They are 11 chans avail in uk but these are from the days of 5 MHz channels not the nowadays 802.11 20/40/80 channel widths. The wider the channel the more data = faster data rate. 5mhz channels at the time were not going to give us the speeds needed. In the uk we can only use the range 2.4 to 2.4835 see ofcom doc: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/spectrum-information/UKFAT_2013.pdf See diagram. We use 1 6 11 as a BEST PRACTICE in that it maximises 20mhz chan usage without interference. It’s about not overlapping your actual channels otherwise interference. So in reality we have 3 possible 20mhz channels and only 1 x 40mhz channel. Channels 5 and 10 are "spacers" between 1 6 and 11 to avoid interference. On a frequency analyser channels don`t just drop of neatly at the end - they are like a steep slope - see diagram - middle and bottom graph. So when you say can I use the other channels - it depends (again) - as long as nothing else is using that range. But in my experience this is highly un-likely due to 2.4ghz freq range now considered a saturated / screwed up range. So what can you do? 1. Well auto freq is not much use as it changes at that point in time only / other APs on a separate autonomous system within range can do the same and it can be a merry go round causing end device probs etc – there is also not much it can jump to (2.4) as its all taken. 2. You could speak to the problem device owners – they may also/likely have wireless issues (your system interferes with there systems) – i`ve knocked on doors in the past and offered to fix for free and put there ap on a fixed non- interfering channel (you will need to channel plan) and lowered the power so it doesn’t slip through to your location. 2.4ghz is a slippy frequency which is one of its main issues when lots of Aps. Power control is v important in crowded enviro. A little initial hassle but might sort both people’s issues. Win Win? 3. Invest in 5GHz end user kit. If you want it to work u might have no choice? But with 80mhz chans on the way this may/will become crowded. Then we will need 60ghz – coming soon / 802.11ad! 4. Send email to Ofcom – tell them politely to get arse in gear – more freq please and limit channel size! They are reviewing freq allocation at mo: Ofcom | About this document They need to give it to the free market (which makes excellent tax dollars) not auction to the richest git! By the way I use mikrotik which allows me to use 5mhz channels. Very tailor able! Hope the above helps and good luck! Aidan Venn MSc, MTCNA, CCNA blah blah blah……..

Unifi are good and I use them but have moved on to mikrotik which offer just as good performance but are cheaper (£35 and up) and far more selectable / configurable - they are like a swish army knife - very configurable (cisco level) with central controller CAPSMAN (£60 and up) - however the flipside is that you need to know what your doing.we have used them for BYOD and never failed. Built in or centralised firewall/bandwidth controller/AP manager. Take a look at RouterBoard.com : Products Send me a private msg for skype details if you want a natter. I'm certified in both unified and mikrotik amongst others. For me they are awesome kit. Hope this post helps!