I’m a home networking newbie and would appreciate any advice folks have. I got my house wired for ethernet, but have some areas I was hoping to improve the wifi for my mobile devices with a wired backhaul setup.
I tried looking through the posts here and it seems like most folks don’t recommend going with the mesh systems as it’s paying a premium for a wireless backhaul that I wouldn’t be using. It also sounds like I shouldn’t use any random access points as handoffs between them may not work efficiently. That said, what devices do folks recommend? I saw ubiquity come up a couple times, but wasn’t sure if there were cheaper and/or better options?
I don’t agree with the “paying a premium for wireless backhaul” argument.
Here’s why:
Many of the integrated mesh systems have a relatively inexpensive price-per-unit when purchased in 2 and 3-packs - often lower than individual access points.
Many of the integrated mesh systems often come with various bells-and-whistles that access points don’t offer out-of-the-box. Content filtering, activity monitoring, control features, etc. Granted, some functionality may be subscription based, but they are nonetheless available.
Yes, you can accomplish some of it with additional hardware or software, but again, that is either adding to costs or complexity.
If you have multiple access points, you may discover that in order to have seamless roaming, you need to either purchase a separate hardware access point controller, or perhaps have a computer running 24/7 for the software version. This is true for the TP-Link EAP series access points, and possibly others. Integrated mesh systems have that functionality built right in.
Unless you’re using table-top access points, then chances are you’ll need a POE injector to power the access points (which aren’t always included), or a separate POE switch – yet another added expense.
And, on top of all of that, you’ll need a separate router to use ordinary access points.
So, now that the price issue has been debunked. . .
There are some reasons you might choose access points over an integrated mesh-based system. . .
Pro-sumer access points (such as Ubiquiti/Unifi) can be very stable. They can run for months on end without requiring a restart to fix connectivity issues. You won’t find that in consumer-grade equipment.
If your access points are powered by a POE switch, then on the rare occasion that there is a connectivity issue, you just power-cycle the POE switch, and the access points will re-start. With a mesh system, you’d end up running from room-to-room to power-cycle each device manually.
Pro-sumer access points tend to be better at handling large numbers of wireless clients, so if you have alot of wireless IoT or smart-home devices, you’ll probably see more stability with them than you would with a consumer-grade integrated mesh system.
Integrated mesh systems use one of the units as a router. Some makes/models only offer 1Gb ports, so if you buy one of those units, you may be be locked in to 1GB speeds across your system.
In order to use all of the mesh system’s integrated features, it will need to act as the primary router for your network. For most folks, this isn’t a big deal, but there are scenarios where this isn’t practical. Dual WAN (ISP) usage being one of them. If you bypass the routing functions of your integrated mesh system, it will essentially disable all of the bells-and-whistles that the system offers.
Phew. With all of that said. . .
Ubiquiti makes good stuff. Once you configure it, it is usually “set it, and forget it”. I log into my Unifi access points via the free software console app every 4 to 6 months to check for firmware updates, but that’s about it.
I hear good things about TP-Link access points. If you have more than one access point, and need seamless roaming, you’ll either need a hardware-based controller, or a PC running 24/7 with their controller app. However, they do offer the ER7212PC router, which has a built-in POE switch and access point controller, so it’s a good pairing, at least up to 1Gb ISP speeds. TP-Link is generally more affordable than Ubiquiti, but I think the Ubiquiti platform is more stable.
I really appreciate you taking the time to write this response as it’s very helpful for me too because I’m kind of at the same stage as OP. Just one thing I don’t understand from your explanation. Does the ubiquiti system include this hardware based controller, or will I still need an always on computer running some software? I considering either the dream router plus one access point, or a pair of Asus routers so I can use one in AP mode with AImesh. Right now I don’t have a lot of devices but I’m going to start that journey soon
The Ubiquiti access points have their own hand-off process, and don’t require a controller for them to function adequately. I think that Aruba Instant On access points function similarly.
There are some advanced features that would require either a hardware or software controller, but for basic use - you don’t need either.
(Though you do have to install and run their software controller for the initial setup of the access points. After that, you can close it down, and only need to run it to check for firmware updates, or make changes to the access points.)
I believe the dream routers come with their network suite built in, so you’re probably good there. I will point out that, if you’re using the “Dream Router” (UDR) – the cylindrical router – it does cap out at 700Mb routed speeds. . . so if you’re planning on 1Gb speeds from your ISP. . . the UDR won’t handle those speeds.
Thank you again for this and for letting me know about the dream router’s speed cap. I’ve read a few comments here and there but wasn’t sure if it was just user error or actually true. Right now I have 500 in my house but everyone locally is really pushing gig speed since one of the isp’s recently installed fibre to the house. I like the dream router because I’m reading that it’s better able to handle a lot of smart home devices. It’s just my wife and I so not high demand from us. My current router is getting ancient so it’s time to change and because I want to start adding a number of smart home devices, that seems to be the main criteria for router selection.
There are other routers in the dream series, such as the UDM Pro, UDM Pro SE, etc. . . but those would be a overkill on a 1Gb service, and they don’t have built-in WiFi, so you’d end up needing 2 access points, instead of one.
Most of the more affordable prosumer routers are wired-only. The EdgeRouter-X, TP-Link ER605, and the TrendNet TWG-431BR are affordable, but will cap out around 925-940Mb, give-or-take.
What’s going to help with multiple smart home devices isn’t so much the router, but the WiFi source that they are connected to.
The so-called high-density access points will probably have the biggest impact on your performance.
The TP-Link EAP620HD (1Gb LAN port) or TP-Link EAP660HD (2.5Gb LAN port) can supposedly handle a ton of clients.
Unifi also has some access points branded as “HD”.