Multiple Access Points

[advrider29]

I am moving into a new home and upgrading all my networking gear and plan on trying all asus stuff. *I have a large space to cover (about 8200 sqft, 2 levels indoor and 1300sqft, 2 levels outdoor).

I plan on using a ac68u as the primary router. *I will have 5 ea-n66 units in bridge mode to connect things like offices and a/v centers.*

To get wifi coverage, I want to use additional ea-n66 units as access points. *I need to figure out how many ea-n66 units I will need it AP mode to cover the area. *The house currently has no Ethernet wires, but I will be able to run some to connect to the access points.*

So for my specific questions.

Will the n66 have an issue if I am using multiple of them in AP mode?
Should I use ac68u as my access point devices instead of n66 (sounds expensive)
What is a good way to design coverage so I know where to run wires and place the AP's? *X AP's per Y sqft?
Is it ok to overlap signals for AP's?
Can I have too many AP's?
How can I measure the signal?

Thanks!

 

[PrivateJoker]

I am moving into a new home and upgrading all my networking gear and plan on trying all asus stuff. *I have a large space to cover (about 8200 sqft, 2 levels indoor and 1300sqft, 2 levels outdoor).

I plan on using a ac68u as the primary router. *I will have 5 ea-n66 units in bridge mode to connect things like offices and a/v centers.*

To get wifi coverage, I want to use additional ea-n66 units as access points. *I need to figure out how many ea-n66 units I will need it AP mode to cover the area. *The house currently has no Ethernet wires, but I will be able to run some to connect to the access points.*

So for my specific questions.

Will the n66 have an issue if I am using multiple of them in AP mode?
Should I use ac68u as my access point devices instead of n66 (sounds expensive)
What is a good way to design coverage so I know where to run wires and place the AP's? *X AP's per Y sqft?
Is it ok to overlap signals for AP's?
Can I have too many AP's?
How can I measure the signal?

Thanks!

- I would avoid the EA-N66s, I have used them, they are pretty clumsy to use, to operate the UI, to reset, etc. I think they put the vast amount of effort in those into space age design aesthetic. Also they are either/or band, not dual simultaneous, and I just never got really decent performance out of them. . very underwhelming.

- (side note, careful what you call "N66" as the RT-N66U is a router, vs the EA-N66 which is not)

- You might get a lot of people with great suggestions on all sorts of stuff, but, my advice in setting up several home networks would be, all this wifi planning should take a back burner to wiring that place up as best as you possibly can. You haven't moved in there yet? Great, no moving around furniture and stuff, and you probably haven't repainted a lot of of walls that you will eventually repaint. If it was me, in a perfect case scenario, I would run 2-3 pulls of Cat6 to every single room (except for bathrooms) as well as a RG-58 coax (assuming you're not doing satellite) to any room that might have a TV. Maybe you have the tools and can get a friend to help and can knock this out over a couple weekends, I've helped multiple friends do this, especially starting with a house that's empty, it's a great leg up. This will be the single most important thing you could do for lightning fast internet connectivity, and you can get a couple little 5 port dumb switches to provide network to media center areas, etc. You can use one of the Cat6 pulls to wire up a centrally distributed VOIP and/or POTS. And this also gives you a central hub to distribute coax to all rooms you want it in for CATV.

- If you do it that way, you have a switch and a patch panel where everything comes together (basement, a closet, whatever) and can put your main router, and an AP or two in strategic areas of the house

- Yes it's possible to have too many APs (Especially 2.4ghz) in one area, even with say 2-3-4, you might actually get better performance with limiting the power a bit on them

- Any modern laptop should be able to measure RSSI signal strength, link rate, and do an actual file throughput test to measure real speed (free utilities avail for that, the rest should be built into OS)

- IMHO, even if you had to pay someone to run some of the wires, you'll never get this good of a shot (without anything in place yet, I'm assuming) to do it, and so many annoying problems that are inherent when you build a network with a mostly wifi based infrastructure. . .especially since I assume you'll be backing up multiple PCs, maybe streaming some video to TVs, etc.

 

[sm00thpapa]

The biggest question is what type of wireless devices and how many do you have? I would go with powerline to each area with a switch.

 

[joegreat]

The biggest question is what type of wireless devices and how many do you have? I would go with powerline to each area with a switch.

Hi,

I have (nearly) the same suggestion:
As you can see from my footer I am running two routers to overcome the same problem! After moving into a new building the range was not good enough, but with this 2nd AP solution it's great!

As the building was build from scratch I could add LAN cabling into each room (2 lines per room) and therefore the speed and connection is fine.

With kind regards
Joe

 

[jlake]

Whole house coverage article....

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Do not run RG58. Use RG-6. Only use RG-58 for more flexible connections from the wall to TV device when you can't use RG-6.

There is another video cable that can be used for very long runs, but it's tough to work with.

 

[PrivateJoker]

Do not run RG58. Use RG-6. Only use RG-58 for more flexible connections from the wall to TV device when you can't use RG-6.

There is another video cable that can be used for very long runs, but it's tough to work with.

First I meant RG-59 (RG-58 being a 50 ohm spec).

Second, I know the general sentiment you are trying to convey (use less lossy, more insulated coax to do the backbone of your home's CATV distribution, similarly to Cat5e solid for Ethernet runs within a building between patch panel & termination point at wall outlets, etc & using Cat5e stranded for patch cables), but RG specs are much more ambiguous and can lead to a huge amount of combinations of conductor diameter, insulation diameter, shield composition and layering, and jacket type - all within the same "RG spec," which itself is technically withdrawn and not a true spec.

http://www.belden.com/resourcecenter/tools/cablefinder/upload/06-3_15.pdf

Nevertheless my mention of coax was a complete aside to my brainstorming for OP's issue and probably won't advance the convo any further pertaining to his question.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Thanks for catching the RG58 mistake. i.e use RG59.

I should modify my response as well. Use RG-6 Quad Shield. The connectors are different. Compression, not crimp, is the way to go.