I am not running a business but I am running a fairly large home network. 45-50 devices at any given time, most wired. Only wireless is really iPhones and iPads. Really only looking for solid wave 2 for highest wireless throughput. I'm getting 330mb up and 500 down now. Nice but I want faster if I can. I watched a few Unifi videos and believe I can set this up without issue. There is a substantial price difference between Unifi and ruckus for what seems to be similar specs on the AP's. I could use a different router than the USG but not sure I need it.
Replace entire large home network?
- Thread starter wassy
- Start date
I am not running a business but I am running a fairly large home network. 45-50 devices at any given time, most wired. Only wireless is really iPhones and iPads. Really only looking for solid wave 2 for highest wireless throughput. I'm getting 330mb up and 500 down now. Nice but I want faster if I can. I watched a few Unifi videos and believe I can set this up without issue. There is a substantial price difference between Unifi and ruckus for what seems to be similar specs on the AP's. I could use a different router than the USG but not sure I need it.
Why are you looking at QoS with gigabit Internet service? QoS is going to make things worse, not better as your Internet link is likely not the bottleneck. Unless you have a dozen HD streams concurrently you are likely not saturating your Internet link itself. If you do speed tests directly from behind the Pace what speeds do you get vs using the AirPort as the firewall? I assume the AirPort is doing NAT, so you actually have double-NAT going on which can cause performance issues or some protocols to just fail.
I also have gigabit service, I am using a very old Asus RT-N56U and it is capable of 900+Mbps upload or download. All of my wireless is done with 2 hardwired AirPort Extremes, as I find them to be entirely inadequate as a router but fantastically reliable as access points...that reliability likely doesn't change just because Apple is "getting out of the business", just keep the network secure with a router that actually has updates being issued in a reasonable fashion.
I would avoid the complexity of VLANs, many people go down the path of using VLANs for a sense of security...and yes, it can add security but it also can just be a headache and adds no value. Something has to interface between those VLANs and that something now has to be capable of multi-gigabit firewall service, which you aren't going to find at a low price point...unless you truly have isolated segments that never talk to each other.
In my house we use AirPlay a *lot* and that has proven to be a problem with mixed AP/network vendors. I was using a mix of Asus and Apple for access points but would have problems if 2 devices were split across the access points and tried to do AirPlay (which uses multicast, aka IGMP). I ended up adding my 2nd AirPort Extreme at that point, I left my "basic devices" on the Asus (e.g. thermostats, VoIP phones, home automation stuff) and then have all user devices on the AirPort Extremes.
If the Apple Airport Extremes are working for you why are you looking to replace them? I would just switch that "first" one to be a pure access point and use something else (even without WiFi, like the Ubiquiti ER/L) as a router. Did you mention your AirPorts are above the drywall? That is going to decrease your 5GHz propagation, higher frequently RF doesn't like penetrating solid services....and having the AP directly above drywall means that a lot of the signal is likely being reflected directly back to the device. If you can get the access points on the "right side" of the drywall that likely will help with your 5GHz. You can look at something like NetSpot app for doing a survey of your house and getting heat maps of the wireless signals, if you watch for promo deals it can be had for a reasonable price (though it is clearly Mac OS oriented). Heat maps really help with visualizing where the problem areas are, you can then see if there is a pattern of walls/objects that seem to create shadows that cause your dead spots, in my case the AP was too close to a TV and anything that was on the "other side" of the TV was in an obvious shadow where the signal was weak...the same can happen or worse with metal duct work or metal framing in the house causing shadows.
In my case it is my router that is the weakest link, it isn't really maintained anymore and lacks IPv6 firewall...and is in general underpowered for full bidirectional gigabit speeds.
I also have gigabit service, I am using a very old Asus RT-N56U and it is capable of 900+Mbps upload or download. All of my wireless is done with 2 hardwired AirPort Extremes, as I find them to be entirely inadequate as a router but fantastically reliable as access points...that reliability likely doesn't change just because Apple is "getting out of the business", just keep the network secure with a router that actually has updates being issued in a reasonable fashion.
I would avoid the complexity of VLANs, many people go down the path of using VLANs for a sense of security...and yes, it can add security but it also can just be a headache and adds no value. Something has to interface between those VLANs and that something now has to be capable of multi-gigabit firewall service, which you aren't going to find at a low price point...unless you truly have isolated segments that never talk to each other.
In my house we use AirPlay a *lot* and that has proven to be a problem with mixed AP/network vendors. I was using a mix of Asus and Apple for access points but would have problems if 2 devices were split across the access points and tried to do AirPlay (which uses multicast, aka IGMP). I ended up adding my 2nd AirPort Extreme at that point, I left my "basic devices" on the Asus (e.g. thermostats, VoIP phones, home automation stuff) and then have all user devices on the AirPort Extremes.
If the Apple Airport Extremes are working for you why are you looking to replace them? I would just switch that "first" one to be a pure access point and use something else (even without WiFi, like the Ubiquiti ER/L) as a router. Did you mention your AirPorts are above the drywall? That is going to decrease your 5GHz propagation, higher frequently RF doesn't like penetrating solid services....and having the AP directly above drywall means that a lot of the signal is likely being reflected directly back to the device. If you can get the access points on the "right side" of the drywall that likely will help with your 5GHz. You can look at something like NetSpot app for doing a survey of your house and getting heat maps of the wireless signals, if you watch for promo deals it can be had for a reasonable price (though it is clearly Mac OS oriented). Heat maps really help with visualizing where the problem areas are, you can then see if there is a pattern of walls/objects that seem to create shadows that cause your dead spots, in my case the AP was too close to a TV and anything that was on the "other side" of the TV was in an obvious shadow where the signal was weak...the same can happen or worse with metal duct work or metal framing in the house causing shadows.
In my case it is my router that is the weakest link, it isn't really maintained anymore and lacks IPv6 firewall...and is in general underpowered for full bidirectional gigabit speeds.
mlg321
Regular Contributor
If you like subscription fees, Meraki offer great tech support, multi location deployment and VPN service. For a home network this is over kill. For the price point you are better off looking at Ruckus/Aruba. Do a search on the web and it is a love/hate thing I sense.
As @effndc mentioned, if its not broke why try to overhaul everything? Try by replacing your router first with an ERL and use your Airport Extremes as access points.
DanH
Regular Contributor
Well for one, I can say the USG-PRO-4 is absolutely NOT quiet. I just ordered some Noctua fans for mine, the wife complained, so I ordered the fans...I don't think I would use a USG for gigabit speeds, but the USG PRO is loud with the stock fans, so I think that would rule out a Unifi router in your case.
Anyway, I am currently not running Unifi APs, but considering how much I love the rest of the Unifi gear I bought, I am definitely switching out my Orbis when we move.
The Unifi controller UI is absolutely easy to use, but has fewer things you can do compared to the EdgeRouter line. However, it does everything you would want it to in a home environment from the UI, and then some. Plus the DPI is miles better than the EdgeRouter Line. Love being able to yell at my kids for streaming 60 Gbs of netflix in a single day! Really looking forward to the enhanced functionality when the unifi APs. If you can handle installing a couple of aftermarket fans, I would recommend the Unifi Line.
mlg321
Regular Contributor
How is your AP mounted?
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi...-Beta-Store/m-p/1799582/highlight/true#M43346
*This is from the beta forum, which you should have access to if you had beta hardware*
Hopefully, you have selected 2.4ghz and 5ghz channels on the AP's? Don't leave at auto, and don't leave power to auto - power auto = full.. Also set 5ghz channels to 80mhz - 2.4ghz to 20mhz. Band steering works (on the AC Pro's anyway). Enable band steering. It will force your clients to 5ghz..
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