Router/wifi mesh setup.

[Eyecu]

Trying to come up with a solution for a business to get rid of the ISP gateway/wifi pods. From what I've been told and can see I can set up a third-party router. What I would like to do is have an Asus router with Merlin firmware on it. but then I either need a mesh setup or something to extend the wifi to cover the business which is approximately 8000 square feet in a T-shaped one-story building. I was looking at the

ASUS ZenWifi Pro ET12​

But as I've never setup a mesh network before I not quite sure how to work this, would I need a router and then these setup to extend the network. Any direction would be appreciated on how to do this setup.

Current setup appears to be a Nokie ONT, bell home hub 2000, and wifi pods placed through out the business. I'm looking to replace the home hub and wifi pods.

 

[ducky124]

Seems to me the Pro ET12 Might be overkill and a very expensive solution. You really haven't given to much detail as to what your needs might be. What is your internet speed, how many users will be connected or will you need WiFi7 capability. What type of structure are you in. Do you have ethernet cable available to use as backhaul or will you need to use WiFi. I would look into one of the new ASUS routers supported by Melin and then pick up a few old routers , possibly used on EBAY to say some money.

 

[Eyecu]

Sorry I missed some relevant information. I'll try and get it all in this post:

Internet Speed: currently 150Mbps (can upgrade up to 3Gbps) fibre
Most clients are Wifi 6e but have a couple wifi 6 clients and printers which I'm guessing are wifi 5. Total clients 11 laptops, 6 desktops, and a total of 6 printers that are wifi, plus 1 server that will be hardwired.
Cannot run ethernet cable easily.
As for the building structure, it's mainly sheetrock interior and Metal siding exterior. Attached is a basic layout not fully to scale but basic layout

Main concern is plenty of lan bandwidth as all the computers run a program from the server for all operations of the business, and I need a setup that if something fails I can easily replace quickly to get everything up and running again hence why I was looking at the Pro ET12. Boss isn't concerned with the cost persay, but Need reliable and ease of replacement incase of issue. The actual not net usage isn't as much as the internal usage mainly email, and basic net browsing.

 

[Tech9]

This home mesh set with apparent ongoing firmware issues has nothing to do in a business environment. If you or the owner really value the business - don’t look at toy networking solutions. What you are thinking is a dead-end temporary solution with serious limitations and not guaranteed to work reliably, waste of money. Tell your boss you need professional help for this project.

 

[degrub]

Typical office building setups have drop ceilings. Running plenum grade ethernet cables from a wiring closet to all locations is very doable and should be done if possible.
Also, how are the power outages there ? Do you need to be able to run while power is off or do you just shutdown ? Significant investment in UPS if you need. You should have a UPS for the server and networking gear at the very least to allow an orderly shutdown if the server is local. One server crash shutdown might pay for a good UPS.

Does the server require external access ? Who and how is that managed for access and security ?

And don't use consumer gear for this network. SMB gear and a local pro to support it is the way to do for a reliable config. It's never 100 %, but you won't have the issues you see on these forums with consumer gear. It will cost more initially, but cheaper and reliable long haul.

 

[Eyecu]

No drop ceiling hence why running wire is difficult, server is on a ups and rest of the property is on a backup generator so the server is covered for power. Don't need external access cept for occasional teamviewer support from the program company accessing the server for updates or configuration issues. 95% of the usage is for internal lan. I'm looking at different options for what will be the best setup to cost for him. He doesn't need a complicated setup.

Next to the crappy bell equipment the setup he has now works for what they do which the base setup is:
Nokia ONT -> Bell Home Hub 2000 -> Bell Wifi pods
The only thing wired into the LAN is the server, wifi pod ( one wifi pod in the utility room with the ONT and router, then 3 more spread out in the main part of the building...looking at the diagram the top part of the t is the main part of the building) and i believe the x-ray computer note this is a vet clinic
They just started moving over to a computerized setup after being completely paper for years. So All the hardware has been new over the last 14 months. I'm just looking at an easy solution to get rid of the bell equipment so that if there is an issue I can run out grab a new component and swap it out quickly with minimal of downtime.

 

[heysoundude]

Someone here made a video of completely bypassing Bell's Home Hub and just using the fibre with appropriate SFP cage into a router that has SFP ports - this is what you should be looking into, OP: someone with the knowledge and appropriate equipment. I'm looking at some of the mikrotik stuff for my home, but they have more commercially-oriented offerings as well for this situation, plus they're not American-owned like ubiquiti, in case that matters to the business. I'd also advocate for a small speed bump to their service package as part of this upgrade, maybe just the next tier up, if the case can be made for it

 

[Eyecu]

From what I've been told and read due to the fact of the Nokia ONT, yes I can plug any pppoe capable router into the ONT and use that. So now I am just looking on suggestions on whats going to my best bet for hardware, getting wifi throughout as most of the stuff is connected to wifi and internal use vet program, shares for images/xrays etc. My main concern is down time so I need a setup that I can easily replace components if needed. and the fact that the place Is finished with no drop ceilings makes it difficult to run cat and probably hydro to the appropriate areas for wireless ap's

 

[degrub]

1) Use a stand alone switch to manage all the local traffic (hardwired and WIFI). Managed switch (layer3) if you want to use VLANs to segment traffic.
2) minimal SMB router to handle traffic from the switch to/from internet based on usage stated. May need to be VLAN capable depending on 1.
3) Wire all the fixed desktops. Use surface mount "panduit" type rectangular conduit. Snap in cover conceals the CAT6 cables. Alternative is to find an alarm installer. They are usually pretty good at snaking cables and not too expensive.
4) APs should use POE. You can buy inexpensive power injectors instead of using the switch ports for a cheaper switch and possibly easier to source replacement switch. If you don't need VOIP roaming, you should not need a controller. Some SMB APs come with built in controller to manage configuration and roaming. Since you may only need 1 or 2 APs, may not be important. Get APs that allow you to tune the power levels to avoid too much overlap. This is where SMB designed APs will do a better job. This is where a local network designer/installer will help.
5) buy 1 extra AP, switch, router if you want quick exchange. Preconfigure and keep in box. If internet traffic can wait a day or two, skip the router extra or pick up any PPOE router from local. Easy if VLAN not needed.

Take a look at the Ubiquity products. Or even TPLink Omada.

IMO, you don't want to be messing with hardware/firmware that is in beta test - e.g. hardware that supports wifi7. WIFI 6 should be plenty and is usually stable, at least in the SMB world. AiMesh is just ASUS marketing. It is designed for residential service, not business service. Sometimes it works just fine. You can read the forums.

 

[Tech9]

the place Is finished with no drop ceilings makes it difficult to run cat and probably hydro to the appropriate areas for wireless ap's

Please, tell your boss to hire a professional for the new network infrastructure and equipment. What you are thinking about is potentially business damaging. Based on square footage and number of drops for the infrastructure you are looking at around CAD2000 for materials and installation and then for equipment you are looking at around CAD2500 to start for Gigabit network. In case you choose to go with UniFi network (lower cost and suitable for business use) and you are looking at future expansion capabilities what you need is around CAD3100 for UDM-Pro gateway, USW-24 switch, 2x U6-Pro access points with PoE injectors, UNAS-Pro with 2x 8TB drives, mini rack to hold the above. The needed number and type of business grade UPS devices - extra.