What’s the next router to consider?

[Tech9]

What is acceptable access point for you?

 

[Sizzlechest]

What is acceptable access point for you?

One that has the same range as a router and can do vlans.

 

[Piotrek]

One that has the same range as a router and can do vlans.

Which AP models have you tested?

 

[Tech9]

One that has the same range as a router and can do vlans.

They are designed for different purposes. Home AIO routers are designed to work as single AP and some hit Tx power regional limits. Business APs are designed to work in groups/clusters and some even have slightly directional antennas. You are perhaps looking for something that doesn't exist.

 

[Sizzlechest]

They are designed for different purposes. Home AIO routers are designed to work as single AP and some hit Tx power regional limits. Business APs are designed to work in groups/clusters and some even have slightly directional antennas. You are perhaps looking for something that doesn't exist.

Yet, if there was a reliable router that used OpenWRT, it would exist.

 

[HELLO_wORLD]

I bought a Netgate 4100 and use a router as an access point. The problem is that routers don't work well as access points since they don't support VLANs for the guest network. I have not found an acceptable access point yet.

Well, that is because VLAN is at ethernet level, not Wifi…
You cannot have different VLANs on the same SSID… With the right device(s) you can have one or more SSID per VLAN (not the opposite).
You could also have a different setup and use a strict DHCP (for example with a Radius server) and different subnets to allocate your Wifi devices on the same SSID to different sub networks, and using a captive portal for guests / new devices.

 

[Sean Sauve]

Man I love this project yet what about this thing? Seems like it would take everything to a-notha-level

 

[Sizzlechest]

Well, that is because VLAN is at ethernet level, not Wifi…
You cannot have different VLANs on the same SSID… With the right device(s) you can have one or more SSID per VLAN (not the opposite).
You could also have a different setup and use a strict DHCP (for example with a Radius server) and different subnets to allocate your Wifi devices on the same SSID to different sub networks, and using a captive portal for guests / new devices.

I'd like to have one SSID for trusted devices and another for untrusted ones. I used to accomplish this by putting all the untrusted devices on the guest network. APs can have multiple SSIDs on different VLANs. OpenWRT can do the same. Stock Netgear firmware cannot.

There is a brute force solution I can do: Buy another router (also configured as an AP). Set up only one SSID per router. One will be on the trusted VLAN with the main SSID and the other on the untrusted VLAN with the guest SSID. No, I wouldn't put them in the same room.