How to setup one wireless network for large property?

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Eggz

Eggz

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Looking for help. I'm half informed and need guidance on details.

My family has a large events venue, mainly for weddings, and people have been constantly asking about the WiFi. Since it's been a few years, they now want to install something repeaters so that all 3 acres of the property will work under a single SSID.

Right now, they have a decent wireless AC router in the main building, but that's it. I see these wireless access points looking helpful:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=Ubiquiti+wireless+ac

Those use power over ethernet (POE), which seems great. But will a normal home wireless ac router send power to the POE access points?

Also, I want to be sure that there is no need for users to do anything other than connect once. That is, if they walk 1,000 fee across the property, I want it to dynamically switch from one access point to the other without users having to do anything. Any solution that requires goinginto the wireless menu at all - whether for switching networks or entering passwords again - will not be suitable. Events are too crazy to deal with WiFi issues. So it just needs to work if we give the WiFi password out.

Simplicity, speed, and reliability are the most important things.
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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No, your router won't power a POE device but you can buy a switch that will do the job.

How many people are you trying to accommodate and what speed is your Internet connection and your budget for hardware?

Do you really *need* to cover the entire property or are there zones where people are more likely to be other than the main building?
 
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freeskier93

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If you want a reliable network I would recommend getting the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite, a good switch, and however many of the Ubiquiti access point you need for proper coverage. The Ubiquiti APs will do what you want and automatically handle device handoff between APs.
 
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bill001g

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Be very careful with the term "POE". It would be so nice if vendors did not hijack this. It used to mean 802.3af which is always 48v and the switch only provides power to devices are designed to use it not to others.

Ubiquiti sells both types so be very careful. The ones that do not use 802.3af you generally must use the injector provided by the vendor since they are not compatible with 802.3af switches. You also have to be careful about cable lengths. 802.3af poe will go 100 meters most other that run at lower voltages have much less distance and it varies from vendor to vendor.
 
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Eggz

Eggz

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Cool, thanks for the info, all!

I see this three-pack of APs that comes with POE injectors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0ED-0005-00019

But I can't tell whether the injectors are proprietary or standard 802.3af.

I'm guess I'll be able to run one 1 Gbps line from the main router to a reliable switch that's roughly 100-150 ft (give or take) from all three of the APs I'd like to place in a triangle. That would handle more than enough traffic, since the internet isn't super fast anyway.

Then I'd do that for each set of three in areas where I'd want WiFi reception. That'll probably be the main reception areas and a few others, but certainly not every inch of the property.

If I get this EdgeRouter Lite: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0XP-000A-00001&cm_re=Ubiquiti_EdgeRouter_Lite-_-0XP-000A-00001-_-Product

. . . then will I use that as the switch?

Like, for each set of three APs, would it go like this?

Main Router -- (long Cat6) --> EdgeRouter Lite -- (long Cat6 x3) --> AP1, AP2, AP3

That setup assumes the EdgeRouter Lite injects the correct POE signal and can be used as a switch. It also assumes that my main router will be able to deal with 9 to 12 APs on three or four EdgeRouter Lites. The main router has the ports for it, but will that all balance? It seems theoretically possible, but what are your thoughts?
 
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bill001g

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I don't know anything about that switch it is partial layer 3 so it depends if you need the feature. It did not say it was PoE so its hard to say.

You need to read the specs on poe they will clearly say 802.3af or maybe 802.3at when it does. You would have to put the power injectors after your last switch before each AP.
 
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freeskier93

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The EdgeRouter is not a switch, it is a router and that is all it is. It has 3 ports, one WAN and 2 LANs. For your purpose you wouldn't use one of the ports because you don't need a second LAN.

Setup would look like: WAN -> EdgeRouter -> switch -> APs
 
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Eggz

Eggz

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@freeskier93

Thanks! So, would setting it up like that create a subnetwork? Like, people would either be on the outdoor WiFi or the primary one in the main building? I can see that being annoying for everyone besides guests.

Is it possible to have an automated hand-off? Sorry about all the questions, I just don't know.
 
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freeskier93

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I'm not sure I'd call it a subnetwork, they are treated as two distinctly different (and segregated) networks, each with it's own DHCP and address scheme. Since it's an enterprise class routers this could be useful in some enterprise situations, for example if you wanted to segregate the wireless and wired networks for security reasons. Does your venue have a personal use home or anything? It could be useful to run your personal network on one LAN and the wireless the guests use on another, that way guests have zero possible access to any personal devices. So maybe you have something like this:

WAN -> EdgeRouter -> LAN1 -> switch -> ubiquiti APs
................................-> LAN2 -> switch -> personal devices

You could also take the wireless router you already have and turn it into an AP and stick it on LAN2 as your personal wifi

I don't have direct experience with the Ubiquitie APs but I have heard good things and they should do automatic hand off. I do use the EdgeRouter Lite as our home router. I should mention being the EdgeRouter is a business/enterprise class router it isn't as straight forward to use as a consumer router. It does have a setup wizard that will get you going. The main reason I reccomend the EdgeRouter is reliability, that seems like a big point for you and consumer routers just aren't reliable. I've never owned a consumer router that didn't last more then 6 months before needing to constantly be power cycled to get in running properly again.
 
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