Wireless Router on Steroids

[OlderThanDirt]

I'm working on a house that is in an area with dismal cell phone reception but good fiber optic internet service. Therefore, I want to be able to route almost all my communication devices, including cell phones, through a wireless router with tri-band capability. I'm looking at the ASUS ROG Rapture Wireless-AC5300 tri-band router.

I need a router that will be able to accommodate a lot of devices (cameras, home automation switches, Apple TV/Roku, computers, thermostats, pool/spa controls, VOIP phones, iPhone/iPads, etc.). A good number of these devices, including the cell phones, will operate at 5 GHz. I pre-wired the house to operate the security cameras using PoE and will run those through a switch, which takes a load off the wireless traffic. On average, I'll be running about 50 devices.

Any suggestions?

[spritian]

Same setup - about 10 cameras tons of rokus, phones, tablets, laptops etc.

I opted for this one:
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Gigabit WiFi Router (R8000) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWHMR6G..._dDIMybVMPG3XE

It's been solid, no issues. A few range issues for my external cameras so I bought:

NETGEAR AC1200 WiFi Range Extender - Essentials Edition (EX6120-100NAS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014YN7LVE..._OGIMyb9XZ3DSF

You can split the band on these which is awesome... i.e. Connects to router on 5gb, but rebroadcasts in 2.4 (which is all I needed for my externals)

Pings stabilized to under 1ms once I joined my external cameras to that ssid. And that's with 24/7 recording to a NAS device, etc.


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[Den60]

I've been happy with my ASUS routers.

[Gromann]

I've absolutely loved my ASUS router, has one of the best software interfaces and set ups I've gone through on a router.

I've had a few Netgear products throughout the years and they work fantastically, until they stop, for no reason.

Though, I've never had a Netgear product beyond their sub 100 range offerings.

[nathan4610]

Any suggestions?

UniFi

UBNT dot com

[WaltKowalski]

FYI... Nighthawks have a serious vulnerability unless patched. i've heard that even after the patches are in place, still vulnerable. BE CAREFUL.

http://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/highlights-v/matthew-wilson/two-new-security-vulnerabilities-discovered-in-netgear-routers/

[WaltKowalski]

UniFi

UBNT dot com

Ubiquiti has the best price point (get the cloud key too!)

but if you can spend... Meraki is awesome and easy to manage.

[OlderThanDirt]

It looks like I have some work to do. So many options. ASUS is easy for me since I have two networks with RT-AC68U routers. Unifi and Meraki look interesting. Thank you for the ideas.

[nathan4610]

If you have any questions about the Ubiquiti gear, feel free to ask or pm, I'm using almost every product line they have

[uzigalil]

https://eero.com/technology

the eero mesh wifi is the future today, its awesome

[ExtremeX]

+1 on the Ubiquiti UniFi recommendation + Cloud Key

50 devices on one MIMO AP is a tall order, especially if they are actually moving decent bandwidth.

You will have the best success with a multiple AP environment. Put the APs where it counts to reduce latency. More than 1 AP in close proximity will automatically load balance... plus as you move around the house you can have it hand-off from AP to AP. Its a solid high performance setup... and its about as affordable as its going to get for something like that with UniFi.

The controller is great... we have 3 APs in an overlap proximity and as more users start requesting more bandwidth you can see the controller move users to more available APs to help with traffic flow. Makes for a really nice and fast experience.

[SheepDog78]

At the MSP I worked at a couple years ago, we sold a lot of Ruckus wireless APs and controllers because they're a Ruckus partner. If you want a no compromise WiFi solution, and have the money for it (and it sounds like you do), skip the consumer grade stuff and get an enterprise AP. Ruckus is a good way to go. Their stuff rivals Cisco wireless equipment in many ways, and they develop their solutions internally, hardware and software. Their AP antennas are phenomenal, and they support MU-MIMO and beamforming which is nice if you will be supporting many devices. A Zoneflex R510 wave 2 AP would suit your needs well, and supports a theoretical max of 512 devices (which in real world terms means about 256 at best, more like 150-200). It's exponentially better than anything you can get from Asus, Netgear, or any other popular name brand, for only a little bit more dough than you'll pay for their flagship products. Also, it's PoE capable, and since you have a PoE switch, you wouldn't have to worry about external power.

https://www.amazon.com/Ruckus-Wireless-ZoneFlex-802-11ac-Indoor/dp/B01L7L23NM

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[crufflers]

Same setup - about 10 cameras tons of rokus, phones, tablets, laptops etc.

I opted for this one:
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Gigabit WiFi Router (R8000) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWHMR6G..._dDIMybVMPG3XE

8 minutes left to get one of these for $199.

[OlderThanDirt]

UniFi

UBNT dot com

This looks like a great system, especially since I have already run CAT6 to every room in the house and to numerous outside locations. Since the house I'm working on is all about outdoor living in the winter, the new UAP-AC-M looks perfect for the back yard and pool.

Ubiquiti has the best price point (get the cloud key too!)

but if you can spend... Meraki is awesome and easy to manage.

You could say that. An awesome system, but, but, but, can you explain the price point to my wife?

+1 on the Ubiquiti UniFi recommendation + Cloud Key

50 devices on one MIMO AP is a tall order, especially if they are actually moving decent bandwidth.

You will have the best success with a multiple AP environment. Put the APs where it counts to reduce latency. More than 1 AP in close proximity will automatically load balance... plus as you move around the house you can have it hand-off from AP to AP. Its a solid high performance setup... and its about as affordable as its going to get for something like that with UniFi.

The controller is great... we have 3 APs in an overlap proximity and as more users start requesting more bandwidth you can see the controller move users to more available APs to help with traffic flow. Makes for a really nice and fast experience.

I'm currently running 40 devices on an ASUS RT-AC68U and RP-AC56 access point with mixed results (computers, printer, phones, cameras, thermostats, light switches, etc.). When everything is operating optimally, the router is adequate. Things go to hell when a neighbor's router changes channels and I get some overlap and interference. I finally found a set of channels for 2.4 and 5 GHz that their routers don't seem to use, but I'm sure my luck will run out. I can reboot everything remotely, but some of my wireless clients stop being recorded on my NAS in the interim. Unfortunately, I can't hard wire some of my security cameras without making a lot holes in the walls. The project house will have even more devices, but a lot more will be connected to a switch using CAT6 and PoE.

At the MSP I worked at a couple years ago, we sold a lot of Ruckus wireless APs and controllers because they're a Ruckus partner. If you want a no compromise WiFi solution, and have the money for it (and it sounds like you do), skip the consumer grade stuff and get an enterprise AP. Ruckus is a good way to go. Their stuff rivals Cisco wireless equipment in many ways, and they develop their solutions internally, hardware and software. Their AP antennas are phenomenal, and they support MU-MIMO and beamforming which is nice if you will be supporting many devices. A Zoneflex R510 wave 2 AP would suit your needs well, and supports a theoretical max of 512 devices (which in real world terms means about 256 at best, more like 150-200). It's exponentially better than anything you can get from Asus, Netgear, or any other popular name brand, for only a little bit more dough than you'll pay for their flagship products. Also, it's PoE capable, and since you have a PoE switch, you wouldn't have to worry about external power.

https://www.amazon.com/Ruckus-Wireless-ZoneFlex-802-11ac-Indoor/dp/B01L7L23NM

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A Zoneflex R510 wave 2 AP looks really good for upgrading one of my existing systems. The reviews for the Ruckus products look really good, once you ignore the people that can't handle anything beyond PnP.

A lot of the consumer WiFi mesh products also look really nice for situations where you can establish a nice line of site network of APs and don't have anything prewired.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. This is going to be fun, except for spending time in the attic with rat turds...

[SMR510]

I recently upgraded our office to two AC Lites from Ubiquiti, very happy with them. I also threw in their USG for routing duty, happy with it as well. Way ahead of the consumer grade junk we had before.