Meraki

Fri Nov 22 06:34:33 UTC 2013

Op 22 nov 2013, om 06:37 heeft Jay Ashworth het volgende geschreven:

> ----- Original Message -----
> Anecdote:
> 
> My local IHOP finally managed to get Wifi internet access in the restaurant.
> 
> For reasons unknown to me, it's a Meraki box, backhauled *over T-mobile*.
> 
> That's just as unpleasant as you'd think it would be, And More!
> 
> Both the wifi and 3G (yes, 3G) boxes lock up on a fairly regular basis, 
> requiring a power cycle, which, generally, they'll only do because I've
> been eating there for 20 years, and they trust me when I ask them to.
> 
> I can't say whether this provides any illumination on the rest of their
> product line, but...

To compound matters, i'd go as far as to say that any wireless solution on 2.4Ghz isn't really a wireless solution. It's just not feasible anymore in 2013, there is just *so much* interference from everything using the unlicensed 2.4Ghz band that it's own success is it's greatest downfall.

Reliable wireless isn't (to use the famous war quote "friendly fire isn't")

For whatever reasons, whomever I talk to they all tell me that <ISP here> sucks, and if I ask further if they are using the wireless thingamabob that the ISP shipped them, they says yes. So, that's about right then.

I've been using a PCengines.ch Alix router for years now (AMD Geode, x86, 256MB ram, CF) with a cable modem in bridge mode with seperate dual band access points in the places where I need them (living room, attic office) and I can't say that my experiences with the <ISP here> mesh with theirs.

Anyhow, if you are going to deploy wireless, make sure to use dual band, and name the 2.4Ghz SSID "internet" and the 5Ghz SSID "faster-internet". You'll see people having a heck of a better time. Social engineering works :)

When we chose the Ubiquity wireless kit we could deploy twice as many APs for the same price of one of the other APs. This effectively means we have a very dense wireless network that covers the entire building, and lot's of kit that can actually see and use the 5Ghz band.

Setup was super easy, I added a unifi DNS name that points to my unifi controller host and I get a email that a new AP is ready to be put into service. Having a local management host instead of some cloud was a hard requirement. I also like that I can just "apt-get update; apt-get upgrade" the software. By using DNS remote deployment was super easy too, send the unit off and let them plug it in, it then comes onto the network and registers itself.

I believe every current Apple iDevice currently supports the 5Ghz band, and all the Dell gear we purchase also comes ordered with it. Heck, even my 2011 Sony Xperia T has 5Ghz wireless now, as do the current Samsung Galaxy S3, S4

Best regards,

Seth