Meraki

Sun Nov 24 02:47:00 UTC 2013

I'm using an EdgeRouter lite in a deployment for a WISP, and it's holding up very nice. It's only passing 40-50Mbps of basic OSPF routing, but no complaints thus far for the performance. I've heard that once you start adding in the services and rules, you really start to see the PPS drop, but I haven't RFC 2544 or EtherSam tested it yet.

Right now, I'm waiting for the GUI to get more development before we move further with them. Being Vyatta under the hood, you can do just about anything, but the helpdesk techs don't understand CLI. Kudos on the IPv6 GUI support out of the box.

Eric Miller, CCNP
Network Engineering Consultant
(407) 257-5115

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Soucy [mailto:rps at maine.edu] 
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 7:35 AM
To: Seth Mos
Cc: NANOG
Subject: Re: Meraki

FWIW, I picked up a UniFi 3-pack of APs and built up a controller VM using Ubuntu Server LTS and the beta multi-site controller code over the past week.

I'm very impressed so far, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Cisco setup, sure, but I'm pretty shocked at the level of functionality here and the ease of having APs use an off-site controller (they all phone home over TCP so no VPN or port forwarding is required).

I'm interested in UniFi mainly for remote Libraries that don't have any IT staff but need a little more than a router from Best Buy.

Also of interest is the EdgeMAX line.  I also got the EdgeRouter LITE for testing this past week after finding out it runs a fork of Vyatta (EdgeOS) and is developed by former Vyatta employees.  For a sub- $100 device ...
very impressive.

Pricing just popped up for the new EdgeRouter PRO last night and I was pretty blown away:

$360

For a device with 2 SFP ports, and 2M PPS.  That is music to my ears since we do a lot of dark fiber around the state even for smaller locations.  I'm pretty excited to get one of these and see how they perform.

I wish I would have bothered looking at Ubiquiti sooner, really.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit I initially wrote them off because the prices were so low, but the more I look into these guys the more I like them.

I feel like I'm at the risk for becoming a UBNT fanboy.  Does anyone have any qualified horror stories about EdgeMAX or UniFi?  Everything I've been able to find has been for nonsense configurations like complaining about trying to to OSPF over WiFi ... Who does that?

On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 1:34 AM, Seth Mos <seth.mos at dds.nl> wrote:

>
> 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
>

--
Ray Patrick Soucy
Network Engineer
University of Maine System

T: 207-561-3526
F: 207-561-3531

MaineREN, Maine's Research and Education Network www.maineren.net