- Dec 26, 2013
- 7
- 0
- 10,510
Hello all,
I am trying to get a good run down list of equipment that I should be using when installing public access Wi-Fi in a small business environment. My short story is this; I have been installing Wi-Fi in residential homes for years. It started as a bit of a hobby, but anyway, I was recently asked to install a public access Wi-Fi system at a restaurant that could support about 150 wireless users.
I priced out the job and wound up installing
5 Gigabit POE access points (Engenius EAP350's) and a Gigabit router
(At first was a Netgear, then a linksys, then an Asus, but wound up being a Luxul XBR-2300 as a final install) on a separate ISP from everything else, all wired with CAT6. The customer wanted a fast network to work with their fiber optic internet and be able to let users stream music and movies easily as well as stream internet TV and Audio to the restaurant. That's how they wanted it.
I did research on access point for the applications and came across the well-reviewed EAP 350 AP from engenius, which I honestly really like. It performs well, has POE, its discrete and according to engenius can support 30 to 40 connected users per AP, which sounds great at their price point.
Then I needed to look for the router which is where I ran into problems. With my experience with routers being in consumer grade products, I didn't know much about business grade equipment, and for some reason goggling "Small business routers" or "Commercial Routers" yields very little promising results. A friend of mine who does networking told me if I picked up one of the more expensive consumer routers that’s rated as "SoHo" and turned off the units Wi-Fi, It would work fine in the application. I tried it and it failed miserably, I tried a linksys, Netgear and Asus router and they all began to glitch and eventually crash and require a reboot after about 30 to 40 wireless users connected. So I enquired with a local distributer and they pointed me in the direction of the Luxul XBR-2300 which seems to be a decent router. It solved my issue of crashing networks and now upwards of 100 users seems easily handled. But there are Drawbacks. The router isn’t Gigabit, which the rest of the network is, so it’s basically an instant bottle-neck. The system runs slowly and streaming video is a bit glitchy at times. Now, I also have another person that is interested in a Wi-Fi install, but I don’t want to attempt it until I know what the exact right equipment I should be using is.
In the last few days I have looked into Firewall routers such as the Netgear Prosafe VPN Firewall FSV336G and other models from Netgear. They all come well reviewed and have DHCP servers as well as other basic NAT and router functions. Is that just a "Business router" but just called a Firewall? Also, as amazing as the FSV sounds, being Gigabit and all, it only has a throughput of around 60Mbps, which just doesn’t sound like a lot for the perspective amount of concurrent users. the next model up is the Quad Wan VPN firewall from Netgear witch Claims to have a 968 Mbps wan to lan, although some forums say the only get in the 400Mbps range with it. Would there be what I need or should I be looking at something else?
Also, what about a Captive Portal? What routers support one? Or do I need a separate gateway device that specifically handles the portal? I'm not so interested in any payment collection, more of just having a splash page with an except terms kind of button before users get to use the net.
SO if someone could tell me:
What router/Firewall? Gateway device should I use in this type of application? (If you could provide say 3 different possible options that would be fantastic)
Can anyone suggest better access point? If so, perhaps a brand with a dedicated hardware controller? I’m happy with the ESP 350's and would reuse them, but would also like better options if they exist.
How do I factor in a captive portal if asked?
What is a good wan to LAN throughput to look for as far as streaming media and supporting many users?
Is it worth it to invest in Dual Band equipment, considering only newer devices can access them, or is it a good future investment?
Any thoughts on POE Switches? I used Trednet Gigabit POE switches. The 8 port.
Anyone who could help me sort this out would be a savior.
Thanks again, Mike
I am trying to get a good run down list of equipment that I should be using when installing public access Wi-Fi in a small business environment. My short story is this; I have been installing Wi-Fi in residential homes for years. It started as a bit of a hobby, but anyway, I was recently asked to install a public access Wi-Fi system at a restaurant that could support about 150 wireless users.
I priced out the job and wound up installing
5 Gigabit POE access points (Engenius EAP350's) and a Gigabit router
(At first was a Netgear, then a linksys, then an Asus, but wound up being a Luxul XBR-2300 as a final install) on a separate ISP from everything else, all wired with CAT6. The customer wanted a fast network to work with their fiber optic internet and be able to let users stream music and movies easily as well as stream internet TV and Audio to the restaurant. That's how they wanted it.
I did research on access point for the applications and came across the well-reviewed EAP 350 AP from engenius, which I honestly really like. It performs well, has POE, its discrete and according to engenius can support 30 to 40 connected users per AP, which sounds great at their price point.
Then I needed to look for the router which is where I ran into problems. With my experience with routers being in consumer grade products, I didn't know much about business grade equipment, and for some reason goggling "Small business routers" or "Commercial Routers" yields very little promising results. A friend of mine who does networking told me if I picked up one of the more expensive consumer routers that’s rated as "SoHo" and turned off the units Wi-Fi, It would work fine in the application. I tried it and it failed miserably, I tried a linksys, Netgear and Asus router and they all began to glitch and eventually crash and require a reboot after about 30 to 40 wireless users connected. So I enquired with a local distributer and they pointed me in the direction of the Luxul XBR-2300 which seems to be a decent router. It solved my issue of crashing networks and now upwards of 100 users seems easily handled. But there are Drawbacks. The router isn’t Gigabit, which the rest of the network is, so it’s basically an instant bottle-neck. The system runs slowly and streaming video is a bit glitchy at times. Now, I also have another person that is interested in a Wi-Fi install, but I don’t want to attempt it until I know what the exact right equipment I should be using is.
In the last few days I have looked into Firewall routers such as the Netgear Prosafe VPN Firewall FSV336G and other models from Netgear. They all come well reviewed and have DHCP servers as well as other basic NAT and router functions. Is that just a "Business router" but just called a Firewall? Also, as amazing as the FSV sounds, being Gigabit and all, it only has a throughput of around 60Mbps, which just doesn’t sound like a lot for the perspective amount of concurrent users. the next model up is the Quad Wan VPN firewall from Netgear witch Claims to have a 968 Mbps wan to lan, although some forums say the only get in the 400Mbps range with it. Would there be what I need or should I be looking at something else?
Also, what about a Captive Portal? What routers support one? Or do I need a separate gateway device that specifically handles the portal? I'm not so interested in any payment collection, more of just having a splash page with an except terms kind of button before users get to use the net.
SO if someone could tell me:
What router/Firewall? Gateway device should I use in this type of application? (If you could provide say 3 different possible options that would be fantastic)
Can anyone suggest better access point? If so, perhaps a brand with a dedicated hardware controller? I’m happy with the ESP 350's and would reuse them, but would also like better options if they exist.
How do I factor in a captive portal if asked?
What is a good wan to LAN throughput to look for as far as streaming media and supporting many users?
Is it worth it to invest in Dual Band equipment, considering only newer devices can access them, or is it a good future investment?
Any thoughts on POE Switches? I used Trednet Gigabit POE switches. The 8 port.
Anyone who could help me sort this out would be a savior.
Thanks again, Mike
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