[SOLVED] Wireless from one metal building to another metal building (with windows): advice and recommendations?

[tehcurry]

Hey everyone!

Here's my situation: our office has two buildings in total, both of which have metal exteriors.

Building A is packed to the teeth with Ethernet wall jacks in most every room, plus wireless throughout via Google mesh WiFi (this is important later).

Building B has power, but absolutely nothing for network connections.

A and B are ~35' apart. A's east wall has no windows; B's west wall has windows (these two face each other).

My goal is to get a Google Mesh point in B. Of course, the metal exterior is the main hurdle.

I've done a little research, but ultimately walked away with more questions than answers. So then...

Can I set up a wireless bridge system (e.g. TP-Link Outdoor point-to-point) from A to B, then connect the bridge receiver to a Google Mesh puck?

Is there a simpler solution? Most of these outdoor point-to-point solutions have a range of 1-15km, which is obviously overkill for the ~35' between the buildings.

Thanks in advance!

 

[getochkn]

Can you not run a cable from A to B? 35 feet is nothing, even to dig up and bury. Even if you connected more mesh units in B, but ran a wire first you would get a much better signal and rates.

 

[tehcurry]

Can you not run a cable from A to B? 35 feet is nothing, even to dig up and bury. Even if you connected more mesh units in B, but ran a wire first you would get a much better signal and rates.

First, thanks for the quick reply!

To answer your question: It's physically possible but not pragmatic. The most direct route between the buildings is a wall-to-wall cement pad, so we'd be looking at more work than digging/trenching. The only non-cemented space between the buildings is home to a geothermal loop and a few other utilities. I would rather run a hard line specifically for the reasons you cited, but wireless seems the simplest path at this point.

I'll also add that the bandwidth needs in B are low. The owner's wife is using the space in B as a craft room, and it'll have maybe 5 low-demand devices, max. She wants to browse the internet for some pictures, print to a wireless printer, and maybe stream some music/news podcasts. No streaming video, no video conference calls, no World of Warcraft.

I suppose I could better clarify the question: What's the best way to use a wireless bridge to create a backhaul for a Google WiFi (Gen1)? Something like this:

Switch [A] --- Wireless bridge [A exterior] -) ) ( (- Wireless receiver [B exterior] --- Google WiFi router
--- = wired
-) ) ( (- = wireless

 

[bill001g]

You can get many brands but I like the equipment from ubiquiti. Their nanostation loco ac will likely be more than enough and they cost about $50 each. engenius sell many models also if you can't get ubiquiti where you live

Note they need clear line of sight and you want them high enough so something like a big truck can't block them