Increasing Wireless signal to 3 floor house

[Avalon]

I love threads like these. OP states he wants a wi-fi solution. People say run cables. OP says he doesn't want to or can't run cables. People post again saying run cables. He doesn't need maximum throughput and isn't transferring thousands of small files or even a few large ones, it's Netflix FFS. Try a set of powerlines first but make sure all the plug sockets are on the same ring main otherwise performance will either be terrible or you'll get no throughput at all.

This is a networking forum, strangely you’ll normally find the advice given is not ‘the cheapest option not involving two cups and a bit of string’ but what’s considered good practice. The op is then free to choose whatever they feel best.

If we accept running a cable to each floor is the best answer (lower latency, faster, more reliable, flexible) and that a new build usually means access panels are in place and it’s easy to lift floorboards etc. now rather than after anyone moves in, it’s a no brainier as to what is best. Also new build generally means RCD and independent circuits per floor for lights/sockets, jumping circuits for powerline = bad, I recorded roughly 1/4 loss in sync per jump from a socket and extension on the same circuit. Op would be much better off doing a cable run to each floor, he could then add an AP to the top floor and if required the middle floor, if needs change in time, they can add a switch and still have options. Your solution is subject to the whim’s of electricians (I know several, standard of work varies considerably), the devices on the circuit not causing interference (microwave/fridge/freezer shouldn’t cause spikes, but suppression is not always why it should be), it not impacting the FTTC service (if applicable) and jumping from one circuit to another with added variability from Wi-fi and new builds tending to be short on outdoor space and 3 floors suggesting family, i’d guess Wi-fi may get a bit crowded locally.

So my question is, you know all of this from life/day job, you clearly aren’t an idiot and you deal with the fallout at some level on a daily basis from what you’ve said previously and this is a networking forum, why wouldn't you suggest the better option as being exactly what it is?

Op, if you follow misschief’s advice, it may work, it sucks from a technical perspective and it’s not something that is recommended for all the reasons i’ve provided and more, but please, take sky broadband if you want FTTC and if it doesn’t work phone him and moan about the advice given - i’m *sure* he’ll be happy to mail you his DDI

 

[crinkleshoes]

UniFI stuff works 5 gig band just fine on n-spec. UniFI AP-Pros can do 300 mbit, 2x2 MIMO on 5 gig and 3x3 MIMO 2.4 GHz. Ruckus stuff is also fine. I've stayed in places using some of their smaller residential / hotel APs - tbh I thought performance was on-par. Range was good but throughput fell off just like any other AP given conditions, not especially long distance compared with other APs. I guess their higher-end stuff has the superior antenna design and radios.

Last I read Ruckus licensing is frustrating, unless you go 'Unleashed' and then subscribe to maintenance contract for updates, support etc.

Aerohive and Meraki also possible choices? I guess providers' products come with various licensing implications if you want all the goodies.

I guess it'll boil down to cost over outright network performance. the Ruckus stuff is a lot dearer than UniFi! And if you want one AP per floor, prepare to shell out a month's wages on APs... £500 per AP for an Unleashed R510; UniFi AC-Pro for £130 each from Amazon or the UAP-AC-PRO-E for £225.

Ruckus can do very well, much better than UniFi in some situations. In some tests, UniFi stuff does better. Generous pinch of salt required.

Yawn, you’re talking to an expert in the field of WiFi.

I’ve done back to back tests Ubiquiti vs Ruckus.

In no scenario does any of the Ubiquiti offerings offer comparable performance to ruckus. Range nor throughput.

In tests of Ubiquiti vs ruckus, ruckus R310 usually offers twice the usable signal range. The only exception being where especially thick walls come into play.

The R310, the cheapest standard ruckus AP, has the best range and the output. The higher specification APs are for connecting more simultaneous devices, not increasing range.

The R310 can be had for under £250. I get them for £140. I just checked eBay and there are loads going for £150-160.

One R310 will easily cover the whole 3 story house, you would need at least 2x Ubiquiti for similar coverage, possibly 3.

R510 range is not quite as good as the R310, but it does allow meshing. Unless meshing is a requirement, no home user should ever buy more than the R310.

To run any Ruckus system, you do not need any maintenance support contract. That offers you access to firmware updates and support, but is not needed to take advantage of warranty if a device fails. You do not need unleashed either, not for a single AP. Unleashed makes one of the APs a master, allowing it control function for smaller implementations of up to 20 APs. Unleashed is a free firmware update however and does make it easier to manage whatever solution you have.

Aerohive is a terrible system, APs are poor and the control system is particularly bad/buggy.

Metals control solution is the best on the market. The APs, when within good range, offer the fastest throughout I have seen. However their range is poor, similar to Ubiquiti and so you need more of them compared to Ruckus. They are more expensive than Ruckus unless getting a very large corporate deal in the right marketplace. With Meraki, you are also required to purchase the maintenance in order to have access to the cloud based control system. This makes Meraki the most expensive solution on the market, by a large margin and you need to keep paying every year just to use the hardware, unless you want to stick a 3rd party firmware on them.

I have extensive experience with all of these brands from small implementations to large. I use Ruckus at home, in the office and in any implementation where we install infrastructure at our cost. It minimises support time substantially.

If you want extra cheap... ZyXel APs are a lot better than Ubiquiti, they are the closest in range and throughout to Ruckus out of all the budget brands.

I’ve never had even one person come back to me saying Ruckus was the wrong thing for me to recommend.

 

[~cw]

Interesting, thanks for the detail. I don't have enough spare cash to seriously invest in either company's products, but I intend on plonking down some dollar this year on a proper system so it's useful to hear your thoughts.

I have a couple of colleagues who would probably have an enthusiatic discussion with you re your opinion of Ubiquiti (mostly because they've invested in quite a lot of it). Ubiquiti has been deployed in some city-wide contexts for private wifi networks used for broadcast contribution and has worked fine in some challenging environments. I'm pretty open-minded about Ubiquiti suitability vs Ruckus - I don't doubt Ruckus stuff also works well, I've used it myself.

 

[crinkleshoes]

Ubiquiti were my go to recommendation before I discovered Ruckus. Then I did back to back testing in a few environments and the range, throughout and stability of Ruckus just wipes the floor with them. Ubiquiti are good, but not as good.

 

[gailjon]

To keep it simple, what about wifi enabled powerline adapters> Try them out, if they work, great, if they don't return them. No cables to run through walls, and many people (including me) no longer have to suffer weak wifi and multiple boosters, etc.