Placement of mesh nodes. Also cabling questions.

[Scuzi]

Due to a continually expanding network, my sole Netgear R7000 which has served me well for many years now began to struggle. Coverage at the extremities of the property was poor, and wireless connection became unstable. I bought a TP Link Deco P9 which has 3 nodes and uses a power line backhaul. After about a month of use I'm sending it back. It is crap. Coverage is no better than the sole R7000, and I'm getting lots of random dropouts which seems to be a common issue. I am going to try Netgear Nighthawk MK63 in place of the TP link

So, my specs are:
550/70 Mbit FTTP
Netgear MK63 mesh system
Netgear R7000 (if required, I'm expecting the MK63 will make this redundant)
~30 devices on the network.

My questions are:

1. Where is the best place to place the mesh nodes? See the following images. The green crosses represent where I have the current TP link units. Red crosses represent where I don't have, but would like a number of ethernet plugs in faceplates. Mainly by the living room TV and bedroom 4 which is configured as an office. The blue cross is where the ONT is. I want to ensure coverage in the garden (to the right of the dining doors).
2. When installing ethernet cables, where should I put the switch? Ideally once of the MK63 nodes will act as the router, but if push comes to shove I can keep the R7000 which is currently in the closet next to the front door. Placing it in the closet with the ONT makes the most sense to me but will involve running extra cables. I was thinking it would be easiest to take everything through the attic but the temperature extremes there aren't ideal.

(The orange lines represent CAT5e cables currently installed in D Line trunking for the CCTV system. These cables link IP cameras to a NVR and do not link to the network directly, but the NVR has a link to the router)

Finally, when it comes to pulling ethernet cable through the walls, I'm not convinced it is going to be an easy job. The house is a new build (2019). There is some redundant co-axial cable (don't have an aerial and never intend to) in the attic which runs to the living room TV and the bedroom TV point (corresponds with the two green crosses above). If I taped these to a length of ethernet cable do you think I could just pull it through? They're external 'dot and dab' walls so I'm not convinced there is a big enough cavity to make sure it is an easy job.

Thanks!

 

[Avalon]

A few random thoughts from someone who can’t sleep at 6am on a Sunday....

Putting a WiFi router in a downstairs closet and then finding the signal is poor has a potentially obvious solution - try moving it out of the closet and see if the WiFi situation improves, even temporarily. Do we know if - for example - foil lined board has been used in the construction at all? Just that could be problematic going forward.

My first thought is run an internal cable from the closet up to 4, plug the router into the end of it and if nothing else this brings wired connectivity into the office, it may also improve the wireless situation. Next up if you have trunking in place why didn’t you pull extra cable and put points in where you want them such as the red x in the lounge? It’s seemingly ght next to where the orange line ends and goes past the closet wall - another easy point to access the router. The loft temperature swings are a concern, but realistically networking kit in a clean (and clear) loft isn’t likely to be a massive issue, condensation could be, but you should have ample air flow in a modern loft. Also putting a feed up into the loft from bedroom 4 and bringing it down in the landing ceiling is potentially an easy option for an AP install, it would also be a reasonable shoot to the external wall where you want Wi-Fi coverage and an external AP (Nanostation or similar) would be easy to install on the outside.

 

[Scuzi]

Putting a WiFi router in a downstairs closet and then finding the signal is poor has a potentially obvious solution - try moving it out of the closet and see if the WiFi situation improves, even temporarily. Do we know if - for example - foil lined board has been used in the construction at all? Just that could be problematic going forward.

I did try placing it outside the closet and whilst there was some improvement in range, it still struggled with stability. Since I have been working from home more frequently the wireless connection gets a lot more use and at times it would just crap out. This was resolved by the Deco units as I’m guessing they were able to share the load, but they added the random DNS issues and the unreliability of the power line backhaul. So I’m still holding out some hope that a slightly more capable mesh setup will solve the initial problem.

My first thought is run an internal cable from the closet up to 4, plug the router into the end of it and if nothing else this brings wired connectivity into the office, it may also improve the wireless situation.

I hadn’t considered that option. It does keep me tied to the R7000 which is getting a bit long in the tooth. It’s probably okay but I do wonder if it struggles under peak loads.

Next up if you have trunking in place why didn’t you pull extra cable and put points in where you want them such as the red x in the lounge? It’s seemingly ght next to where the orange line ends and goes past the closet wall - another easy point to access the router.

I used slimline trunking which is now at capacity so I can’t fit any more cables in there. I could replace it with something bigger but the wife won’t be happy about that.

The loft temperature swings are a concern, but realistically networking kit in a clean (and clear) loft isn’t likely to be a massive issue, condensation could be, but you should have ample air flow in a modern loft. Also putting a feed up into the loft from bedroom 4 and bringing it down in the landing ceiling is potentially an easy option for an AP install, it would also be a reasonable shoot to the external wall where you want Wi-Fi coverage and an external AP (Nanostation or similar) would be easy to install on the outside.

Food for thought. Thank you.