Question Need recommendations for in ceiling POE WiFi access points.

madeesin

Junior Member
Jan 12, 2008
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Dear forum members,


6000 sq ft 2 story house. There are 3 in ceiling WiFi access points - one on 2nd floor and 2 on first floor. Small back yard.

Media closet in 2nd floor where router will be placed with other equipments.

All of the rooms were wired with a single coax line and two Cat6 lines.

I am looking for in ceiling POE WiFi access points. I under stand only available will be WiFi 5 and dual band for this set up. I understand it's better to have system which will be wired back haul. I understand it's better to have wired access points if possible hence I got house prewired.

I need recommendations - which brand and model no. Will it come with router?

I will have spectrum internet.

The person who wired in ceiling wifi access points suggested eero mesh network but I am wondering then why did he make me spend money on in ceiling wifi access points?!!

Thank You
 
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JackMDS

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DaaQ

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Dear forum members,


6000 sq ft 2 story house. There are 3 in ceiling WiFi access points - one on 2nd floor and 2 on first floor. Small back yard.

Media closet in 2nd floor where router will be placed with other equipments.

All of the rooms were wired with a single coax line and two Cat6 lines.

I am looking for in ceiling POE WiFi access points. I under stand only available will be WiFi 5 and dual band for this set up. I understand it's better to have system which will be wired back haul. I understand it's better to have wired access points if possible hence I got house prewired.

I need recommendations - which brand and model no. Will it come with router?

I will have spectrum internet.

The person who wired in ceiling wifi access points suggested eero mesh network but I am wondering then why did he make me spend money on in ceiling wifi access points?!!

Thank You


These are WiFi6 and PoE powered, but then you are into Ubiquity platform territory.
 

madeesin

Junior Member
Jan 12, 2008
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It hard to give full help when factors like Number of users Speed Bandwidth etc. are missing.

May be this can be a starting point.


To this you have to add a Router of your choice (if your isp do not proved one( and a Poe capable Switch to feed the signal and power to the APs.


:cool:

3 users, upto 400 mbs internet speed
 

madeesin

Junior Member
Jan 12, 2008
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These are WiFi6 and PoE powered, but then you are into Ubiquity platform territory.

Is ubiquity not good?
 

aigomorla

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These are WiFi6 and PoE powered, but then you are into Ubiquity platform territory.

sigh the wait on these guys is ridiculous atm.
I am almost going 1 month since my order was placed and its still in limbo.

Is ubiquity not good?

Ubiquiti is great, however you need to setup unifi software to get them started.
After that, the unifi software is not required.

TPlink on the other hand has a IP web GUI so you can set them up via GUI directly.
But they are not quality wise compared to ubiquiti.

Another good company to look at is eNgenius and Cisco Meraki go.
 
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Motostu

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Oct 5, 2020
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This is what I don't like about Ubiquiti, they are outliers in this regard. Otherwise good performance.
I know it's personal preference, but I actually like their management approach. I run the controller software on my NAS, and can log into it from any machine in to do anything that I need. The only thing I really need to do now that everything is set up is firmware updates as they are made available.
 

madeesin

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Jan 12, 2008
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I know it's personal preference, but I actually like their management approach. I run the controller software on my NAS, and can log into it from any machine in to do anything that I need. The only thing I really need to do now that everything is set up is firmware updates as they are made available.

I have a vendor who will install ubiquity. I am considering unified long range
 

aigomorla

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I have a vendor who will install ubiquity. I am considering unified long range

... unless its the wifi6 long range, the AC PRO's are probably far better.
I would even pick a nanoHD over a LR unless again its a Wifi6 version.

IF it is the Wifi6 version, again, good luck... ive paid for mine 1 month ago and still have no gotten it with Customer Service telling me they are back ordered on it and have no clue when my order will be fulfilled.
 

madeesin

Junior Member
Jan 12, 2008
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... unless its the wifi6 long range, the AC PRO's are probably far better.
I would even pick a nanoHD over a LR unless again its a Wifi6 version.

IF it is the Wifi6 version, again, good luck... ive paid for mine 1 month ago and still have no gotten it with Customer Service telling me they are back ordered on it and have no clue when my order will be fulfilled.

WiFi 6 version is not available at least till end of April.
What should I pick?

Also should I choose cloudkey gen2?
Or dream machine pro as it has router too? or should I choose some other router?

How to complete the set up?

Appreciate help.
 

aigomorla

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Udm pro is like a uber router / security gateway / cloudkey / NVR.
Its something that unless your using it for business, its sort of overkill.
In all honesty you can probably get away with a regular dream machine..


As for access point, u can pair the dream machine with:

You do not need the Wifi-6 LR's for a house IMO unless your a baller and just don't care about excess.
Your not going to cap the client capacity on a lite unit.

You will need a PoE Switch:

I suggest you keep with ubiquiti as they work very well together, and make things really dumb easy in setting vlan's if your doing it though all ubiquiti.

If you get a dream machine, a cloud key is not needed as dream machines all have cloud keys.

I use a UDM Pro only because i just wanted one (actually i blame @ch33zw1z its really his fault i bought one).
I really do not need it, but i wanted one because in the future i may want to play with ubiquiti's security cameras..
 
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madeesin

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Jan 12, 2008
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Udm pro is like a uber router / security gateway / cloudkey / NVR.
Its something that unless your using it for business, its sort of overkill.
In all honesty you can probably get away with a regular dream machine..


As for access point, u can pair the dream machine with:

You do not need the Wifi-6 LR's for a house IMO unless your a baller and just don't care about excess.
Your not going to cap the client capacity on a lite unit.

You will need a PoE Switch:

I suggest you keep with ubiquiti as they work very well together, and make things really dumb easy in setting vlan's if your doing it though all ubiquiti.

If you get a dream machine, a cloud key is not needed as dream machines all have cloud keys.

I use a UDM Pro only because i just wanted one (actually i blame @ch33zw1z its really his fault i bought one).
I really do not need it, but i wanted one because in the future i may want to play with ubiquiti's security cameras..

Unifi dream machine pro is 379. Do I have to buy unifi switch with pro?

Dream machine is 299 + Unifi switch 8 60W is 109 = 408. And then I have to buy router too?
 

aigomorla

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Unifi dream machine pro is 379. Do I have to buy unifi switch with pro?

Dream machine is 299 + Unifi switch 8 60W is 109 = 408. And then I have to buy router too?

you still need a poe switch with dream machine pro.

the dream machine itself is a router, so no you don't.

The regular dream machine is also an access point itself.

In short...
Dream Machine Pro = Router / switch / CloudKey / Access (card key entry stuff) / NVR (protect)

Dream Machine - Router / Switch / Cloud key / Wifi Access Point

You still need a PoE switch for both, unless you intend on running poe injectors.
 

madeesin

Junior Member
Jan 12, 2008
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For my home set up, which one to choose - ream machine or Dream machine pro?

I get free PoE injectors. Should I still buy PoE switch? 4 port, 8 port?

I need parental control. Does Unifi router provide parental control?

I have no networking knowledge. Vendor will install and configure it.
 

fkoehler

Member
Feb 29, 2008
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Don't buy into Ubiquiti unless you want headaches apparently. Go read all the trouble they've been having for months on end with their new Dream set-up. Its a shame, several years ago they were excellent above average gear. If you want quality, you can get some Ruckus ZoneFlex series if you want product from a company that specializes in AP's and not every network component.

Also, forgot, check out Arruba as well.
 
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fkoehler

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Feb 29, 2008
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I know OP has made his purchasing decision already, however for the record for anyone else.

Just got Aruba 215 of eBay for $20/ea, current pricing is 250 on Amazon. Reputeable seller, and Aruba has always been known as one of the best for wifi. Tons of these and other commercial/industry quality equipment is available for pennies on the dollars if you can overcome the fact that they may look a little used. Nothing a cheap can of spray or wall ceiling paint can't fix. Can be cloud-based or standalone, and, no licensing bs or firmware images hidden behind paywalls like Cisco.

Check out this vid for standalong config:
 
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