New Home Networking Setup

[ali1987]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to start off by apologizing if my question has been asked on this forum before ... I've been searching for an answer for over 2 weeks now ... and finally decided to post the question.

New Home Network Setup

Basic Information;
House Size: 5000 SqFt
Floors: 2 + basement
Main Router: Installed in basement, with 3 direct wire connections and has wireless capabilities
Connections: 1 x in office on main floor + 1 x in family room on main floor + 1 x in the hall way ceiling on 2nd floor

I'm planning on buying an Engenius Router (most likely the EAP300) to hard wire on the 2nd floor ceiling.

For the other 2 connections (on the main floor office and family room) I would like to purchase minimum 1 wireless router and the other one would only be a router (or maybe its called a "switch") without wireless capabilities.

Query # 1
I want to have a wireless router on each floor (basement already has the main router with wireless capabilities --- second floor will have the Engenius router) and I would like to set them with the the same SSID (name) . Basically since I will have three wireless routers on each floor ... I want them to have the same name ... so that regardless of whichever floor I'm on .. my devices get the best signal.

Example: If i'm on the second floor .. I want my device to automatically switch to the 2nd floor router so that I get the best signal .. and now if I go in the basement I would want my device to automatically get the strongest signal from the basement router ... so because I will have three wireless routers ... I should have the best signal everywhere I go ... and I want to name all the wireless networks the same name .. but I would also want them to speak to each other and pass the best signal ,, hopefully I explained that right ...

Query # 2
What wireless router do you recommend for either the 2nd floor and for the main floor ... currently I have not purchased anything ... the only 1 wireless I have is in the basement .. provided by my service provides.

Thanks for reading ... any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[boomhower]

First off what you are installing are access points, not routers.

You need an actual router where your internet is coming into the house. Then you can work on your wireless. Really depends on how much you want to spend and what wireless standard you want. If you have the money Cisco is a good way to go. You will either need to be willing to learn how to set them up or pay someone to do it. Another option is Ubiquiti. Cheaper than Cisco and pretty easy to set-up for a business style network.

Put an access point on each floor in a location that provides the best coverage. Their are several software applications out there you can use to map the home.

You will need a switch to install the access points. A PoE switch would be the way to go for a cleaner install.

If you can turn the wireless off the current router you have it can be reused, if it can't I would replace it entirely.

What kind of budget are you working with?

 

[aigomorla]

What kind of budget are you working with?

+1

also what is your ISP bandwith... If your gonna stream a lot of bandwith from a server locally to a wifi computer.

Ie... if u have something faster then 200mbs down, u may need a wifi AP which can output greater then 100mbs or have a lot of simultaneous downstream bandwidth.

 

[nk215]

I know what you mean: Basically, you want to move around the house and your device will automatically connect to the strongest wifi signal it get. Basically, the device will jump from one access point (AP) to the next.

There are two ways to do what you want. The simplest way is have the client (your wifi devices) pick what AP to link to. This is typically under “roaming aggressiveness” setting. Not all client has this feature and it doesn’t always work. You can stand right next to AP2 and the device still connect to AP1 which is 50 feet away. Many device won’t drop the current connection to reconnect until they completely lose signal. The APs do not know each other’s.

The correct way is what they call zero-handoff / load balancing. In this setup, the AP actually hand the connection to the next AP which has stronger signal. This is enterprise level setup and equipment. Ubiquiti with the newest firmware/controller software can do this. The APs know each other.

For a 5000spf house, a single good wireless AP should be able to get you good signal if you can position near the center. My house is slightly larger, and I can't mount the AP near the center so I have to use 2 APs (one on each end).

 

[kevnich2]

OP - do you have the ability to run network cables to different points on different floors of your house? Also, what's your budget?

My recommendation is to use ubiquiti unifi AP's in various locations. For your sq footage, you will definitely require several and will require network connections to function but that would provide you with the best wifi environment. Cost for these is negligible. Only caveat would be figuring out where to run lines to place the AP's for the best coverage.

 

[kevnich2]

Do you have a floor plan with each floor and where you have network connections already run to? Also, what is the construction material used on the inside walls?