Unifi AC access point scenarios and opinions

[IndyColtsFan]

So, recently, we've started having some wireless network issues. I haven't yet done a site survey to see if I can determine where the interference is coming from, but this is my current wireless config:

1. Main AP: Asus AC68U, running since 2013 or 2014. This AC sits on my "internal" network via a 1 Gb hardwired connection and is on the second floor of my house. Let's call the SSID "Home" for the sake of this discussion. This is the connection which seems to be having some issues at some places in my house - we've had some recent drops on our entertainment center, which is wirelessly bridged to the Asus, and we've had some issues with some Amazon Echos drops as well.
2. Unifi AC Lite #1: This sits on a shelf in my garage on the southern end of my house and is primarily used for security cameras ringing the southern end of my house. The AP connects to my DMZ via powerline ethernet. Let's call the SSID "CAMERA" for the sake of this discussion. This AP is managed by a Unifi controller sitting on a VM in my DMZ.
3. Unifi AC Lite #2: This sits under a couch in a room on the northwest end of my house and is primarily used for security cameras ringing the northern end of my house, along with a video doorbell eventually. The AP connects to my DMZ via powerline ethernet and hosts the same SSID ("CAMERA") as the first Unifi AC point. This AP is managed by a Unifi controller sitting on a VM in my DMZ.

I also have two smart home hubs which both run Z-wave and ZigBee (one upstairs in the east central portion of the house, one downstairs in the middle of the house. If you're not familiar with those, Z-wave runs at a 900 Mhz frequency (which is fine) and ZigBee runs at 2.4 Ghz. I've been replacing the "critical" ZigBee sensors with Z-wave sensors, as some ZigBee sensors were draining battery fast and I suspect that network interference was causing excessive retries on the 2.4 Ghz band.

ANYWAY, long before these recent issues, I had been planning to replace the Asus with a Unifi model. My original goal was to move ALL wireless connectivity end points into my DMZ and to get into my "internal" network, you'd have to use VPN. For those devices where that wasn't easily possible (such as Roku devices, which need access to an internal Plex server), I contemplated having a special SSID for them which would isolate them on a third leg of my internal Sophos firewall via a VLAN with policies only allowing internet access and access to the Plex server. I haven't decided if I am going this route yet or if I will maintain the dedicated DMZ connection for security cameras and internal connection for other wireless devices.

My big question is this - should I go with the AC HD, the nanoHD, or the AC PRO? I want the most power and range. Home is around 2800 sq ft with a 1000 sq ft patio to cover and 600 sq ft of garage to cover as well. The HD is roughly twice the cost of the nanoHD and the nanoHD is $20-$40 more than the Pro. Price isn't an issue if it gets me the most range, but I've heard conflicting things about the HD vs Pro in terms of range and haven't really researched the nano vs Pro in terms of range.

 

[mnewsham]

My big question is this - should I go with the AC HD, the nanoHD, or the AC PRO? I want the most power and range. Home is around 2800 sq ft with a 1000 sq ft patio to cover and 600 sq ft of garage to cover as well. The HD is roughly twice the cost of the nanoHD and the nanoHD is $20-$40 more than the Pro. Price isn't an issue if it gets me the most range, but I've heard conflicting things about the HD vs Pro in terms of range and haven't really researched the nano vs Pro in terms of range.

If you're attempting to replace all your current access points with a single higher powered one, by law wifi radios are only allowed to output a certain amount of power (somewhere around 1 watt if I remember correctly).
The only difference you'll see between different access points is from antenna design/arrangement, and the type of signal you're using (2.4Ghz/5Ghz). 5Ghz by virtue of it being higher frequency simply will not get the range that 2.4Ghz will, especially with drywall, wood, etc in between you and the wifi radio.

Multiple access points placed strategically in your house is by far the best option. Especially with the size you're talking about.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

If you're attempting to replace all your current access points with a single higher powered one, by law wifi radios are only allowed to output a certain amount of power (somewhere around 1 watt if I remember correctly).
The only difference you'll see between different access points is from antenna design/arrangement, and the type of signal you're using (2.4Ghz/5Ghz). 5Ghz by virtue of it being higher frequency simply will not get the range that 2.4Ghz will, especially with drywall, wood, etc in between you and the wifi radio.

Multiple access points placed strategically in your house is by far the best option. Especially with the size you're talking about.

Yes, I know. I was hoping someone who has used both the Pro and HD can chime in, because I've seen so much conflicting information. The Asus actually did cover the entire house and patio at one point, but as more and more people started bring up wifi around me, it started to choke the Asus at the other edges. I'm fine with the multiple AP approach but I think I want a better replacement for the Asus than another Lite particularly if I still decide to split the networks, which I'm still debating.

 

[mxnerd]

https://www.amazon.com/AmpliFi-Ubiquiti-Seamless-Wireless-Extenders/dp/B01L9O07FS?th=1 (also from Ubiquiti, you can buy router only)

Everyone's environment is different and there is no one size fits all solution for Wi-Fi.

You just have to try it out yourself.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

https://www.amazon.com/AmpliFi-Ubiquiti-Seamless-Wireless-Extenders/dp/B01L9O07FS?th=1 (also from Ubiquiti, you can buy router only)

Everyone's environment is different and there is no one size fits all solution for Wi-Fi.

You just have to try it out yourself.

Only interested in their UniFi line.

 

[aigomorla]

I was hoping someone who has used both the Pro and HD can chime in

I have the PRO and had the HD. I ended up taking the HD to the office as the Zone coverage was much smaller then the house.

I was thinking in a derp moment going.. oh more lanes.. more channels.. yes more powerful wifi will make my internet and stuff faster and more stable.... (facepalming myself)

I was in for a rude awakening... in short... no.... u want more AP's to scale more coverage area's and split your clients in your house though those AP's and not though a single one. So i have 4 PRO's spaming my house so i have 0 dead spots, and none of my AP's are even loaded past 15% that's with a ton of smart switchs and a lot of wifi devices + guest access everywhere should my guests need it.

My honest advice... you really dont need anything greater then the PRO unless you have a lot of clients on wifi and require the bandwidth.

You really dont need HD unless you intend to transfer a lot of data / have a 1gbe internet line.
Even then i probably wouldn't want to do wireless on the scenario's listed anyhow as wired is the way to go if you need to transfer large amounts of data / want the fastest / lowest latency possible in your internet.

I would rather spam 2 PRO's and a POE switch to power them over having 1 HD, as you will get far better range with 2 PRO's over the single HD, unless again, your wifi is getting hammered with a lot of devices simultaneously at that single zone.

I would not even bother with the Lite... get the PRO, the price difference is worth it in the PRO over the Lite, and again most definitely get a 5 Port POE switch to power a cloudkey + your AP's so you dont need to have multiple injectors cluttering up space. If you get a POE switch you can also get the PRO-E for cheaper as they are the same thing as the PRO's without the injector.

I would also HIGHLY recomend you get a cloudkey to manage all the AP's if you have multiple AP's as i feel the cloudkey is probably the best little device i have purchased for that job.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have the PRO and had the HD. I ended up taking the HD to the office as the Zone coverage was much smaller then the house.

I was thinking in a derp moment going.. oh more lanes.. more channels.. yes more powerful wifi will make my internet and stuff faster and more stable.... (facepalming myself)

I was in for a rude awakening... in short... no.... u want more AP's to scale more coverage area's and split your clients in your house though those AP's and not though a single one. So i have 4 PRO's spaming my house so i have 0 dead spots, and none of my AP's are even loaded past 15% that's with a ton of smart switchs and a lot of wifi devices + guest access everywhere should my guests need it.

My honest advice... you really dont need anything greater then the PRO unless you have a lot of clients on wifi and require the bandwidth.

You really dont need HD unless you intend to transfer a lot of data / have a 1gbe internet line.
Even then i probably wouldn't want to do wireless on the scenario's listed anyhow as wired is the way to go if you need to transfer large amounts of data / want the fastest / lowest latency possible in your internet.

I would rather spam 2 PRO's and a POE switch to power them over having 1 HD, as you will get far better range with 2 PRO's over the single HD, unless again, your wifi is getting hammered with a lot of devices simultaneously at that single zone.

I would not even bother with the Lite... get the PRO, the price difference is worth it in the PRO over the Lite, and again most definitely get a 5 Port POE switch to power a cloudkey + your AP's so you dont need to have multiple injectors cluttering up space. If you get a POE switch you can also get the PRO-E for cheaper as they are the same thing as the PRO's without the injector.

I would also HIGHLY recomend you get a cloudkey to manage all the AP's if you have multiple AP's as i feel the cloudkey is probably the best little device i have purchased for that job.

Thanks. Yeah, I was leaning towards the Pro. No need for the cloud key - I've got the controller running on a server.

 

[Genx87]

So, recently, we've started having some wireless network issues. I haven't yet done a site survey to see if I can determine where the interference is coming from, but this is my current wireless config:

1. Main AP: Asus AC68U, running since 2013 or 2014. This AC sits on my "internal" network via a 1 Gb hardwired connection and is on the second floor of my house. Let's call the SSID "Home" for the sake of this discussion. This is the connection which seems to be having some issues at some places in my house - we've had some recent drops on our entertainment center, which is wirelessly bridged to the Asus, and we've had some issues with some Amazon Echos drops as well.
2. Unifi AC Lite #1: This sits on a shelf in my garage on the southern end of my house and is primarily used for security cameras ringing the southern end of my house. The AP connects to my DMZ via powerline ethernet. Let's call the SSID "CAMERA" for the sake of this discussion. This AP is managed by a Unifi controller sitting on a VM in my DMZ.
3. Unifi AC Lite #2: This sits under a couch in a room on the northwest end of my house and is primarily used for security cameras ringing the northern end of my house, along with a video doorbell eventually. The AP connects to my DMZ via powerline ethernet and hosts the same SSID ("CAMERA") as the first Unifi AC point. This AP is managed by a Unifi controller sitting on a VM in my DMZ.

I also have two smart home hubs which both run Z-wave and ZigBee (one upstairs in the east central portion of the house, one downstairs in the middle of the house. If you're not familiar with those, Z-wave runs at a 900 Mhz frequency (which is fine) and ZigBee runs at 2.4 Ghz. I've been replacing the "critical" ZigBee sensors with Z-wave sensors, as some ZigBee sensors were draining battery fast and I suspect that network interference was causing excessive retries on the 2.4 Ghz band.

ANYWAY, long before these recent issues, I had been planning to replace the Asus with a Unifi model. My original goal was to move ALL wireless connectivity end points into my DMZ and to get into my "internal" network, you'd have to use VPN. For those devices where that wasn't easily possible (such as Roku devices, which need access to an internal Plex server), I contemplated having a special SSID for them which would isolate them on a third leg of my internal Sophos firewall via a VLAN with policies only allowing internet access and access to the Plex server. I haven't decided if I am going this route yet or if I will maintain the dedicated DMZ connection for security cameras and internal connection for other wireless devices.

My big question is this - should I go with the AC HD, the nanoHD, or the AC PRO? I want the most power and range. Home is around 2800 sq ft with a 1000 sq ft patio to cover and 600 sq ft of garage to cover as well. The HD is roughly twice the cost of the nanoHD and the nanoHD is $20-$40 more than the Pro. Price isn't an issue if it gets me the most range, but I've heard conflicting things about the HD vs Pro in terms of range and haven't really researched the nano vs Pro in terms of range.

I recently went through a similar setup. I also use Sophos. The Unifi WAPs can have multiple SSID with VLAN tagging. Do you have a switch that can perform VLAN tagging? If so, use the tagging through the switch and use the Sophos to filter traffic between subnets to your desire. I have an open wireless network for phones\firebox ect. These devices cant touch my internal network. And I have an SSID that allows traffic into my user network and allows for connectivity to my file shares ect.

Use the Sophos to restrict traffic between subnets. Easier than using a VPN.

I don't have experience except for the AC-Pro. And I think it is a fine WAP. I have a single WAP covering my entire house ~1600 sq feet. You could probably get away with two on both ends of your house.

I also suggest getting the cloudkey. I run the controller on a 2016 VM. IMO it is a bit buggy. If I leave the web portal open it will crash the controller when the session times out. It also requires I log into the 2016 box and start it to run.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I recently went through a similar setup. I also use Sophos. The Unifi WAPs can have multiple SSID with VLAN tagging. Do you have a switch that can perform VLAN tagging? If so, use the tagging through the switch and use the Sophos to filter traffic between subnets to your desire. I have an open wireless network for phones\firebox ect. These devices cant touch my internal network. And I have an SSID that allows traffic into my user network and allows for connectivity to my file shares ect.

Use the Sophos to restrict traffic between subnets. Easier than using a VPN.

I don't have experience except for the AC-Pro. And I think it is a fine WAP. I have a single WAP covering my entire house ~1600 sq feet. You could probably get away with two on both ends of your house.

I also suggest getting the cloudkey. I run the controller on a 2016 VM. IMO it is a bit buggy. If I leave the web portal open it will crash the controller when the session times out. It also requires I log into the 2016 box and start it to run.

Great points. Yes, I have a Cisco core switch that supports VLANs and have thought about a similar scenario to yours. Maybe I’ll go that route.

So, the Cloud Key is worth it over the local controller install?

 

[aigomorla]

So, the Cloud Key is worth it over the local controller install?

most definitely, I even kicked myself a few times on why i didnt get it sooner and always cheaped out on it.

If you want a rock stable guest portal + just not having to worry about anything and being a true plug and play controller for your unifi system, get it and don't even think back twice or regret about it.

Its worth its own cost in ease of usage, and set and forget ability.

 

[rchunter]

Just make sure you run it from a UPS because they can get corrupted sometimes if they don't get shut down properly.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Good thread