Soon I will be moving into a new townhouse and I am looking for solutions for a new WiFi 6 setup. The developer has run CAT5e to most of the rooms, but only a single drop to each room.
Before you ask, no it was not possible to get them to add drops for ceiling mounted APs. I had to pull their teeth to get them to add a single drop for me in one of the closets to put a rack into. Addendum to the purchase contract, permit with the city, dealing with the contractors, etc. - They weren't too happy to do that for me. And they couldn't do CAT6 either.
Anyway, I have been looking into the Ruckus H350 & H550, Aruba 500H, and Extreme Networks AP302W. They seem very tempting. POE powered so no extra power brick (like most APs) but they also include a built-in 2 or 4 port switch which could eliminate an extra box. All mounted to the same plate that would normally have just the RJ45 keystone.
My concern is the range. For example, the townhouse is 3 storeys tall, but on the middle floor there is only one CAT5e drop. Would one of these APs be able to cover a roughly 800sq/ft area? They market them in a way to suggest that there should be one per hotel/dorm room, so not sure if they have the range I need. I'm not a big wireless guy either so not sure how to read their documentation properly. Of course the range will be affected by obstacles, but this is a pretty standard build with just wooden studs and drywall.
If anyone has experience with them, please let me know. They seem like a great all-in-one solution for WiFi AP and small switching but maybe it's too good to be true. I can share a rough floorplan of my new place if that would help too.
Before you ask, no it was not possible to get them to add drops for ceiling mounted APs. I had to pull their teeth to get them to add a single drop for me in one of the closets to put a rack into. Addendum to the purchase contract, permit with the city, dealing with the contractors, etc. - They weren't too happy to do that for me. And they couldn't do CAT6 either.
Anyway, I have been looking into the Ruckus H350 & H550, Aruba 500H, and Extreme Networks AP302W. They seem very tempting. POE powered so no extra power brick (like most APs) but they also include a built-in 2 or 4 port switch which could eliminate an extra box. All mounted to the same plate that would normally have just the RJ45 keystone.
My concern is the range. For example, the townhouse is 3 storeys tall, but on the middle floor there is only one CAT5e drop. Would one of these APs be able to cover a roughly 800sq/ft area? They market them in a way to suggest that there should be one per hotel/dorm room, so not sure if they have the range I need. I'm not a big wireless guy either so not sure how to read their documentation properly. Of course the range will be affected by obstacles, but this is a pretty standard build with just wooden studs and drywall.
If anyone has experience with them, please let me know. They seem like a great all-in-one solution for WiFi AP and small switching but maybe it's too good to be true. I can share a rough floorplan of my new place if that would help too.