[TriLUG] Wi-Fi Router Recommendation

[Michael Rothwell]

+1 for the pro solutions.

I have three Aruba IAP-93s connected to a CISCO SLM2024PT-NA SG 200-26P
(which does PoE), and a linux router. The arubas have all of the nice
properties that Aaron mentions above. In my experience, they perform better
than consumer access points I've had in the past (cisco/linksys, linksys,
dlink, buffalo, Apple), are easier to manage, and have better features.

One downside vs consumer equipment: they support 2.4 and 5GHz, but not *
simultaneously*.


On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 3:50 PM, Aaron Joyner <aaron at joyner.ws> wrote:

> If you can afford it, use what the professionals use.  I recently
> switched from a long series of Linksys, DLink, and Netgear consumer
> devices which frustrated me at every turn, to a really beautiful and
> seamless experience from Aruba.  Specifically, the IAP-93US, operating
> in "virtual controller" mode.  I don't have the time to properly
> elaborate on it this moment (hopefully I'll find time this evening),
> but the capabilities of this little device are truly stunning.  Some
> of the highlights:
> - multiple networks, trunked out separately via 802.11q if you wish
> - seamless roaming: Clients connect to a virtual MAC, which is
> tunneled to which ever AP is the master "virtual controller", and can
> appear to come from any of the radios.  Thus, when you walk from one
> AP to the next, the client doesn't have to decide to "reconnect", the
> APs can hand you off from one to the next seamlessly.
> - zero configuration: plug in another AP to the network, the virtual
> controller sees it, upgrades it to the latest firmware, reboots it,
> and smooshes the current config on to it.  From then on, it can fully
> participate in the mesh.
> - apparently much more reliable hardware, and "master election"
> amongst any available node for who's the "virtual controller" at any
> moment
> - the ability to purchase next-day-air-replacement service for relatively
> cheap
> - the ability to DoS rogue SSIDs that appear on the network
> - myriad other cool security-oriented features, including monitoring
> - automatically spend a configurable percentage of their "radio time"
> in "monitor" mode, where they survey the radio spectrum in use, and
> pick the "best" (eg. least-interfered-with) channels.
> - tons of other awesome features
>
> They're a few hundred bucks a pop (about $300 a pop), but if you the
> dough to spend, a large enough coverage area to warrant it, and want
> good coverage everywhere... you can't really beat it as a solution.
>
> Note: it does not include a built-in switch, you'll probably want to
> pare it with a reasonable managed switch and I personally use a
> separate solution (eg. a linux box) as a router, so it doesn't
> precisely fit your original request.
>
> Aaron S. Joyner
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 3:25 PM, Igor Partola <igor at igorpartola.com> wrote:
> > This question seems to come up quite often...
> >
> > I have been using a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH2 for about a year now. It is a
> > powerful single-band router and for the money I think it's a good value.
> > There are several negatives:
> >
> > 1. I had to compile the kernel modules for ip6tables myself, as they did
> > not come with the compatible version of DD-WRT. I hear OpenWRT has much
> > better support for this.
> >
> > 2. The antennae are not removable, so you can't get higher gain ones.
> >
> > One the plus side are things like lots of RAM, easy DD-WRT installation
> (it
> > ships with a Buffalo version of DD-WRT), and a USB port usable for both
> > storage and printing.
> >
> > I have been curious about the MIKROTIK routers for a while as well. It
> > seems as though they have a much more polished but still very open OS.
> >
> > Igor
> > --
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-- 
Michael Rothwell
michael at rothwell.us
(828) 649-ROTH