5 ms·

Just checked out their offering, and they sell....glorified WiFi routers and range extenders? And I've just read there's a mandatory account + sign-in for thes

by b1r6 8y ago

Just checked out their offering, and they sell....glorified WiFi routers and range extenders? And I've just read there's a mandatory account + sign-in for these things? What am I missing?! Just go buy a couple consumer routers and a spool of cat5e and you're done. If you're lazy, get a powerline device to bring connectivity to the remote router. This is goofy!

kryptk 8y ago
High end mesh network devices have a dedicated high band (5.8ghz) backhaul radio in addition to their usual low-mid 5ghz and 2.4ghz radios used for clients. The extra radio allows them to blow the pants off any repeater in terms of performance. They also claim to do some network optimization, for example if you have a device that's constantly streaming Netflix it will be assigned appropriate QoS automatically.
Marsymars 8y ago
I wouldn't recommend the average consumer get a consumer router without automatic security updates.
- philpem 8y ago
  I wouldn't recommend the average consumer get a consumer router, full stop. Even if it has automatic security updates, you can bet that as soon as the thing's discontinued, the updates will be too...
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    I agree. Not to mention that it's very, very hard to find a router that's aimed at the consumer market that is actually good.
  - Marsymars 8y ago
    What are you recommending to the average consumer then? Assuming the average consumer is unable to use a web-based config UI, or to pay anyone to do configuration for them.
    - philpem 8y ago
      I'd probably offer to buy them a Mikrotik Routerboard and set it up for them.
pfranz 8y ago
Feel free to do what works for you. I probably would, but I can't imagine most anyone rolling out cat5. Heck, my parent's place was installed with cat5 to each room, but I doubt I'd have them bother with it to install multi-point wifi. The first thing people seem to go for are wifi repeaters, which seem to be terrible overall. I tried to setup/troubleshoot one at a friend's house and it sucked. When it did work, there was significantly more latency and the throughput seemed lower. I've heard pretty good things about the power line devices and have suggested them in certain circumstances, they just don't seem to have caught on widely. Mesh networks use a proprietary second network to address the problems with wifi repeaters. It sucks they're all proprietary, but from what I've heard most seem to work fairly well. I wish there were more with open standards and I'm not a fan of sign-ins. Honestly, for most people upgrading their router to something relatively modern often extends the speed and range enough that other routers aren't needed.

by b1r6 8y ago

kryptk 8y ago

High end mesh network devices have a dedicated high band (5.8ghz) backhaul radio in addition to their usual low-mid 5ghz and 2.4ghz radios used for clients. The extra radio allows them to blow the pants off any repeater in terms of performance. They also claim to do some network optimization, for example if you have a device that's constantly streaming Netflix it will be assigned appropriate QoS automatically.

Marsymars 8y ago

I wouldn't recommend the average consumer get a consumer router without automatic security updates.

philpem 8y ago
I wouldn't recommend the average consumer get a consumer router, full stop. Even if it has automatic security updates, you can bet that as soon as the thing's discontinued, the updates will be too...
- JohnFen 8y ago
  I agree. Not to mention that it's very, very hard to find a router that's aimed at the consumer market that is actually good.
- Marsymars 8y ago
  What are you recommending to the average consumer then? Assuming the average consumer is unable to use a web-based config UI, or to pay anyone to do configuration for them.
  - philpem 8y ago
    I'd probably offer to buy them a Mikrotik Routerboard and set it up for them.

pfranz 8y ago

Feel free to do what works for you. I probably would, but I can't imagine most anyone rolling out cat5. Heck, my parent's place was installed with cat5 to each room, but I doubt I'd have them bother with it to install multi-point wifi. The first thing people seem to go for are wifi repeaters, which seem to be terrible overall. I tried to setup/troubleshoot one at a friend's house and it sucked. When it did work, there was significantly more latency and the throughput seemed lower. I've heard pretty good things about the power line devices and have suggested them in certain circumstances, they just don't seem to have caught on widely. Mesh networks use a proprietary second network to address the problems with wifi repeaters. It sucks they're all proprietary, but from what I've heard most seem to work fairly well. I wish there were more with open standards and I'm not a fan of sign-ins. Honestly, for most people upgrading their router to something relatively modern often extends the speed and range enough that other routers aren't needed.