Decent routers?

irfb87

Yeh Kwikbreaks we do have plug in 'range extenders' (same as boosters???) NETGEAR WN3000RP-100UKS (noob can't post link I'm afraid)

So far people have kept their hands to themselves, but I know one will go missing one day...

For the record the provider is aware it's a business and we have to phone the 'business line' if we have any problems/questions etc..

kwikbreaks

Wireless repeaters like those won't perform as well as wired or homeplug based access points but they are significantly cheaper. You could add more to fill in areas with poor coverage but remember the speed available can't exceed that of the slowest link so check speed as well as wireless signal strength.

You still need to check the BB account T&C to be sure you are allowed to do what you are doing.

You still need to be aware of security issues (other than the loss of equipment) some of which I mentioned above - you won't find McDonalds etc. just running an open wireless router on an ADSL account for very good reasons.

irfb87

Ok, will have a check.

So if I understand correctly, a short term plan would be to definitely improve the initial point at the router - buy something better. That way the extenders will at least extend something a bit better, then as time goes on I can remove extenders and wire it all up?

dumpallhere

You won't need to wire up the whole place for networking separately. Use HomePlugs instead - which use existing electricity circuitry to provide networking.

e.g. - main router wired to a homeplug (which goes into a electricity socket), and then homeplugs wherever you need in the building for wired/wireless connection to individual devices.



A suggestion, if possible for you to do -

Place the router on the first floor somewhat at the back of the building so it is sort of in/at center of the main building and the extension.

dumpallhere

A decent router is a must, in my opinion.

Whether to go for best in class ac router or a less expensive, decent N900 / N600 router is choice you'll need to make based on your requirements, budget etc. BTW, Asus "claims" that the AC87U has a range of 465m!!!!

A decent pair of homeplugs will cost about £25 a pair.
AC87U is £200
AC68U is about £160-£170
N66U is about £105
N56U is about £60

As pointed out by kwikbreaks, network security and filtering is another area that will need particular attention and finetuning.

[Deleted User]

Personally, coming from an enterprise IT environment and having done this before for friends I'd be looking on eBay to source second-hand enterprise WAPs [wireless access points] that can function without a controller, can run from POE and are safe to place in voids e.g. lofts. Generally enterprise WAPS have a longer range and handle more clients as well as being more reliable.


Devolo Home plugs with WAPs built in are excellent but unless in a secure location could be damaged/nicked.


But in reality the final solution depends on how easy it is locate WAPs/power/Ethernet etc...


Just my two pence worth...


Cheers

NeverEnough

The Asus Dark Knight (RT- N66)is excellent and a bit of a bargain at present at around £100 from Amazon - the wireless is really good in our old Victorian house, which suffers dead spots for wifi usually. Highly recommended.

Pincher

Retro-fitting typically means you mount the extenders on walls, near the ceiling. Ideally there are picture rails to hide the cables. Work out how the water pipes are run, that might help hiding the cables. If you have carpets, lifting floorboards is not a big deal. You can get flat CAT-6 Ethernet cables, which will run under carpets.

Power is always a tricky problem. The adapter gets hot, so don't hide it under floorboards. I would put in a power socket by tapping into the ring main from the floor above.

How many devices? I'm guessing 20+ devices.

Typically, there are four Ethernet ports on a modem, so you can have four extenders, so lets call them A,B,C and D, each at the end of an Ethernet cable.

I would get TWO ISPs, so two modem/routers.
Say one Virgin Media 100Mbps, the other one 76Mbps fibre connection. Normally, you would spread the load, so A and B plugs into the Virgin router, and C & D plug into the fibre router. In the event of one service going down, all four will be plugged into the remaining working router.

Power over Ethernet would be nice, but it's pretty expensive.

Putting the power sockets in is not that difficult, and the Ethernet cable is only difficult if you insist on hiding it all the way. You can get all kinds of colours and to match the wall paper.

This is a generic setup, and if you mount the extenders near the ceiling in the first floor corridor, it should serve the second floor as well, so one in the East corridor, one in the West corridor, you still have two extenders to locate.

For testing out locations, just run the cable freely to wherever you want to try, but don't leave it for people to trip over afterwards.

justjohn

Use an archer D7 and tp-link home plug wifi enabled. put the d7 on the ground floor and the wifi enabled homeplugs on middle landing or 3rd.






or place the homeplugs in weak areas

irfb87

Thanks for all the posts guys, sorry to revive this again, I've read about these devices that you plug in and then the 'internet' travels down your electricity cables and out at another socket...

I'm not sure if that's what some of you have mentioned up above, any idea on these?

At the moment I guess I've got 'extenders' that are catching a small amount of signal and pushing it on, whereas these are supposed to be 'perfect'...