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    Max number of wireless clients

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Wireless
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    • ?
      Guest
      last edited by

      Yes i was just dreaming there was some internal device i was overlooking.

      I am trying to build a wireless test bench with 5-6 clients and wanted to hear others real world numbers. I bought a bunch of broke laptops for cheap and been rehabbing them for testing. Need to do a bunch of Antenna upgrades to them before attempting to benchmark them. I am trying to see how it scales up.

      Anybody running wifi honeypot??

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      • DerelictD
        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
        last edited by

        Routinely have 150+ on a Ruckus 7372. WPA2.

        Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
        A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
        DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
        Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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        • ?
          Guest
          last edited by

          Thanks Mr.D

          I see the Ruckus on fleabay @$350-400. Is there any additional fees/subscription required?

          Do you know what the POE voltage and wattage required is for the POE input?

          Why a gig-E port and 10/100 port. Is the slower just for admin features or both do uplink?

          RP-TNC for antennas?

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          • DerelictD
            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
            last edited by

            No.  The AP will run in standalone without any additional costs.  Though you lose the benefit of the controller.  (My example is representative of a single, controller-based AP so the controller benefit is minimal)

            Not sure why they chose 10/100 for the second port.  It's typically used to provide wired access where an AP is.  Not for management/uplink.

            I don't believe the APs require PoE+.  www.ruckuswireless.com will know for sure.

            All internal antennas.  Just run with it.  BeamFlex is pretty sweet.  The main concern is usually keeping co-channel signal from other APs, not propagating further.

            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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            • jahonixJ
              jahonix
              last edited by

              @Phishfry:

              Do you know what the POE voltage and wattage required is for the POE input?

              It's all in the specs for everyone to read: http://www.ruckuswireless.com/products/zoneflex-indoor/zoneflex-7372-7352#specs

              • DC Input: 12 VDC 1.0A

              • Power over Ethernet 802.3 af

              Have a look at their R500 AP which does AC for the same money. Both are two-stream MIMO 2x2:2 devices

              Make sure to read Ruckus' TechTalk section to understand what they are doing and why (pretty interesting!):
              http://www.ruckuswireless.com/technology/beamflex
              http://www.ruckuswireless.com/whitepapers

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              • ?
                Guest
                last edited by

                Kind of blown away with serving 150 connections with an internal antenna. Then only 7.5 watts@48V as well. Very impressive. So Cisco merkaki is a direct competitor?

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                • ?
                  Guest
                  last edited by

                  I see they are using Atheros AR9160 inside this model:
                  http://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/3622/ruckus-zoneflex-7762-wireless-access-point-teardown

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                  • DerelictD
                    Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                    last edited by

                    @Phishfry:

                    Kind of blown away with serving 150 connections with an internal antenna. Then only 7.5 watts@48V as well. Very impressive. So Cisco merkaki is a direct competitor?

                    Not really.  ;)

                    Aruba maybe.

                    Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                    A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                    DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                    Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                    • jahonixJ
                      jahonix
                      last edited by

                      Aruba was just bought by HP. Down they go…

                      Current ranking  (at least within the US and as far as I heard) currently is
                      #1 Aruba
                      #2 Cisco
                      #3 Ruckus

                      FWIW

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                      • ?
                        Guest
                        last edited by

                        Back to the topic. I have been researching this max internal Atheros radio users issue and can't find anything solid. One of the Atheros modules i recommend is an Apple Airport Extreme AR5BXB112 radio. When i look at Apples AP numbers they say 100 users. Do you think pfSense would work with that large a number as an access point? No conjecture please.

                        How could i test without 100 friends with laptops?

                        Maybe do a large gathering and setup a hotspot? Serving bandwidth would be cellular and not ideal with this method…

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                        • DerelictD
                          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                          last edited by

                          pfSense DOES NOT CARE how many users are on an AP.  It's all layer 2.

                          You are simply crazy if you want to use wireless adapters in pfSense for all but the most pedestrian of Wi-Fi access.  Get an AP.

                          Regarding testing, you're getting to the numbers where if people expect it to work, and it doesn't, you look like an ass.

                          Your best bet would be to find a place where wi-fi isn't expected, advertise its availability, and give them something for their feedback.  Depends on how badly you really want to know how well it works.

                          I, personally, cannot see hanging a pfSense from the ceiling where a high-density AP belongs in all but the highest-density, open space scenarios.

                          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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