WiFi AP Recommendations
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Ruckus has also apparently rolled out a controllerless line based on their ZoneFlex APs. I haven't looked at it closely yet.
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"Controllerless" is more like "Controller in the cloud". We don't have to love that, I prefer it in-house.
But controllers aren't necessary at all. I wouldn't even consider them for single or dual AP installs (nor would Ruckus). Just to clarify for the OP. -
Am I to assume that the "controller" would only be needed to set up the access point and not maintain it's operation?
For example, I see people creating jails and installing controller software for the ubiquiti AP's. Wouldn't it just be prudent for the average home user that has a windows box to install the software to set up the AP and then just let it be?
Sorry if these questions seem ignorant, I've never worked with any wifi AP's before.
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Controllers do many things. They deploy and tear down SSIDs on many (hundreds) of access points automatically. They look at various metrics and do what they can to coerce the clients to choose the best AP and band based on those metrics. They upgrade AP firmware automatically. They can tell close APs to fire disassociations at anything connected to "rogue" access points. They can VLAN segment clients across multiple VLANs in what would normally be a big, flat network.
They are worth every penny. Especially if there are any dynamics involved in your not-small wi-fi environment.
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Thanks for that reply. I guess it makes sense to have the controller software runnning 24/7 then.
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It all depends.
If you only have one to three APs in your home/small business you can configure them by WebGUI or CLI and leave them alone afterwards. No controller needed at all.
When you deploy in larger scales it absolutely makes sense to have a controller involved. -
Yeah, sorry. I missed the "average home user" part.
For the ubnt gear, yes. Have the controller installed on the desktop and start it when you need to make a change. Else kill it.
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For the ubnt gear, yes.
Just out of curiosity - would you really use a ZoneDirector with only 2 or 3 APs installed?
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I would agree that the early Engenius products were not that great…But to be fair they were pitched at SOHO and not business/enterprise class. However, the newer line of Engenius WAPs (EWS) is every bit as good as any of the big names...Trust me we've gone though them all. I'm sticking to the Engenius EWS line of WAPs....with Meraki as our 2nd choice. Aruba would be my last choice....we've had more failures with them then any other brand.
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Just out of curiosity - would you really use a ZoneDirector with only 2 or 3 APs installed?
Likely not but it depends on the dynamics of the environment and the needs of the site/customer. If those three APs are routinely handling 100+ associations each then maybe.
For a typical install of that size I doubt I'd use Ruckus in the first place. Probably Xclaim or ubnt.
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I use ubiquiti unify with controller I setup at OVH. Works fantastic!!! I manage 20 customer environments with some having 30 AP's across multiple offices. For most environments unifi is more than enough. These units auto configure when you drag them into a customer account. You can apply multiple SSID on them and all use same WPA password so users can roam and if you need to change the password it pushes the change across all of the AP's!
I have one customer that has 3 SSID on 3 separate vlan and since all switches in all offices use the same Vlan when I pull the AP in I don't have to do anything to setup the AP! It's that simple. Bye bye Cisco and overpriced solutions!!!
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Not sure if you are still looking, but Cisco has an unbelievable deal on 2504 wireless LAN controllers, 25 AP license, and two access points. They price varies depending on the APs you get with the bundle, but the package with two top-end 3702i APs is only $2000. The APs alone cost almost that much. The 25 AP license is more than that.
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Interested in this as well. If you get a Ubiquity AP are you required to use one of their their UniFi switches?
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Interested in this as well. If you get a
UbiquityAP are you required to use one of their their UniFi switches?It's spelled "Ubiquiti" :D
And, No, you don't need to use their UniFi Switches
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@ptt:
Interested in this as well. If you get a
UbiquityAP are you required to use one of their their UniFi switches?It's spelled "Ubiquiti" :D
And, No, you don't need to use their UniFi Switches
Arrgghh, I keep doing that!
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Shameless plug for Ubiquiti. Just pulled the trigger on one 2xAP SOHO setup and now have done a few more - all using the AC Pro APs. Also love their 'cloud key' product. Spend ~$80 once and get Meraki-esque remote access plus the bonus of having a local controller. If only I could get back the hours of my life I spent configuring Cisco APs.
