Unifi wireless uplinks between buildings and 4x4 v 2x2 radio
Discussion
Further to my post on the Unifi EU shop, I thought I'd post this separately.
A long while back I invested in the Unifi eco system. It was all pretty new then and I bought UAP-LRs, with hindsight a little foolishly.
However...
I'm just about to upgrade my APs to the Wifi 6 versions and was after a bit of advice/input.
For the house I was going to buy the Lite APs on the basis that LRs were a bit of a waste of time last time, but I have 2x queries:
Or should I really be using something like their air bridge type products? Cost aside, the thing making me doubt this is that they seem to be for use cases where much bigger distances are involved.
A long while back I invested in the Unifi eco system. It was all pretty new then and I bought UAP-LRs, with hindsight a little foolishly.
However...
I'm just about to upgrade my APs to the Wifi 6 versions and was after a bit of advice/input.
For the house I was going to buy the Lite APs on the basis that LRs were a bit of a waste of time last time, but I have 2x queries:
- The Wifi6 LRs have 4x4 radios whereas the Lites have 2x2. How much of a difference is that likely to make in terms of coverage and performance?
- I have a detached workshop/garage about 30m from the house and I've been using a wireless uplink between 2x UAP-LRs to get wifi out there. It works more or less, but performance between the buildings is patchy and I'm keen to improve it (running a cable isn't an option at this stage).
Or should I really be using something like their air bridge type products? Cost aside, the thing making me doubt this is that they seem to be for use cases where much bigger distances are involved.
4x4 will be able to service a greater number of concurrent users than a 2x2 unit but in a domestic setting it not likely to be a significant issue.
My understanding (perhaps erroneous) is that wifi six is generally for getting a more reliable and faster service in crowded public areas rather than domestic settings, what’s the driver behind the move to it?
Re: airbridge products, as you’ve already pointed out your current solution can be spotty they sound a better bet. It’s not just about distance but also reliability. As they use directional antenna they’ll perform better over the distance than your current solution.
If you can’t get clear line of site then the 900mhz products will often give a stable link at the price of link bandwidth
My understanding (perhaps erroneous) is that wifi six is generally for getting a more reliable and faster service in crowded public areas rather than domestic settings, what’s the driver behind the move to it?
Re: airbridge products, as you’ve already pointed out your current solution can be spotty they sound a better bet. It’s not just about distance but also reliability. As they use directional antenna they’ll perform better over the distance than your current solution.
If you can’t get clear line of site then the 900mhz products will often give a stable link at the price of link bandwidth
Captain_Morgan said:
4x4 will be able to service a greater number of concurrent users than a 2x2 unit but in a domestic setting it not likely to be a significant issue.
My understanding (perhaps erroneous) is that wifi six is generally for getting a more reliable and faster service in crowded public areas rather than domestic settings, what’s the driver behind the move to it?
Re: airbridge products, as you’ve already pointed out your current solution can be spotty they sound a better bet. It’s not just about distance but also reliability. As they use directional antenna they’ll perform better over the distance than your current solution.
If you can’t get clear line of site then the 900mhz products will often give a stable link at the price of link bandwidth
The main driver isn't really Wifi6 per se, just to get better wifi performance through the house.My understanding (perhaps erroneous) is that wifi six is generally for getting a more reliable and faster service in crowded public areas rather than domestic settings, what’s the driver behind the move to it?
Re: airbridge products, as you’ve already pointed out your current solution can be spotty they sound a better bet. It’s not just about distance but also reliability. As they use directional antenna they’ll perform better over the distance than your current solution.
If you can’t get clear line of site then the 900mhz products will often give a stable link at the price of link bandwidth
All bar 2 of the current APs are 802.11n/have no 5Ghz capability. I'm also hoping newer tech will give more solid coverage - the house is v. old and even with a decent number of APs (5x) coverage in some areas can be temperamental (big oak beams and thick brick fireplaces don't seem to work well with wifi).
The wifi6 access points address the above (I believe - and not merely "because wifi6"
) and give some degree of future proofing (I think). Have also been slightly surprised at just how many devices we have connecting now across the house (I currently have ~50 active devices on wifi around the house....when I have guests this goes up).I try to eek every last ounce of life out of the kit I buy so am assuming the latest wifi6 APs will allow a bit more life
Ref the building to building connection...I do have line of sight. As you note, reliability is key - in part because I use the connection out to the garage for what are essentially "off site" backups.
Murph7355 said:
The main driver isn't really Wifi6 per se, just to get better wifi performance through the house.
All bar 2 of the current APs are 802.11n/have no 5Ghz capability. I'm also hoping newer tech will give more solid coverage - the house is v. old and even with a decent number of APs (5x) coverage in some areas can be temperamental (big oak beams and thick brick fireplaces don't seem to work well with wifi).
The wifi6 access points address the above (I believe - and not merely "because wifi6") and give some degree of future proofing (I think). Have also been slightly surprised at just how many devices we have connecting now across the house (I currently have ~50 active devices on wifi around the house....when I have guests this goes up).
I try to eek every last ounce of life out of the kit I buy so am assuming the latest wifi6 APs will allow a bit more life
Ref the building to building connection...I do have line of sight. As you note, reliability is key - in part because I use the connection out to the garage for what are essentially "off site" backups.
Understood and reasonable All bar 2 of the current APs are 802.11n/have no 5Ghz capability. I'm also hoping newer tech will give more solid coverage - the house is v. old and even with a decent number of APs (5x) coverage in some areas can be temperamental (big oak beams and thick brick fireplaces don't seem to work well with wifi).
The wifi6 access points address the above (I believe - and not merely "because wifi6"
) and give some degree of future proofing (I think). Have also been slightly surprised at just how many devices we have connecting now across the house (I currently have ~50 active devices on wifi around the house....when I have guests this goes up).I try to eek every last ounce of life out of the kit I buy so am assuming the latest wifi6 APs will allow a bit more life
Ref the building to building connection...I do have line of sight. As you note, reliability is key - in part because I use the connection out to the garage for what are essentially "off site" backups.
You might well find if you are on the 2.4ghz only units at present that your coverage doesn’t improve with the new ap’s.
5ghz doesn’t penetrate as well as 2.4, depending on locations etc you might have to deploy more ap’s to address the coverage issues.
It might be worth considering reusing the existing 2.4ghz ap’s to plug gaps in areas where speed might be less of a driver, guest bedroom’s / garages etc?
As you have los then a couple of the 5ghz units should give a relatively fast stable link and you can reuse the ap there as well saving a few quid.
A couple of these will do the job for the house to garage link: https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/30936-ubiq...
I've not used these, but installed plenty of the older Nanostations and apart from needing the occasional reboot they're fine.
4x4 is better for servicing lots of clients simultaneously, probably overkill for domestic use and you won't notice much difference.
I've not used these, but installed plenty of the older Nanostations and apart from needing the occasional reboot they're fine.
4x4 is better for servicing lots of clients simultaneously, probably overkill for domestic use and you won't notice much difference.
The 6 Lites should be a decent upgrade, but the 6-LR has had such great reviews that it's hard to ignore for not too much more money. I still haven't managed to install any though as they're constantly out of stock.
I'd go for the nanostation link too and a 6-Lite on the end of that one.
I'd go for the nanostation link too and a 6-Lite on the end of that one.
Nanostations ordered and some Wifi6 LR APs (they're actually a chunk more than the Lites) to replace my EoL ones.
I'll shuffle round my 2 non-EoL AC APs for now as I think what I'd ideally like to fill in any gaps are "in walls" (as and when they release Wifi6 versions of those).
Will report back when the kit arrives
(I'll now check if there's a market for old APs
).
I'll shuffle round my 2 non-EoL AC APs for now as I think what I'd ideally like to fill in any gaps are "in walls" (as and when they release Wifi6 versions of those).
Will report back when the kit arrives
(I'll now check if there's a market for old APs
).quinny100 said:
A couple of these will do the job for the house to garage link: https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/30936-ubiq...
I've not used these, but installed plenty of the older Nanostations and apart from needing the occasional reboot they're fine.
4x4 is better for servicing lots of clients simultaneously, probably overkill for domestic use and you won't notice much difference.
These arrived quickly and took about 15mins to set up as a PtP bridge.I've not used these, but installed plenty of the older Nanostations and apart from needing the occasional reboot they're fine.
4x4 is better for servicing lots of clients simultaneously, probably overkill for domestic use and you won't notice much difference.
I've only propped them up in the vague direction of each other, one in a bedroom in the house behind a timber/plaster wall and the other in the window of the workshop and am getting an easy 200Mbps "capacity" (from their app). Have had a 30sec play and if I raise the workshop device up by a few feet this rises to 300Mbps...so will have more of a play with this when time allows.
But the link is doing its job (a Macbook that hadn't backed up to a remote disk the other side of the link for a while now has).
And on the U6 LR APs...
They're physically bigger units than the ones I had - much heavier (x3 heavier) and deeper/more domed (seems to be by more than the specs suggest).
Mounting brackets are interesting - with all the holes they've pre-drilled for different fixings I'm surprised they didn't include holes for bracket points from other APs in their range.
They've al installed quickly and fuss free. Now just need to have a better look at the signal around the house.
They're physically bigger units than the ones I had - much heavier (x3 heavier) and deeper/more domed (seems to be by more than the specs suggest).
Mounting brackets are interesting - with all the holes they've pre-drilled for different fixings I'm surprised they didn't include holes for bracket points from other APs in their range.
They've al installed quickly and fuss free. Now just need to have a better look at the signal around the house.
Wifi 6 is just a bit of extra frequency for more channels, unless the devices at both ends support Wifi 6 you may not see the benefits of going for the latest and greatest.
As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
Regarding your PtP bridge, if you don't need the full '300Mbps' speed then drop the channel width down to 20mhz, that will free up bandwidth for other devices. Good practice if you're in a congested area, not so important if your'e in the middle of nowhere.
Also drop the power down as much as possible, 0dBm or even -4dBm over short distances, again good practice.
Also drop the power down as much as possible, 0dBm or even -4dBm over short distances, again good practice.
megaphone said:
Regarding your PtP bridge, if you don't need the full '300Mbps' speed then drop the channel width down to 20mhz, that will free up bandwidth for other devices. Good practice if you're in a congested area, not so important if your'e in the middle of nowhere.
Also drop the power down as much as possible, 0dBm or even -4dBm over short distances, again good practice.
I'm in the middle of nowhere Also drop the power down as much as possible, 0dBm or even -4dBm over short distances, again good practice.
(Though point taken on good practice).gottans said:
Wifi 6 is just a bit of extra frequency for more channels, unless the devices at both ends support Wifi 6 you may not see the benefits of going for the latest and greatest.
As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
As per above, main reason for replacement is to get a 5Ghz network around the house...also the APs I had are end of life (they work perfectly well, but won't receive any more firmware update etc).As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
I also want some longevity to the kit bought, so being the latest out of the blocks from Unifi, that should do that as far as possible.
I do have to do some work on which band the APs are using, tuning power etc...we'll then see how it goes. I've also run out of ethernet cables so have a few coming today which will allow me to play a bit more.
Murph7355 said:
gottans said:
Wifi 6 is just a bit of extra frequency for more channels, unless the devices at both ends support Wifi 6 you may not see the benefits of going for the latest and greatest.
As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
As per above, main reason for replacement is to get a 5Ghz network around the house...also the APs I had are end of life (they work perfectly well, but won't receive any more firmware update etc).As for the 4x4 v 2x2, going 4x4 under the same conditions will get you better data rates. You have mentioned things are patchy which might indicate the signal conditions are not the best or highly variable. Are you certain it is definitely the Wifi link that is the cause of the variability, not something else in the network.?
I also want some longevity to the kit bought, so being the latest out of the blocks from Unifi, that should do that as far as possible.
I do have to do some work on which band the APs are using, tuning power etc...we'll then see how it goes. I've also run out of ethernet cables so have a few coming today which will allow me to play a bit more.
I also found with multiple AP's, when set to auto channel they both ended up on the same channel wrecking any hope of a handover between them.
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