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How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

triplebyte.com

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Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#141

Post by zamadatix »

FooHentai wrote: post #116
MBCook wrote: post #56

It’s only sort of passively mentioned in the article but I am AMAZED at the number of people who don’t hardwire everything they can. Obviously phones are out, but why not hardwire every laptop when it’s at the desk? If someone’s using a actual desktop computer like an iMac then what’s the point of Wi-Fi? Clear up the signal space and get a 100% reliable and ultra fast connection.

We're about to move ~800 people into a new office and we're going Wi-Fi only when we do. Several reasons: - Cost avoidance. Hard wiring a new fitout is expensive, and in our case costs $200k for the structured cabling alone (ignoring the switch port cost, and the fact that we'd be deploying Wi-Fi anyway for roaming) - Better roaming experience. USB3 docking made the desk experience better for staff but USBC has made…

As a fellow large Aruba user I'd recommend extreme caution with how much you're pushing the BT stuff for telecommunications in a high density wireless environment. We've had that bite us in the ass a few times already. A lot of stuff doesn't mind running slower but telecommunication/video hates jitter, loss, and delay far more than anything else and you're putting it on the lowest end wireless infrastructure you have.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#143

Post by zamadatix »

keeperofdakeys wrote: post #104

When you're deploying multiple APs you also want to turn down the broadcast power on them. If the signal of multiple APs overlap too much, clients won't roam onto the next AP in time. Also don't be afraid to hire someone to do a wireless survey - or do it yourself. Someone will walk around with a laptop, and try to find wifi blackspots/hotspots, and can recommend adjustments to AP power and/or placement.

Yep, and disable the lowest data rates, particularly if you have decent coverage. The AP is forced to send certain types of traffic at the lowest available data rate so everyone can hear it so you save a lot of airtime on that traffic but also clients will be more likely to roam because they can't "stick" to a far away AP at a really low data rate even if they wanted to.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#144

Post by zamadatix »

tradertef wrote: post #24

Biggest issue I have with the solution proposed is the recommendation to avoid DFS channels. These channels are much more "cleaner" as adoption is less due to added cost caused by extra design and certification. Radars are pretty static and does not come and go (especially weather radars), so the router does not need to move from channel pretty much. False alarm can be an issue but if one has a decent quality router,…

With the caveat that some clients really have trouble with DFS channels. Generally not a problem if you're refreshing your office with new wireless though.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#145

Post by SkyPuncher »

comboy wrote: post #12
basch wrote: post #6

>Assign static IPs for infrastructure like access points. This makes them easy to reach when reconfiguration is needed Am I missing something, or did they buy consumer routers to use as access points? Triplebyte, I can save you a ton of management, troubleshooting, and learning time: switch to Ubiquiti Unifi or an equivelant now, youll have one pane of glass to reconfigure every device. The devices will talk to each…

The above may sound like an Ubiquiti ad, but I've tested a few top specs routers about 2 years ago and settled with unifi for my home installation. I needed a good coverage and reliability for my home automation, e.g. when I switch lights on/off I want a consistent few milliseconds latency.

I love my Ubiquiti gear. Range isn't great, but in range it's absolutely rock solid. The only time I have downtime is when I upgrade or tinker too much an mess something up. I've had it for 3 years and don't see it petering out anytime soon. 3 to 5 years is the most I've had my consumer grade stuff last.

The fact that I can run VPN/Wireguard/Basic Network apps on my router is fantastic. If I ever get tired of the range (which is only an issue in my garage on the other side of the house), I'll simply get another AP.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#146

Post by SkyPuncher »

pstadler wrote: post #92
basch wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the FEW downsides for smaller installations, is them not selling a Cloud Key, Gateway, and Switch in a single box.

What are you talking about? There’s https://amplifi.com/ for, let’s say, less sophisticated home installations.

Amplifi is apples to oranges with their full setup.

I installed an Amplifi AP/Router at my parent's house. It works absolutely phenomenally for their use case, but is basically plug and play. The Ubiquiti gear is worlds more configurable.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#147

Post by FooHentai »

zamadatix wrote: post #141
FooHentai wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're about to move ~800 people into a new office and we're going Wi-Fi only when we do. Several reasons: - Cost avoidance. Hard wiring a new fitout is expensive, and in our case costs $200k for the structured cabling alone (ignoring the switch port cost, and the fact that we'd be deploying Wi-Fi anyway for roaming) - Better roaming experience. USB3 docking made the desk experience better for staff but USBC has made…

As a fellow large Aruba user I'd recommend extreme caution with how much you're pushing the BT stuff for telecommunications in a high density wireless environment. We've had that bite us in the ass a few times already. A lot of stuff doesn't mind running slower but telecommunication/video hates jitter, loss, and delay far more than anything else and you're putting it on the lowest end wireless infrastructure you have…

Yeah all of this coincides with moving people across to soft phones and headsets. Most users are heading to wired headsets which will keep a lot of Bluetooth out of the airspace, but a few will have BT headsets (and many have just obtained their own).

The other big gotcha with wireless is catering adequately for guest devices. In more permissive environments (such as ours), catering for 3 devices per staff member is a good starting point.

You also have to decide how/if you want to prioritize corporate over guest traffic, and that's not as straightforward as it first looks.

We're fortunate that our user base (800) is spread over a significant floor area, and four separate large floors. We're also pretty much alone in our space, so less outside interference to handle. It was far worse at my last organisation (also Aruba), where not only were we surrounded by very noisy neighbours but we also had far higher floor density, coupled with the navy docking right next to the building which would regularly wipe out our wireless, site-wide, for random amounts of time.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#148

Post by MikusR »

robhu wrote: post #38
sandGorgon wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same as this , except with one change. For the router, use the (cheaper and more powerful) Mikrotik Routerboards. We don't use a Poe switch - we just use cheap Poe adapters and connect directly to the routerboard. For those who have never touched a Ubiquiti, configuring it could be a little iffy . I normally advise setting up DHCP 43 advertisement on the router before trying to setup the access points. But seriously,…

Haven't the Mikrotiks had lots of serious vulnerabilities recently?

Those that weren't updated for a year.

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#149

Post by Dylan16807 »

jrockway wrote: post #68
MBCook wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it was considered and GOOD idea to put the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz APs on different SSID is because some clients won’t connect to the faster one automatically. Or maybe it was because all traffic slow down to the lowest level. Is that no longer an issue? Or maybe these aren’t problems as long as the 2.4 and 5 access points are physically separate.

Software has been written that will forcibly disconnect a 5GHz capable client that is found using 2.4GHz. How widely deployed this is, I don't know. Avery did a talk about it (and other things) a couple years ago: https://apenwarr.ca/diary/wifi-data-apenwarr-201602.pdf

What's the point of using one SSID for both frequencies if you make roaming between them impossible?

Re: How we solved our office Wi-Fi problems

#150

Post by SkyPuncher »

basch wrote: post #13
comboy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The above may sound like an Ubiquiti ad, but I've tested a few top specs routers about 2 years ago and settled with unifi for my home installation. I needed a good coverage and reliability for my home automation, e.g. when I switch lights on/off I want a consistent few milliseconds latency.

One of the FEW downsides for smaller installations, is them not selling a Cloud Key, Gateway, and Switch in a single box.

This drives me insane! I get that in a commercial environment those are typically treated differently, but at home I want one device that I can manage everything from.

I'm currently commandeering a R-Pi as a controller, but I tend to misplace it when it gets pulled into other projects.

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