Wifi network recommendation

Its part of the controller software from unifi and FOC

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Small question:If one installs 2 wifi access points (NOT repeater function) can they have both the same SSID name?

Dirk

Google WiFi here, with a combination of wired (where practical) and wireless backhaul.

I can highly recommend the Synology RT2600ac - very easy to set up (but the SRM software is very powerful if you want to tinker) and excellent range. Much better than the Asus we had previously. You can add the MR2200ac mesh router(s) as your network/space requires.

Yes thatā€™s possible (just make sure they use different channels). Best would be to use SMB (like eg. the cisco WAP371 I use) or pro APā€™s that support clustering (gives single point of configuration for the bunch of APā€™s, can help with roaming because the APā€™s share information) but simple APā€™s should work too.

2 wifi APs with the same SSID, both of them are DHCP servers? I think you are asking for trouble, unless one of them is a bridge.

WiFi APā€™s donā€™t run DHCP servers. DHCP servers are usually located on routers or dedicated network management hosts. Nowadays consumer grade routers are hybrid devices that can contain a modem, a router, a switch and a WiFi AP (some even support NAS functionality, Print Server, ā€¦). Some of them may allow the user to choose between different operating modes (router/AP/wireless bridge) where in the later two, the DHCP server getā€™s disabled.

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This is exactly what I meant, I think my previous message was too brief, so it did not explain very well.
My wireless network is Google Wifi, so one of the Google Wifi devices is acting as a master and it is the AP+routers, and it serves as a DHCP server. I also had a legacy Apple Airport Extreme, and the only way to make it work reliably with the same SSID is to configure it as a bridge.

i use eero pro and highly recommend its mesh network.the router is a total sleeper and works great.
instead of using any audio devices in wifi mode its better to connect them to the wired ethernet port of the eero.
eero pro is much faster than google wifi and the form factor is much better than any linksys or netgear devices.
eero pro has more than sufficient speed and bandwidth for any audio or video usage

In Europe the Devolo Magic2 is a good solution combining Ethernet-over-powerline with mesh WiFi. I replaced my parentsā€™ WiFi in Paris with that and it made major improvements in stability, speed and convenience.

I myself use Ubiquiti UniFi AP nanoHD in the UK in combination with Devolo Magic2 wired-only PLC units (rental apartment, canā€™t install Cat5e). Ubiquiti switches, Cloud Key G2 and Security Gateway. Ubiquiti just released their ā€œUniFi Dream Machineā€ that combines all 4 functions in a single unit but itā€™s not clear when the EU version will ship. All you need is to add additional APs to provide wireless coverage.

Mesh WiFi and the enterprise grade multi-AP systems like Ubiquiti, Meraki, Aruba et al. have a single SSID spread over multiple APs, with controller software switching you (in principle) seamlessly as you move around the house, just as cellular networks handle roaming without your noticing. They will also automatically select different frequencies for adjacent APs.

Itā€™s better to have wired Ethernet connections between APs because WiFi is unreliable like all wireless technologies and the more hops occur over the air the more likely something is to go wrong.

It does not make sense to lots of households including mine, which is a tiny 1 bedroom house.

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Absolutely @QuinnT

the connection speeds between the mesh endpoints especially in eero pro is close to gigabit and more than sufficient.hence there is no need to run wires for people who cannot
but i would definitely recommend connecting the streamers using wire to the mesh router access point

It does not make sense to lots of households including mine, which is a tiny 1 bedroom house.

Sure, but then a single AP should be sufficient, this does not seem to be the OPā€™s case.

The limitation is, as always with wifi, that if you are sending a lot of data in both directions it will not be able to sustain 1 gigabit, whereas a cabled connection will.

I use a mesh and I have wifi back haul but Iā€™m under no illusions that the reported speeds between the nodes and the actual performance can vary significantly.

If I could use cabling in my property whether for all my ethernet devices or just as back haul, I would for sure. It would be better than wifi of any sort.

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