[166949] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Meraki
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Seth Mos)
Fri Nov 22 01:34:50 2013
From: Seth Mos <seth.mos@dds.nl>
In-Reply-To: <32243798.2716.1385098660289.JavaMail.root@benjamin.baylink.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 07:34:33 +0100
To: Jay Ashworth <jra@baylink.com>
Cc: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
Op 22 nov 2013, om 06:37 heeft Jay Ashworth het volgende geschreven:
> ----- Original Message -----
> Anecdote:
>=20
> My local IHOP finally managed to get Wifi internet access in the =
restaurant.
>=20
> For reasons unknown to me, it's a Meraki box, backhauled *over =
T-mobile*.
>=20
> That's just as unpleasant as you'd think it would be, And More!
>=20
> Both the wifi and 3G (yes, 3G) boxes lock up on a fairly regular =
basis,=20
> requiring a power cycle, which, generally, they'll only do because =
I've
> been eating there for 20 years, and they trust me when I ask them to.
>=20
> I can't say whether this provides any illumination on the rest of =
their
> product line, but...
To compound matters, i'd go as far as to say that any wireless solution =
on 2.4Ghz isn't really a wireless solution. It's just not feasible =
anymore in 2013, there is just *so much* interference from everything =
using the unlicensed 2.4Ghz band that it's own success is it's greatest =
downfall.
Reliable wireless isn't (to use the famous war quote "friendly fire =
isn't")
For whatever reasons, whomever I talk to they all tell me that <ISP =
here> sucks, and if I ask further if they are using the wireless =
thingamabob that the ISP shipped them, they says yes. So, that's about =
right then.
I've been using a PCengines.ch Alix router for years now (AMD Geode, =
x86, 256MB ram, CF) with a cable modem in bridge mode with seperate dual =
band access points in the places where I need them (living room, attic =
office) and I can't say that my experiences with the <ISP here> mesh =
with theirs.
Anyhow, if you are going to deploy wireless, make sure to use dual band, =
and name the 2.4Ghz SSID "internet" and the 5Ghz SSID "faster-internet". =
You'll see people having a heck of a better time. Social engineering =
works :)
When we chose the Ubiquity wireless kit we could deploy twice as many =
APs for the same price of one of the other APs. This effectively means =
we have a very dense wireless network that covers the entire building, =
and lot's of kit that can actually see and use the 5Ghz band.
Setup was super easy, I added a unifi DNS name that points to my unifi =
controller host and I get a email that a new AP is ready to be put into =
service. Having a local management host instead of some cloud was a hard =
requirement. I also like that I can just "apt-get update; apt-get =
upgrade" the software. By using DNS remote deployment was super easy =
too, send the unit off and let them plug it in, it then comes onto the =
network and registers itself.
I believe every current Apple iDevice currently supports the 5Ghz band, =
and all the Dell gear we purchase also comes ordered with it. Heck, even =
my 2011 Sony Xperia T has 5Ghz wireless now, as do the current Samsung =
Galaxy S3, S4
Best regards,
Seth=
