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Forum Discussion
Parth_Goyal
Sep 30, 2020Aspirant
Home WiFi: Mesh vs WAP
I'm looking for setting up my home network. I have 5 Floors(Residence) + 1 Floor(Maintainence). Entire home's on automation so network would be very populated. On maintainence floor there is modem fr...
- Sep 30, 2020
Parth_Goyal wrote:Thanks.
So as a final solution is it that Orbi Mesh is better than WAP? But, if WAP supports IEEE 802.11r (which is for smooth handoff) then it is also great.
And if a mesh is installed then caution should be taken while selecting the switch.
Final installation:
Modem(Maintainence Floor) >RBK50 Router Router Mode(Maintainence Floor) >Switch Unmanaged non green >RBS50 (on each floor)
A tri-band Orbi mesh system will perform far better than an access point, as they don't have to repeat the signal, and they have a dedicated backhaul. The RBR850 and RBR750 have a super fast backahaul channel, which will give you far better performance than Access Points. And the RBK853 and RBK753 have great coverage.
CrimpOn
Sep 30, 2020Guru - Experienced User
Parth_Goyal wrote:I'm looking for a robust solution with
- Seamless switching while going from one floor to another
- Fast communication b/w all devices in network
- Efficient traffic management
Communication speed and traffic management will be the same for access points or mesh. "Switching" is where mesh would be different.
The switch is a critical part of the design because (unfortunately) some switches seem to have problems with Orbi satellites. Some are known to work, but Netgear (to my knowledge) has never published a list of switches that work and don't work.
Parth_Goyal
Sep 30, 2020Aspirant
Thanks.
So if I select an appropriate switch then are you suggesting that Orbi Mesh would be better than WAP?
- FURRYe38Sep 30, 2020Guru - Experienced User
IT would be about the same and WAP. Just with MESH, if the connection between the host router and remote satellites goes down while ethernet connected, the remote satellite will auto connect to the host router over wifi. With WAP, if the ethernet connection fails, theres not alternative to establish the connection and the user has to troubleshoot and re-establish the connection with the remote WAP.
- MstrbigSep 30, 2020Master
Parth_Goyal wrote:Thanks.
So if I select an appropriate switch then are you suggesting that Orbi Mesh would be better than WAP?
I woulds suggest the Orbi mesh system over WAP, as it is better technology. I walk around my home and office buildinbg with no issues whatsoever. Used to have access points, and even though they were good, there was always an issue going from one desk to another.
Make sure you don't sell yourself short and purchase a smaller system. Base it on your square footage and then discount about 35% of the max coverage on the box, so you are not disappointed with the coverage.
Regarding switches, I use Netgear ProSafe gigabit switches, unless a more pro series switch is needed. They handle traffic seemlessly.
- FURRYe38Sep 30, 2020Guru - Experienced User
Is there a specific model# of ProSafe switches that should be used?
Mstrbig wrote:Make sure you don't sell yourself short and purchase a smaller system. Base it on your square footage and then discount about 35% of the max coverage on the box, so you are not disappointed with the coverage.
Regarding switches, I use Netgear ProSafe gigabit switches, unless a more pro series switch is needed. They handle traffic seemlessly.
- MstrbigSep 30, 2020Master
FURRYe38 wrote:Is there a specific model# of ProSafe switches that should be used?
It depends on how many ports you need. They range from 5 ports up in the unmanaged models, which is what I use for Orbi router and satellite add on switches.
Unmanaged Models are 5 port-GS105, 8 port-GS108, 16 port-GS116, 24 port-JGS524
They are very inexpensive and have a lifetime warranty. I have never had one fail. And there is no setup, just plug them in and populate them with NICs.
- Parth_GoyalSep 30, 2020Aspirant
Thanks.
So as a final solution is it that Orbi Mesh is better than WAP? But, if WAP supports IEEE 802.11r (which is for smooth handoff) then it is also great.
And if a mesh is installed then caution should be taken while selecting the switch.
Final installation:
Modem(Maintainence Floor) >RBK50 Router Router Mode(Maintainence Floor) >Switch Unmanaged non green >RBS50 (on each floor)
- MstrbigSep 30, 2020Master
Parth_Goyal wrote:Thanks.
So as a final solution is it that Orbi Mesh is better than WAP? But, if WAP supports IEEE 802.11r (which is for smooth handoff) then it is also great.
And if a mesh is installed then caution should be taken while selecting the switch.
Final installation:
Modem(Maintainence Floor) >RBK50 Router Router Mode(Maintainence Floor) >Switch Unmanaged non green >RBS50 (on each floor)
A tri-band Orbi mesh system will perform far better than an access point, as they don't have to repeat the signal, and they have a dedicated backhaul. The RBR850 and RBR750 have a super fast backahaul channel, which will give you far better performance than Access Points. And the RBK853 and RBK753 have great coverage.