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Wifi to Ethernet
In our store we have the RBR50 and RBS50 devices and these give us great coverage. We have several areas with great coverage that are not near either the main unit nor the satellites where we have c...
serverscience wrote:To confirm: can we actually mix/match RBR50/RBS50 devices with other Orbi devices such as the RBS40V-200 and RBS20 devices? I had otherwise guessed that they wouldn't work together as they're not in the same series.
Absolutely. Any of the original "residential" Orbi satellites will sync with the RBR50 router. (not the "Pro", the AX, or the RBS10).
I like the RBS40V because of the $100 cost. (I have grown to like Alexa playing classical music, but that is entirely optional).
serverscience wrote:An Orbi RBR50 is just on the other side of the wall from the room in which one set of workers are. This would be about 15 feet. So, for one of our locations, it might be problematic. For the other three, I think we're further than the 30' distance you mention.
30 feet is the recommended "starting point". If you start with a single RBS40V, try it in that location first and see what happens.
serverscience wrote:Final question here: Do you have any higher-end device suggestions that fall into this category?
There are too many WiFi extenders to list. TP-Link's RE450 is a similar product.
Many of these products are designed to plug directly into a wall outlet. I often choose to ignore that capability and plug them into an extension cord so that I can get them "off the floor" and in a location that makes the most sense from the aspect of (a) having a clear "view" of the WiFi system and (b) being near the devices I want to connect via an ethernet switch.
When using the Netgear EX3700, I chose to use the 5G channel to connect to my Orbi and disabled the user-side radios entirely. I imagine the TP-Link has a similar capability.
You can think of the RBS50 as an Ethernet drop.
The RBS50 is not near (and cannot be placed near) where there are computers and printers where people work. It is not feasible to place Ethernet cable from the RBS50 to that location.
So, I'm looking for a hardware recommendation that will allow me to place a device at the work area that receives wireless signal and converts it to Ethernet that can go thru a switch to the cluster of computers and printers that are at that work area (several desks side by side). I can run Ethernet cable at the work area, but not to the RBS50 satellites nor to the RBR50 router.
I'm also looking to ensure that the computers and printers are on the same subnet as the rest of the devices in the company.
And, I have 4 such work areas that I'd like to do this same thing. Each of them gets great Wifi signal from the Orbi router or satellites.
So, I'm not sure what kind of device I need. A bridge? An access point? If the Orbi's wifi signal can't be turned into Ethernet for each of these work areas, would I need to get some other set of devices?
If your connecting the RBS as a satellited in the work area which is wirelessly connected to the RBR, then all you need to do is to connect a LAN switch to the back of the RBS, the LAN ports in back will connect to most any non manged switch, then you can connect any wired device to this switch.
Thought distance between the RBR and RBS will be a factor. Not much more than 50-60 feet would be recommended between them.
Thought bandwidth could be come a factor at the RBS having too many wired devices connected and all using lots of bandwidth.
You might review this as well:
https://www.netgear.com/business/products/wireless/wireless-airbridge/wbc502.aspx
serverscience wrote:So, I'm not sure what kind of device I need. A bridge? An access point? If the Orbi's wifi signal can't be turned into Ethernet for each of these work areas, would I need to get some other set of devices?
You need one of two things:
- Additional Orbi satellites which will connect to the existing Orbi router and/or satellites over WiFi. (no cable connection required).
This has the advantage of keeping the base network intact and extending the Orbi WiFi "envelop" farther.
If they are too close to the existing Orbi units, this runs a risk of crowding too many WiFi radios into the space.
(a distance of 30' from any existing Orbi unit should be sufficient, which sounds "doable".)
My current "Best Buy" Orbi satellite is the RBS40V which Amazon has been selling for $100. It has 4 ethernet ports, so up to 4 devices can be connected before it is time to purchase an inexpensive gigabit switch (any brand, although I tend to prefer "name brands" such as Netgear, TP-Link)
Another benefit of using Orbi satellites is that all devices will show up as "Attached Devices"along with where they are attached to. - Any brand of "WiFi Extender" which connects over WiFi to the Orbi and has one ethernet port to feed the devices.
(meaning you will need a switch for anything over one ethernet device.)
Netgear makes several (EX3700 comes to mind). TP-Link makes several. And, Amazon carries a vast array of Chinese knock-off extenders. (I would read the user reviews carefully. If it has "27" reviews -- (duh).
I have not found WiFi extenders to be as reliable as Orbi satellites.
I have also found that WiFi extenders often create private MAC addresses for devices attached to them. They still get IP's from the Orbi router, but these MAC addresses do not match the actual hardware address. I found that to be a drag.
Thank you for your information.
Item (1) might be a problem. An Orbi RBR50 is just on the other side of the wall from the room in which one set of workers are. This would be about 15 feet. So, for one of our locations, it might be problematic. For the other three, I think we're further than the 30' distance you mention. So, this might be a partial solution. To confirm: can we actually mix/match RBR50/RBS50 devices with other Orbi devices such as the RBS40V-200 and RBS20 devices? I had otherwise guessed that they wouldn't work together as they're not in the same series.
Item (2) might be possible. The EX3700 looks to be a low-end device, if the mere $29.99 price is any indication. We would be willing to spend more (like around $100 for each of our rooms) for better-quality devices. I'm not sure if the MAC address would cause us any functional problems. So, this approach might be better. Final question here: Do you have any higher-end device suggestions that fall into this category?
Thank you again for your helpful information. I think any feedback to the above questions will result in a "solution" answer.
Best regards,
Steve Amerige
- Additional Orbi satellites which will connect to the existing Orbi router and/or satellites over WiFi. (no cable connection required).
