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Forum Discussion
How to manage more than one access point (WAX620 - WAX630)
Hi everyone, I'm interested to buy some APs, mixed among WAX620 and WAX630. These models have "instant mesh" feature, but I don't understand if insight subscription is required. Can I join more tha...
Enterprise grade APs with 8x8:8 stream come with massive higher costs - and all come with support costs, license requirements for updates and management. Calculate roughly at least 1000 USD per AP, 15..20% annual maintenance.
Friendly reminder: 8x8:8 isn't nessecarely better than 4x4:4. Oh and there is no 10G PoE++ required. It simply does not make much sense to squeeze that much WiFi into a single AP for most developments - except for consumers which want ot buy the absolute best geeky wireless router to be set-up in the middle of the house (with all physical disadvantages for free).
Netgear only offers affordable APs for this SMB and SOHO business: The WAX630 with three radios, two 5 GHz, one 2.4 GHz, each 4x4: for around 100 USD per radio (300 USD) [2.5G uplink, 802.3bt 60W PoE++], the WAX620 with two 4x4:4 radios for about 230 USD [2.5G uplink, 802.3at 25.5W PoE+], and the WAX610 to cover areas in the house where you rarely need WiFi for some 150 USD [GbE uplink, 802.3af <15.5W PoE].
Instant Mesh is _only_ where you have to extend the wireless coverage where no wired networking is available. Nice for coverage, barely comparable with wired network access points.
If you expect free centralized management - Netgear isn't your destiny.
Another miss understanding, my fault. 8 spacial streams referred to both radios (4 + 4, if there's a third radio 4 + 4 + 4). And "at least" in my previous reply is referred only to spacial streams (at least 8, the WAX630 has 12), not to 2.5G (even if exists many APs with 5G, but 2.5G is enough for me).
Back to talking about instant mesh: if I connect all APs with cable, I don't need it? Instant mesh is for wireless communication among APs? If this is correct, I don't need it, all my APs will be wired. The only doubt is if can I have a seamless roaming among these APs without insight. If yes, WAX630 is for me, otherwise for my APs I have to look for other options.
(I don't expect a free centralized management. For the 3-4 APs I need, as I said, I can configure each one without many problems.)
With all wired APs, the Instant Mesh thinge is not required.
In my understanding, the normal 802.11v and .11k based seamless roaming part is available for clients using shared secrets (certainly WPA2) using local management - what can't be done is the client based authantication roaming support per 802.11r.
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