Noob questions

[Telecart]

Hey folks,

I have a 2013 Apple Airport Time Capsule and haven't really thought much of networking since picking it up when it came out - but I recently moved to a new apartment and changed some things in my set up and it has occured to me it may be time to retire ol' TC.

My new apartment is much larger than my previous one, ~1000sqft one floor rectangle with the router in one corner such that by the end hallway in the other side of the apartment wireless signal is noticeably weaker. It's a busy building with various other wifi networks around me (and even one of my own for my iogear wireless HD setup).

I think overall needs have changed as well in recent years, with a lot more devices connected to the network.

So a few querstions:

1. First thing's first, given my setup, would I benefit from a mesh network like Orbi or is it overkill and any modern router (e.g. Nighthawk R7000P) would be able to handle the size of the apartment with a more robust antenna than maybe Apple built 5 years ago? 

2. Assuming the answer to #1 is yes, is there any non-cosmetic material difference between Orbi or mesh built with Nighthawk EX8000 ? 

3. Router would be next to modem in living room end, and then I'm thinking satellite would be in home office area near the middle/towards the other end. Similar to question 1, even if there's not a material reason to do mesh in the space, would there be an advantage to having one anyway given the ability to plug computer, sonos etc. to the satellite unit via ethernet whereas today these devices are on busy wifi?

Let me also know if it would help to elaborate on exactly which devices are connected today and how, there's a whole assortment of devices in ac, n, and even g, and a lot going on.

[FURRYe38]

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@Telecart wrote:

Hey folks,

I have a 2013 Apple Airport Time Capsule and haven't really thought much of networking since picking it up when it came out - but I recently moved to a new apartment and changed some things in my set up and it has occured to me it may be time to retire ol' TC.

My new apartment is much larger than my previous one, ~1000sqft one floor rectangle with the router in one corner such that by the end hallway in the other side of the apartment wireless signal is noticeably weaker. It's a busy building with various other wifi networks around me (and even one of my own for my iogear wireless HD setup).

I think overall needs have changed as well in recent years, with a lot more devices connected to the network.

So a few querstions:

1. First thing's first, given my setup, would I benefit from a mesh network like Orbi or is it overkill and any modern router (e.g. Nighthawk R7000P) would be able to handle the size of the apartment with a more robust antenna than maybe Apple built 5 years ago? Orbi would be a bit over kill. If you place the any router centrally in the home, a single router will be able to cover 1000sq ft easilly. 

2. Assuming the answer to #1 is yes, is there any non-cosmetic material difference between Orbi or mesh built with Nighthawk EX8000 ? EX is a extender only or you can use it in AP mode. The satellites on the Orbi are just extenders with back haul support, wired and wireless. 

3. Router would be next to modem in living room end, and then I'm thinking satellite would be in home office area near the middle/towards the other end. Similar to question 1, even if there's not a material reason to do mesh in the space, would there be an advantage to having one anyway given the ability to plug computer, sonos etc. to the satellite unit via ethernet whereas today these devices are on busy wifi?

 Big problem with a busy surroundings is that you may encounter interference problems from your nieghbors wifi. One thing you can do with any NG router is turn down the wifi output of the NG wifi and this help lesson the foot print and intererences with neighboring wifi. Users in wifi congested areas will see problems and have problematic experiences.

I would centrally locate and place a wifi source in the home and see if you can get full coverage using a single unit. 

You could place the router at one end and place a extender at the other end. 

30 feet is recommended in between router and extender. 

Let me also know if it would help to elaborate on exactly which devices are connected today and how, there's a whole assortment of devices in ac, n, and even g, and a lot going on.

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[Telecart]

Hey! Thanks for the reply!

Some follow ups:

1. I understood the EX8000 also has backhaul ("fastlane3") - is this not the case?

2. I cannot place the router centrally unforutnately, what is typical range for modern router? Any models that stand out (outside of mesh)?

3. Wanted to repeat my third question - even though mesh may be overkill, is there a compelling advantage to doing so anyway by virtue of reducing the # of devices running on wifi and having more connected to the satellite via ethernet which has a dedicated fastlane conenction to the router and then modem? Is that better than having multiple devices connected to one router or does it not matter?

[FURRYe38]

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@Telecart wrote:

Hey! Thanks for the reply!

Some follow ups:

1. I understood the EX8000 also has backhaul ("fastlane3") - is this not the case?

From data sheet:

FASTLANE3™ TECHNOLOGY • Extreme Tri-Band WiFi with combined speeds up to 3Gbps‡

This maybe combining bandwidth across the radios. Not exactly sure though. I have a friend with a EX8000, loves it. He uses it with a XR500 router. 

2. I cannot place the router centrally unforutnately, what is typical range for modern router? Any models that stand out (outside of mesh)? Any where from 1000-1500ft max depending upong building materials. I've tested both R7800 and XR450 routers with my EX7700 and works well in my 5000 sq ft home 40 feet in between them. 

3. Wanted to repeat my third question - even though mesh may be overkill, is there a compelling advantage to doing so anyway by virtue of reducing the # of devices running on wifi and having more connected to the satellite via ethernet which has a dedicated fastlane conenction to the router and then modem? Is that better than having multiple devices connected to one router or does it not matter? It does help to spread out where the connects are if you have a lot of devices between a host router and a extender. Kind of depends on what your needs are as well. If you have wired support on some devices, it's preferred to use wired for best performance, Like gaming and streamers. Most other usage needs, wifi should be good. 

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