Hi all,
I tried to search for an existing thread like this to avoid hassles to everyone, but couldn't find one. I apologize if this is a dupe ....
I would like to implement seamless/complete wifi connectivity in my new apartment (in Pune). My experience with wifi is that routers seldom manage to penetrate thick brick walls, so I will have to go in for some solution which overcomes this problem.
The objectives are as follows:
- Have multiple Access Points (I'm guessing it will be 5, one for each room/area)
- Have a single SSID for all access points, so that I don't have to keep changing the network on devices while roaming around my apartment
What I would like to avoid:
- Powerful signal transmission at an individual AP level, due to health reasons
- Wireless repeaters or signal boosters. My experience is that it results in packet drops and degraded performance
In conclusion, I want to achieve 100% wifi coverage by using multiple APs, but each AP should not transmit a very powerful signal. It's good enough if it provides reasonable signal strength in the room/area in which it's placed.
The layout and requirements are as follows:
- A hall, dining and kitcken surrounded by 4 bedrooms
- Brick walls separate each room (typical of India)
- I think one AP should cover the hall, dining and kitcken
- Remaining 4 APs, one for each bedroom
- In addition to that, I need one LAN connectivity (the sixth one) to use my OBIHAI VOIP device
The approach I'd like to take is as follows:
1) At the hall, connect a modem to a 8 port switch
2) From this switch, port #1 would be connected to the hall's AP
3) Switch port #2 would be connected to the my OBIHAI VOIP device
4 From switch ports 3/4/5/6 run ethernet cat5 cables to each of the 4 bedrooms
5) At each bedroom, connect the cable from the siwtch to an AP
6) The AP channels would be set such that they don't interfere with each other. For example, I'd use 1, 6, 11 and 14 in varying combinations
7) This still leaves 2 unused ports in the switch. May be good for future use ...
Questions:
1) Is my approach sensible? Are there any better options?
2) Are there APs that allow me select a channel of my choice?
3) Are there APs that allow me to tune down the signal strength so that it's not too strong?
4) The ethernet cat5 cabling to the bedrooms may run very close to existing power lines within the walls? Will this cause any interference issues? I'm getting conflicting reports/views on the net.
I thank you for taking time to read through this long post. I'd be grateful for any sugguestions that you may offer.
Cheers.
Srini
I tried to search for an existing thread like this to avoid hassles to everyone, but couldn't find one. I apologize if this is a dupe ....
I would like to implement seamless/complete wifi connectivity in my new apartment (in Pune). My experience with wifi is that routers seldom manage to penetrate thick brick walls, so I will have to go in for some solution which overcomes this problem.
The objectives are as follows:
- Have multiple Access Points (I'm guessing it will be 5, one for each room/area)
- Have a single SSID for all access points, so that I don't have to keep changing the network on devices while roaming around my apartment
What I would like to avoid:
- Powerful signal transmission at an individual AP level, due to health reasons
- Wireless repeaters or signal boosters. My experience is that it results in packet drops and degraded performance
In conclusion, I want to achieve 100% wifi coverage by using multiple APs, but each AP should not transmit a very powerful signal. It's good enough if it provides reasonable signal strength in the room/area in which it's placed.
The layout and requirements are as follows:
- A hall, dining and kitcken surrounded by 4 bedrooms
- Brick walls separate each room (typical of India)
- I think one AP should cover the hall, dining and kitcken
- Remaining 4 APs, one for each bedroom
- In addition to that, I need one LAN connectivity (the sixth one) to use my OBIHAI VOIP device
The approach I'd like to take is as follows:
1) At the hall, connect a modem to a 8 port switch
2) From this switch, port #1 would be connected to the hall's AP
3) Switch port #2 would be connected to the my OBIHAI VOIP device
4 From switch ports 3/4/5/6 run ethernet cat5 cables to each of the 4 bedrooms
5) At each bedroom, connect the cable from the siwtch to an AP
6) The AP channels would be set such that they don't interfere with each other. For example, I'd use 1, 6, 11 and 14 in varying combinations
7) This still leaves 2 unused ports in the switch. May be good for future use ...
Questions:
1) Is my approach sensible? Are there any better options?
2) Are there APs that allow me select a channel of my choice?
3) Are there APs that allow me to tune down the signal strength so that it's not too strong?
4) The ethernet cat5 cabling to the bedrooms may run very close to existing power lines within the walls? Will this cause any interference issues? I'm getting conflicting reports/views on the net.
I thank you for taking time to read through this long post. I'd be grateful for any sugguestions that you may offer.
Cheers.
Srini
