Good wifi routers

[J Pearce]

We setup a production network at every show we do now. Used for screen sharing and file sharing for audio and video designers back to the show macs, riggers remote (QLab and LX), sound console remotes, and sometimes ETC multiconsole for designer's remotes.

We've stumbled along with discarded routers from my pile of bits BT/Plusnet/o2 have sent me but I've never used, but the traffic on our networks has grown to the point that these are not coping, and regularly freeze up under the weight of the traffic.

 

I'd rather stick with a router type device, as we sometimes need to use wifi (riggers remotes, when designers forget their ethernet adaptor for their shiny new mac...), and keeping it DHCP for clients is much easier than changing network settings on designer's computers that then need resetting after our show (I set statics or static DHCP on show macs and consoles). We move around various Birmingham venues, and use a large pool of freelance designers, so having a static address system would be cumbersome.

 

Has anyone got any recommendations for a router type device, with gigabit ethernet and 5GHz wifi, that can handle the amount of network traffic described above? I really don't want to end up building a rack with a big managed switch and access points etc, I really want a simple one box solution. 6 ethernet ports would be handy, but I'm not too concerned about that as long as it is gigabit as I can always put the less data heavy devices on a cascaded switch.

[kgallen]

Also currently being discussed here with a slight sound "bias":

 

https://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=73274

[J Pearce]

Thanks. That thread is very console biased, which isn't particularly data intensive. Having 2 designers on screen share, multiconsole running, and consoles/projectors, sometimes OSC cues too makes it a bit more needy in requirements.

[gyro_gearloose]

I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I’d be looking at shifting some of your network over to a cabled setup. WiFi is convenient for mobile devices such as lighting remotes, but if you’ve got things like consoles, QLab systems, and projectors then surely running a bit of Ethernet cable between these fixed positions will reduce the amount of data sent wirelessly?

[J Pearce]

Sorry, I should've been clearer. The only things on wifi are tablet remotes, and the occasional designer laptop when they've forgotten their ethernet adapter (or expected me to carry 2 of every USB/Thunderbolt/USB3/USB-C dongle going).

 

Everything else runs on cabled ethernet. We've found the cheaper routers just overheat/hang up/go slow because they're trying to reconnect to a non-existent ADSL connection.

[themadhippy]

not cheap,but very reliable.

https://www.ui.com/products/#default

[timsabre]

You don't want a router, you want an access point. As Hippy suggests the Ubiquiti products are the gold standard. Draytek are also good. Tplink are cheap but not very reliable.

[sleah]

You don't want a router, you want an access point. As Hippy suggests the Ubiquiti products are the gold standard. Draytek are also good. Tplink are cheap but not very reliable.

 

The great thing about using a router is having the dhcp server :)

 

If extra boxes aren't a problem, then have a switch for all the cabled bits, a seperate AP for wifi and a router (wifi disabled) to act purely as DHCP.

[revbobuk]

I've had great success with the Coredy AC1200 dual band WAP - which does include DHCP. I'm using it with an X32 for tablet remote access, and with an X18. The dual band bit is really helpful. Proved completely reliable so far. Edited March 22, 2019 by revbobuk

[timsabre]

You don't want a router, you want an access point.

The great thing about using a router is having the dhcp server :)

 

A lot of the higher end AP's have DHCP server. We have a few Draytek AP's and they will do DHCP, if you turn it on.

 

 

 

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

A bit of an aside but if your access point doesn't have DHCP,and you want it on the cheap, find any old thin client box on eBay and stick NT4 or Windows 2000 Server on it, as it has a DHCP service built in.

 

All the best

Timmeh

Edited March 22, 2019 by timmeh2

[alistermorton]

You can do much the same with a linux installation (even on a pi).

[pritch]

Some of the Mikrotik devices look interesting - they all seem to have broadly the same functionality as each other, and even the bare-bones access points have things like DHCP servers.

 

Some of the access points have high gain directional aerials too, which I guess could be useful for some applications.

[J Pearce]

Thanks all for your input.

 

I don't need just an access point, wifi is actually a very small part of this. I don't actually really need a full blown router either. What I DO need is a switch, DHCP server (local DNS would be handy, but certainly not vital), and access point all in one box. For most commercially available solutions that is going to mean a router, though I'm all ears if there's another simple one box solution. To do it 100% top notch, yes I'd build a rack with a managed switch, a small server, and an access point with external antenna, but that would be total overkill and well out of the available budget. I'm after something between that and the current cheap ex-ISP routers.

 

This needs to be a simple one box system that a stage manager or stage management student can setup and power up/down. Not something that needs a sysadmin and a proper power-up/down routine, I can do all of that but I have other things to be doing.

 

I'll have a look at the Mikrotik devices - already on my list, does anyone have experience with them? Ubiquiti stuff is great stuff, but couldn't see a switch/DHCP/access point one box solution on their products page?

In my personal kit I have a rather nice Zyxel access point (it lives with my X32 Rack), but somehow it manages to do a login popup - cafe style - when it doesn't have an ADSL connection (reopening the popup every 15 mins or so). Not an issue when using X32 Remote on an iPad, but it does popup on a mac/laptop and this would just confuse and annoy some of our designers.

[the kid]

Does anyone have experience with them? Ubiquiti stuff is great stuff, but couldn't see a switch/DHCP/access point one box solution on their products page?

 

 

We run Ubiquiti for expo, and yes it is all single component as far as I can tell. The "issue" we found was one component has one in voltage, and another has another, so we lost a few units to stupid mistakes. Having said that you could box it all and make it plug and play.

 

They do also do Amplifi hd which is more D0m3stic, I have not used but it looks like it "might" do what you want? it does have the mesh sticks if you need, but I do understand that Amplifi and the more pro stuff does not talk.