StanVaden

So I come from a retail IT tech, and corporate onsite background. I'm used to leather shoes, white shirt and not being Cat food. I decide that I need to find a different job because I was simply not being challenged where I was working. You know how there's a stage in life where you're looking for a job and you apply to one that you're way underqualified for? You know you're not going to get it but somehow it makes you feel like you're either some kind of hero for actually applying or you're simply wasting the company's time because the job sounds amazing but you'll never get it so "screw you, company in question!"! That was me. Hi, I'm Stan and I'm 22 years old. The company called me back. They were like: "Hey Stan. Can you come in for an interview?" I went for my interview. And on my way back home it hit me like a train: "They were simply wasting my time back". I wasn't even home yet when they called me with an offer. I had applied to a job at a predator research centre and lodge and I somehow landed this job as IT department manager, out in the bush, wearing Khakis with absolutely no idea what I'm doing. This is fine, right? WRONG! The previous IT Manager had decided that the best idea to supply Wi-Fi to the lodge was using three netgear 150mbps routers in weatherproof steel boxes placed strategically around the lodge connected by homeplug. I knew nothing about Wi-Fi networks besides that you need the little antennas sticking out at the back or else the reach was pretty much non-existent. I've had brushes with Cisco and Juniper equipment back in the corporate world but never actually worked on them. I took it upon myself to get Wi-Fi smart and fix this colossal mess. After long nights of reading up I went to a local store and saw a Ubiquity UniFi AP. That was it. I fell in love with the interface they had demonstrated to me. I absolutely loved the fact that there's a sexy product that actually gets shiz done without breaking the bank. And the story started. I had done some research and had purchased cat5e UV Shielded cable with shielded RJ45s and 6 Ubiquiti NanoStation M2s I used 2 of them as bridges and the remaining 4 as APs. That in it self was a dream. The setup was so easy that a toddler with ADHD could have done it. After mounting them it turns out they aren't actually a sore to the eye as much as I had originally anticipated and the range on those puppies are freaking amazing. Fast forward a couple of months: We're building a new laboratory where we plan to do research and house predator sperm. This building is a bit far from the lodge where the mikrotik dish is that supplies us "Interwebs". The lodge also contains my server room where all the data on the research we've done is kept. Where all the data of the new feline TB research is kept and where the data from the laboratory in question needs to be kept. I figure let’s throw two NanoStations at it and call it a day. No. The bridge worked. But it was unstable. It was an absolute nightmare. Had Ubiquiti failed me? Is this where I part ways with Ubiquiti and fork out the cash to some overpriced horrid eyesore? No. I had decided that I have to obtain an Ubiquiti Certificate. I scheduled and attended the UBWS course at a networking supplier in the city. There I was introduced to the NanoBeam AC 16dbi. The smallest, cutest little piece of hardware I've ever had the pleasure of working on. I immediately purchased two of them. But i wanted to put them to the test. I have a friend that lives high up on a mountain in the city and I have line of sight from my house to his. It's about 6KM apart. I had borrowed my dad's binoculars and a couple of lasers (A completely useless idea but hey, let’s have fun)! We set off connecting the NanoBeams. We mounted them on camera tripods on the roof and used a home-made laser mount to aim the two at each other. This didn't work. We then decided to use the software to connect the two up and it was absolutely nowhere prefect (or good even) But it worked. We played a game of Call of duty 4 and I leached the crap out of his internet. The next morning I had climbed the poles at the lodge, mounted the two nanobeams and tuned them nearly perfect. We did it! The lab now has a "solid" connection to the lodge. Stan still has a job and for the predictable future; Ubiquiti has a hard earned fanboy.

I'd really really like to win one of those keyboards. This is my ghetto setup.... I am ashamed....

Well, Sir. I'm no expert on plex at all... I've never actually used it. Have you considered giving Universal Media Server a go? More information and free download can be found here.

I am in serious awe right now. Tell me though; did you settle for the NanoBeam purely because of it's AC WiFi standard and did you at all consider any of the other Ubiquity products such as the NanoStation M5, AirFiber (5 or 24) or the PowerBeam? @L4RRY Not judging your thought process. I'm just curious as to your thought process

Good day, LTT members! Well here's the rundown I currently have at the Lodge I work at: My boss is stingy as hell. We've got 40 volunteers around any given time. We're in the middle of the bush so DSL or Fiber is not an option. The mobile signal out here are so horrid that we cannot rely on that. We've got a mikrotek dish on a huge pole at the office. The same pole where the Guest two network is mounted. We've got two data packages running down the mikrotek. A third one will be added soon. The third package (192.168.1.X) will be dedicated exclusively to the Owner's house. It'll pickup on a Ubiquiti NanoStation m2 on the Mikrotek pole, Guests may not connect to the Volunteer network. Guests need wifi in the Chalets and in the bar and in the restaurant Volunteers may only connect to the volunteer network, need wifi in the restaurant, bar and rooms, Staff may only connect to staff network and need wifi in their rooms. My personal network is to link up to the servers. Attached is a google maps areal photo of the lodge with the network layout. Here's the rundown: 192.168.0.X Range has 4mbps up 4 mbps down 192.168.2.X Range has 51kbps up 4mbps down Volunteer network Connected via Cat5e Shielded cable to 192.168.2.X Pickup for Staff network Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (visible SSID) Throttled to 2mbps Guest 2 Network Connected via Cat5e Shielded cable to 192.168.2.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (visible SSID) Throttled to 2mbps Guest 1 Network Connected via Cat5e Shielded cable to 192.168.2.X EnGenius ENS5202 used as AP (visible SSID) Throttled to 2mbps Office Connected via Cat5e Shielded cable to 192.168.0.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (Hidden SSID) No throttle Personal Network Connected to 192.168.0.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (Hidden SSID) EnGenius ENS5202 used as bridge to Bar No throttle Owner's Network Connected to 192.168.2.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (visable SSID) Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as bridge to Guests 1 Throttled to 512kbps BarAP Connected via Cat5e Shielded cable to 192.168.0.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (Hidden SSID) No throttle Staff Network Connected to 192.168.2.X Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as AP (visable SSID) Ubiquiti Nanostation M2 used as bridge to Volunteer network Throttled to 512kbps So here's the thing. If you have a look at the top part of the photo. There's staff rooms that have no wifi. Also volunteer rooms with no wifi. I want a way to give access to those volunteers and staff. Also. In the second picture you can see our VIP lodge where there are currently no internet connection. I need to find a way to get a network up there. Any Ideas? The second image works like this: Red is land not owned by us. Green is roads we have access to (on private land) Blue is public roads (yet still a dirt road so the odds of me picking up crap for digging there is absolutely zero) I am in the process of replacing everything with Ubiquiti gear. But the going be slow. Also;Boss does not want to spend a ton of moolahs. Also; If you find this little setup stupid then why not have a crack at re-planning it yourself? I'm really looking forward to reading your opinions

I've chosen my mom and dad. Since as long as I can remember we've had issues with our wifi at home. After moving out things got even worse: The wifi on the router stopped working and their ISP rep suggested they get an access point. The store they bought this SMC Barricade (SMCWBR14S-N2) which in itself is a dissaster. It does a half ass job of being an access point on the ground level. I'm not even going to mention the upper floor. So I've decided that mom and pap need to get a propper wifi setup. Link