Need suggestion for WiFi router with around 50m - 100m coverage

[Cheezey]

Hello,

 

Currently, I have installed an internet connection with the default router in a badminton court.
I want to access the WiFi connection from 1 corner to another, which is around 50m far.

Connection: around 15 to 20 computers

 

Any suggestion on which router I should buy? or maybe another solution to support internet coverage within the badminton court?

P.S. I am not really familiar with hardware and router.

[zhubaohi]

The AC86u from Asus is a very good router unter 200 USD. 

[Cheezey]

Hi zhubaohi,

 

Thanks for your reply.

I checked the router specification, it is a decent router but seems like the coverage is not enough (around 95 feet ≈ 28 meters) I do not think the coverage is enough.

[Eniqmatic]

Does this router handle the internet connection also?

[Cheezey]

Hi Eniqmatic, it needs to handle internet connection too.

[Eniqmatic]

What about disabling wifi on the existing one, and installing 2 new ones to handle wifi? Would wiring ethernet connections be an issue?

[Cheezey]

I do not mind to install 2 new routers.
Wiring is not possible at the moment, renovation going on.

[Eniqmatic]

Hmm, if wiring was an option then 2 Unifi AP Lites could have done the trick nicely, and cheap.

 

I'm not sure how much your looking to spend, but what about maybe the Orbi ac3000 from netgear? That includes one Orbi router and a secondary Orbi access point?

[Cheezey]

Hi Eniqmatic, sorry for the late reply.

 

both of the option needs wiring, don’t they?

 

I am fine with both options.

for the 2 Unifi option, i will still need an access point device right?

 

I have drawn a simple layout, maybe you could help me check whether I understand it correctly.

 

[scottyseng]

3 minutes ago, Cheezey said:

Hi Eniqmatic, sorry for the late reply.

 

both of the option needs wiring, don’t they?

 

I am fine with both options.

for the 2 Unifi option, i will still need an access point device right?

UniFi you do need wiring for. If you get the more expensive AC Pro model, they can do wireless uplink, but if you can wire, I would (faster speeds).

 

The two UniFi are the WiFi access points. You would need your existing router still.

 

Potentially you might need three, but it depends on how many walls there are. This is quite a large area.

[Cheezey]

I see.

 

By the way, I searched online, but still do not quite get the difference between Access point and router.

Is it a must to have both?

[scottyseng]

13 minutes ago, Cheezey said:

I see.

 

By the way, I searched online, but still do not quite get the difference between Access point and router.

Is it a must to have both?

Well, for home use, the router you're probably used to has WiFi, four ethernet ports, and is a "all in one" device. The WiFi part is the wireless access point, the four ethernet ports are a network switch, and finally there's a router managing all of that.

 

A router is like the manager of the network, it protects your network with a firewall / rules, and every device must talk to it to figure out what IP address it should have.

 

Access point just is a point of access to allow devices on the network. In this case, it connects devices on WiFi to the network.

 

For enterprise, the router, switch, and Access points are split up into separate devices.

[Cheezey]

Oh, I see.

 

So basically the setup will be
Existing router

|

|--> Unifi access point (AP1)

|

|--> Unifi access point (AP2)

and by having that setup, the router will manage the IP address for the computer in AP1 and AP2 and all of the computers will be able to ping each other.

Am I right?

[scottyseng]

2 hours ago, Cheezey said:

Oh, I see.

 

So basically the setup will be
Existing router

|

|--> Unifi access point (AP1)

|

|--> Unifi access point (AP2)

and by having that setup, the router will manage the IP address for the computer in AP1 and AP2 and all of the computers will be able to ping each other.

Am I right?

Yep, you are right.

 

You may need a network switch if your router does not have enough ethernet ports (not sure how many it has right now)

[Cheezey]

Noted,

thank you to all of you guys (Zhubaohi, Eniqmatic and Scottyseng).

By the way, I found a youtube link mentioning the difference between router, access point and switch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc16CCAAz7Q

 

[Cheezey]

By the way, any recommended router for the case above?

[scottyseng]

40 minutes ago, Cheezey said:

By the way, any recommended router for the case above?

Your ISP doesn't come with one?

 

Otherwise, any decent router will do. If you want to keep with the UniFi world, the USG is pretty solid. There's also the Edgerouter X (budget), Edgerouter Lite, and the overkill Edgerouter 4.

 

You will need a network switch with the dedicated routers above though, but they're pretty cheap, Netgear GS105 or 108 switches will work plenty fine.

 

It would be like this:
ISP Modem -> Router -> Switch -> UniFi APs

The switch can also handle whatever ethernet wired devices you have in the office (If you have any)

 

Also, if possible, i would place the APs diagonally (one in the bottom left corner of your drawing, the other in the top right)

[Cheezey]

Quote

It would be like this:
ISP Modem -> Router -> Switch -> UniFi APs

 

Ah, It make sense now.

Thanks a lot!