Wireless network solution for one network with multiple APs and switches

[Martin Jones]

So I am building a network solution for my home and I want ONE huge network for both LAN and WLAN. The issue is, my router only has 4 ports, so I was thinking of buying a switch. This introduced a new issue as I discovered there are L2 and L3 switches and I'm not quite sure which one of those suits me. I would like all devices on the same subnet so they are all discoverable. Is this even possible? Multiple APs connected directly to router and 1Gbit switch for 4 of my PCs? Can AP connected to my router "extend" the wifi signal by setting the same SSID and changing the channels? Is there anything crucial I should know before buying anything?

[Pixel5]

the LAN part of this is trivial and any switch would work.

The biog question is the Wlan part, if you want it to just work you should go with ubiquity access points, they are more expensive but they handle the entire hand over process so fore your devices its one wifi and you always have the best possible signal.

[Ralphred]

If you just want the switch for extra ports then the layering doesn't really matter. 

Wanting multiple AP's for mostly static devices is easy, it gets more complicated when you want essentially multiple TX/RX nodes for the same WLAN, if you need that best to find a manufacturer that does it out of the box.

[Denned]

L2 switch is fine. The network you're trying to create is the most basic of networks.

[Martin Jones]

39 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

the LAN part of this is trivial and any switch would work.

The biog question is the Wlan part, if you want it to just work you should go with ubiquity access points, they are more expensive but they handle the entire hand over process so fore your devices its one wifi and you always have the best possible signal.

I have some spare Asus routers which can be configured to "AP mode" automatically. Do you think having a main Asus router and hooking up additional 2 routers to it configured in AP mode would satisfy my needs? APs should be far enough (one would be in a garden house where the signal is almost dead. Would clients switch automatically and wouldn't be there any issue with multi-NAT environment and would all devices connected to different APs appear as on the same network? The main router would also have radio enabled.

[Pixel5]

i dont know if these Asus routers will do the same thing as ubiquity.

the only other chance would be to give all of them the same SSID and hope for the best.

[scottyseng]

If you have ASUS routers that support it, use AImesh to setup your WiFi network.

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 12/30/2019 at 12:31 PM, Martin Jones said:

I have some spare Asus routers which can be configured to "AP mode" automatically. Do you think having a main Asus router and hooking up additional 2 routers to it configured in AP mode would satisfy my needs? APs should be far enough (one would be in a garden house where the signal is almost dead. Would clients switch automatically and wouldn't be there any issue with multi-NAT environment and would all devices connected to different APs appear as on the same network? The main router would also have radio enabled.

Having the same SSIDs and being plugged into the same network in Access Point mode is all you ever need to achieve this on a basic level.

The only catch with that setup is devices tend not to automatically switch to the strongest signal so might need you to manually disconnect/reconnect.  This is what mesh networking was designed to solve and what Ubiquiti APs also can do. (but then so can ASUS ones if they support AIMesh)

Honestly as you already have those routers, it wont hurt to try them first and see if you are happy with how it works.  As great as Uniquiti APs are (and they really are), no point in spending money if your current equipment is good enough for your needs.