is ubiquiti any good?

[Guest]

4 hours ago, DominicNikon said:

ok who do i listen too? you says pros are the best he says lites are the best. 

are pros and LRs the same range?

That's entirely up to you  who to listen to - just keep in mind he's a Microcenter employee with revenue and profit targets to hit while I'm just a network engineer on a forum.

 

The LR's and the Pro's have similar ranges in real world scenario though the LR's do have a slightly different antenna configuration and while slower, will cover a greater distance than the Pro. Having said that, the Pro isn't far behind in terms of coverage.

 

As previously mentioned, I always encourage the purchase of the Pro's because they're a better overall AP, allowing for higher throughput.

[leadeater]

4 hours ago, DominicNikon said:

ok who do i listen too? you says pros are the best he says lites are the best. 

are pros and LRs the same range?

Lite's are not the best they are just cheaper, best is rather subjective. Technical best, best value or best for your situation.

 

The Pro will give the best results, while the LR might have on it's spec sheet a slightly longer range when you add in real world things like walls the Pro will do a better and more consistent job.

[DominicNikon]

12 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

That's entirely up to you  who to listen to - just keep in mind he's a Microcenter employee with revenue and profit targets to hit while I'm just a network engineer on a forum.

 

The LR's and the Pro's have similar ranges in real world scenario though the LR's do have a slightly different antenna configuration and while slower, will cover a greater distance than the Pro. Having said that, the Pro isn't far behind in terms of coverage.

 

As previously mentioned, I always encourage the purchase of the Pro's because they're a better overall AP, allowing for higher throughput.

can the LRs do 300 mbps with long range?

[DominicNikon]

16 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

That's entirely up to you  who to listen to - just keep in mind he's a Microcenter employee with revenue and profit targets to hit while I'm just a network engineer on a forum.

 

The LR's and the Pro's have similar ranges in real world scenario though the LR's do have a slightly different antenna configuration and while slower, will cover a greater distance than the Pro. Having said that, the Pro isn't far behind in terms of coverage.

 

As previously mentioned, I always encourage the purchase of the Pro's because they're a better overall AP, allowing for higher throughput.

how long is the range of 1 pro?

[Guest]

4 hours ago, DominicNikon said:

can the LRs do 300 mbps with long range?

 

42 minutes ago, DominicNikon said:

how long is the range of 1 pro?

As I've previously mentioned, speed and range are subjective to the environment that you install them into - I can't give you a perfect answer without doing a site survey of the environment. Anyone who tells you differently has no idea about wireless installation.

[skywake]

The Pro would want to be better than the Lite given it costs ~2x as much.....

[DominicNikon]

16 minutes ago, skywake said:

The Pro would want to be better than the Lite given it costs ~2x as much.....

the pro costs $20 more then the lite

[skywake]

11 minutes ago, DominicNikon said:

the pro costs $20 more then the lite

I don't know where you're shopping where that's the case. But if there's a special on the Pro where it's discounted that much? There's no contest. If the "Pro" you're talking about is an older model on clearance? Then it gets a bit more interesting.

[DominicNikon]

3 minutes ago, skywake said:

I don't know where you're shopping where that's the case. But if there's a special on the Pro where it's discounted that much? There's no contest.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1184036-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_pro_unifi_ap.html

is this correct? 

[skywake]

2 minutes ago, DominicNikon said:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1184036-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_pro_unifi_ap.html

is this correct? 

Well ok, but your maths isn't. That's $50US more not $20US, it's a fair premium and almost 2x the cost.

[DominicNikon]

1 minute ago, skywake said:

Well ok, but your maths isn't. That's $50US more not $20US, it's a fair premium and almost 2x the cost.

ok but is it worth it?

[skywake]

43 minutes ago, DominicNikon said:

ok but is it worth it?

It depends.

 

Obviously the Pro is better than the Lite, no question about it. Mostly because of the higher throughput and extra features. Which will matter if speed is an issue. For me personally I have 2x AC Lites and I'm using them to cover a reasonably sized double-brick house. For me coverage and cost was important. Because my bandwidth requirements aren't that high because I have a <10Mbps internet connection and all of my high-data use devices (NAS, PC, TV etc) are wired anyways. For me the thing that always annoyed me about WiFi has been coverage, not speed.

 

But in other scenarios? If you're hammering your WiFi just in general both with internet use and local stuff. If you're wanting something that can handle game streaming, movie streaming and 4K netflix. If you have a >100Mbps internet connection. If your main issue with WiFi is speed rather than range. Or if you just want both and the money isn't really an issue. Then the Pro makes more sense. Of course it's the technically better option, it's a more expensive product.

[DominicNikon]

1 minute ago, skywake said:

It depends.

 

Obviously the Pro is better than the Lite, no question about it. Mostly because of the higher throughput and extra features. Which will matter if speed is an issue. For me personally I have 2x AC Lites and I'm using them to cover a reasonably sized double-brick house. For me coverage and cost was important. Because my bandwidth requirements aren't that high because I have a <10Mbps internet connection and all of my high-data use devices (NAS, PC, TV etc) are wired anyways.

 

But in other scenarios? If you're hammering your WiFi just in general both with internet use and local stuff. If you're wanting something that can handle game streaming, movie streaming and 4K netflix. If you have a >100Mbps internet connection. If your main issue with WiFi is speed rather than range. Or if you just want the best you can get and the money isn't really an issue. Then the Pro makes more sense. Of course it's the technically better option, it's a more expensive product.

Im going to have 300 mbps with online gaming and every thing on wifi besides the tvs and I need good range. Pc's on wifi because the house does not have built in ethernet and it costs alot for wireing 

[skywake]

23 minutes ago, DominicNikon said:

Im going to have 300 mbps with online gaming and every thing on wifi besides the tvs and I need good range. Pc's on wifi because the house does not have built in ethernet and it costs alot for wireing 

If you're wanting the best for that scenario? I honestly wouldn't bother with Ubiquiti's range. You want the most speed you can get and you're not going to be running Ethernet to APs around your house. Basically what you want is just a solid single access point.

 

Actually, googling it. The Netgear Orbi seems to be the best fit. It's a WiFi mesh system basically which in theory should be a load of crap. The difference is that they're using wave 2 WiFi AC. Tri-band "AC3000" and they're leaning heavily on one of those AC radios for backhaul. It's a new thing so it's hard to say how well it actually performs. But if you do a search there's one benchmark of it where they're getting ~240Mbps consistently. And more for devices plugged into the network ports on one of the nodes.

 

Is it the best piece of kit on the market? No, probably not. But for your scenario? You don't have Ethernet through your house and you have a pretty damn good internet connection that you want to get the most out of. So for you I reckon it's a hell of a lot better than anything in Ubiquiti's range. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, skywake said:

If you're wanting the best for that scenario? I honestly wouldn't bother with Ubiquiti's range. You want the most speed you can get and you're not going to be running Ethernet to APs around your house. Basically what you want is just a solid single access point.

 

Actually, googling it. The Netgear Orbi seems to be the best fit. It's a WiFi mesh system basically which in theory should be a load of crap. The difference is that they're using wave 2 WiFi AC. Tri-band "AC3000" and they're leaning heavily on one of those AC radios for backhaul. It's a new thing so it's hard to say how well it actually performs. But if you do a search there's one benchmark of it where they're getting ~240Mbps consistently. And more for devices plugged into the network ports on one of the nodes.

 

Is it the best piece of kit on the market? No, probably not. But for your scenario? You don't have Ethernet through your house and you have a pretty damn good internet connection that you want to get the most out of. So for you I reckon it's a hell of a lot better than anything in Ubiquiti's range. 

Except for where AC wave 2 isn't availible on the vast majority of client devices at the moment. He'd still without a doubt be better off with 2 UAP-AC-Pro's.

 

If you've got questions regarding AC wave 2, ask away - I'm a Xirrus certified engineer and the majority of their AP's are wave 2.

[skywake]

1 hour ago, Windspeed36 said:

Except for where AC wave 2 isn't availible on the vast majority of client devices at the moment. He'd still without a doubt be better off with 2 UAP-AC-Pro's.

Of course @DominicNikon would be better off with 2x AC-Pros but there's not much point having 2 if there's no cabling. What's going to connect those two access points together? Without existing wiring or any desire to install it recommending a multi-AP solution doesn't really help. 

 

The Netgear thing I mentioned? I stumbled across it just then doing a search for a tri-band AP that OP could get. Turns out Netgear has their own competitor in the "mesh WiFi" space. Unlike the others this one puts a much greater emphasis on the wireless backhaul. As far as your devices are concerned you basically have 2x AC1200 APs. But the backhaul? It has it's own radio and it's quite a bit faster. Which makes for a nice change from the usual consumer-grade repeaters.

 

Basically, they're using wave-2 AC as an alternative to cat5e. Which is something to consider given....

4 hours ago, DominicNikon said:

the house does not have built in ethernet and it costs a lot for wiring 

As a solution it's not as good as 2x AC-Pro's with proper cabling. It's probably not as good as 2x AC-Lites even. But it'd be better than 1x AC-Pro or 1x AC-Pro plus a second as a repeater or hooked upto a powerline adaptor. Really, short of biting the bullet and putting in some cabling? There aren't many other options.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, skywake said:

Of course @DominicNikon would be better off with 2x AC-Pros but there's not much point having 2 if there's no cabling. What's going to connect those two access points together? Without existing wiring or any desire to install it recommending a multi-AP solution doesn't really help. 

 

The Netgear thing I mentioned? I stumbled across it just then doing a search for a tri-band AP that OP could get. Turns out Netgear has their own competitor in the "mesh WiFi" space. Unlike the others this one puts a much greater emphasis on the wireless backhaul. As far as your devices are concerned you basically have 2x AC1200 APs. But the backhaul? It has it's own radio and it's quite a bit faster. Which makes for a nice change from the usual consumer-grade repeaters.

 

Basically, they're using wave-2 AC as an alternative to cat5e. Which is something to consider given....

As a solution it's not as good as 2x AC-Pro's with proper cabling. It's probably not as good as 2x AC-Lites even. But it'd be better than 1x AC-Pro or 1x AC-Pro plus a second as a repeater or hooked upto a powerline adaptor. Really, short of biting the bullet and putting in some cabling? There aren't many other options.

Except for where the UAP-Pro's can run in wireless uplink mode - one AP is cabled while the other bridges to it via 5Ghz to provide further coverage

[skywake]

41 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

Except for where the UAP-Pro's can run in wireless uplink mode - one AP is cabled while the other bridges to it via 5Ghz to provide further coverage

Yes, I know. But you're then halving the connection speed. 

 

UAP-Pro bridge mode:

Wired: Network -> UAP1 --AC1300--> UAP2 -> Client

5G: Network -> UAP1 --AC1300/2--> UAP2 --AC1300/2--> Client

2.4G: Network -> UAP1 --AC1300--> UAP2 --N450--> Client

 

Netgear Orbi:

Wired: Network -> Oribi1 --AC1733--> Orbi2 -> Client

5G: Network -> Oribi1 --AC1733--> Orbi2 --AC866--> Client

2.4G:  Network -> Oribi1 --AC1733--> Orbi2 --N450--> Client

[System Error Message]

For 300Mb/s with QoS the ERPRO may cut it but there are better routers out there that can do 300Mb/s with QoS for less even consumer ones too.

 

As for wifi, ubiquiti provides reliable wifi, not performance wifi. With wifi AC it should be fine if you wire up the APs. How big of an area do you plan to cover? Using wifi repeaters is a very poor way for performance as you would get more latency and less bandwidth however if you do not game on wifi than thats not an issue.

[DominicNikon]

13 hours ago, skywake said:

Of course @DominicNikon would be better off with 2x AC-Pros but there's not much point having 2 if there's no cabling. What's going to connect those two access points together? Without existing wiring or any desire to install it recommending a multi-AP solution doesn't really help. 

 

The Netgear thing I mentioned? I stumbled across it just then doing a search for a tri-band AP that OP could get. Turns out Netgear has their own competitor in the "mesh WiFi" space. Unlike the others this one puts a much greater emphasis on the wireless backhaul. As far as your devices are concerned you basically have 2x AC1200 APs. But the backhaul? It has it's own radio and it's quite a bit faster. Which makes for a nice change from the usual consumer-grade repeaters.

 

Basically, they're using wave-2 AC as an alternative to cat5e. Which is something to consider given....

As a solution it's not as good as 2x AC-Pro's with proper cabling. It's probably not as good as 2x AC-Lites even. But it'd be better than 1x AC-Pro or 1x AC-Pro plus a second as a repeater or hooked upto a powerline adaptor. Really, short of biting the bullet and putting in some cabling? There aren't many other options.

were running wires for the aps not the hole house tho 

[DominicNikon]

16 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Except for where AC wave 2 isn't availible on the vast majority of client devices at the moment. He'd still without a doubt be better off with 2 UAP-AC-Pro's.

 

If you've got questions regarding AC wave 2, ask away - I'm a Xirrus certified engineer and the majority of their AP's are wave 2.

because your a network engineer (first time talking to one) what do you think of cat6?

[legopc]

9 hours ago, System Error Message said:

For 300Mb/s with QoS the ERPRO may cut it but there are better routers out there that can do 300Mb/s with QoS for less even consumer ones too.

1

Dude... Just quit it already... We get that qos isnt offloaded to hardware, even though it is best to offload as much as possible to hardware. We get that you hate edgemax and want op to get the oh so perfect mikrotik routers. Just go and start a new thread about how you shouldnt use hardware nat and how gpu accelerated routing will rule the world.  

[System Error Message]

5 hours ago, legopc said:

Dude... Just quit it already... We get that qos isnt offloaded to hardware, even though it is best to offload as much as possible to hardware. We get that you hate edgemax and want op to get the oh so perfect mikrotik routers. Just go and start a new thread about how you shouldnt use hardware nat and how gpu accelerated routing will rule the world.  

I was actually going to suggest consumer router like asus not mikrotik. I dont hate edgemax, i want ubiquiti to change their marketing and provide relevant information instead.

[DominicNikon]

19 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Except for where the UAP-Pro's can run in wireless uplink mode - one AP is cabled while the other bridges to it via 5Ghz to provide further coverage

also is this true what i herd? the pro aps have something called a magic packet that makes changing aps seamless and automatic? 

[legopc]

4 hours ago, DominicNikon said:

also is this true what i herd? the pro aps have something called a magic packet that makes changing aps seamless and automatic? 

That goes for all unifi ap's that are managed by the controller. When you get out of range for one ap the client will look for a stronger signal from another ap then the client will seamlessly roam from one ap to the other with the help of the controller.