Mesh Wifi for New House

[CubisticWings4]

Good Afternoon and Happy Friday, everyone!

 

My wife and I are building a new house! (Ouch, my wallet...)

 

Trying to get an idea for a networking solution.

 

We are getting Gigabit Internet for the house. With the advent of mesh wifi, I am now unsure of what to do.

 

Was thinking about using a solution from Ubiquiti or possibly the Wifi mesh system that ASUS is offering.

 

Quite a bit of 4K media consumption and a LOT of online gaming.

 

Some specs on the house:

 

3,659 sq. feet split between two floors. 

 

I'm in a bit of sparse area, so Wifi interference (shouldn't) be an issue.

 

Appreciate the help in advance!

[RedAV8R]

In all seriousness. If you are building a house, why not wire the entire thing with at least Cat 6a. You can drop some access points where you need them, properly configured. Bam.

[CubisticWings4]

Just now, RedAV8R said:

In all seriousness. If you are building a house, why not wire the entire thing with at least Cat 6a. You can drop some access points where you need them, properly configured. Bam.

I see. 

 

I will have plenty of hardwiring done for the gaming machine, smart tv's, server, etc..

 

However, we will be using a lot of wireless devices. Basically running a smart home.

 

Also will be running VOIP via smartphones which don't have service where we live, so an open and stable wireless connection is paramount.

 

Also will be working from home, so that adds to the importance of making stable and reliable calls via wifi.

[CubisticWings4]

5 minutes ago, RedAV8R said:

In all seriousness. If you are building a house, why not wire the entire thing with at least Cat 6a. You can drop some access points where you need them, properly configured. Bam.

Also, I'd prefer to use as few AP's as necessary.

[QuirkyRobot]

5 minutes ago, CubisticWings4 said:

Also, I'd prefer to use as few AP's as necessary.

If you want the full performance of you network, well position wired access points in each room will serve you better. WiFi will give you slower speeds. Mesh can serve the needs for everything (else like smart switches). I personally use Google WiFi but most brand mesh systems do pretty well. Ubiquiti seems to do well for Linus...

Depending on the system you can adjust or it will auto adjust the WiFi channels for the best reception. (bands within the 2.4 and 5 ghz)

[Lurick]

15 minutes ago, CubisticWings4 said:

Also, I'd prefer to use as few AP's as necessary.

I'd go with a few Ubiquiti APs and call it good.

Depending on the layout and number of stories you could get away with 2 to 4

[CubisticWings4]

On the topic of ethernet cables:

 

I will have a media server and will plan on running HDMI over Ethernet. So any suggestions on the class of wiring I'd need?

[Lurick]

8 minutes ago, CubisticWings4 said:

On the topic of ethernet cables:

 

I will have a media server and will plan on running HDMI over Ethernet. So any suggestions on the class of wiring I'd need?

Depends on the distance but generally Cat6 or Cat6a is recommended just to be safe

You could probably do with Cat5e if it was like 20 feet or so, I could be wrong there and you might be able to get 100 feet out of it.

 

Edit:

Realized I forgot to ask, 1080p or 4K?

[CubisticWings4]

4 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Depends on the distance but generally Cat6 or Cat6a is recommended just to be safe

You could probably do with Cat5e if it was like 20 feet or so, I could be wrong there and you might be able to get 100 feet out of it.

Would cat7 be too much or okay?

[Lurick]

Just now, CubisticWings4 said:

Would cat7 be too much or okay?

I wouldn't go for Cat7 unless you really want to. Cat6a should be more than enough, especially if you're doing 4K video

[CubisticWings4]

8 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Depends on the distance but generally Cat6 or Cat6a is recommended just to be safe

You could probably do with Cat5e if it was like 20 feet or so, I could be wrong there and you might be able to get 100 feet out of it.

 

Edit:

Realized I forgot to ask, 1080p or 4K?

Definitely 4K, but I get your point.

 

Thanks!

[Lurick]

Just now, CubisticWings4 said:

Definitely 4K, but I get your point.

 

Thanks!

You are planning to just do point to point right? Not planning to add a switch into the mix I hope

[CubisticWings4]

Just now, Lurick said:

You are planning to just do point to point right? Not planning to add a switch into the mix I hope

I'm not "planning" to, but plans seldom go the way you want. Would you recommend any changes should I need to add a switch?

[Lurick]

2 minutes ago, CubisticWings4 said:

I'm not "planning" to, but plans seldom go the way you want. Would you recommend any changes should I need to add a switch?

Well to put it simply, if you toss a switch on either end of the cable, just for the HDMI run itself, then plan to spend a good $500 to $1000 for something that does HDMI over IP

Obviously everything else is fine with a switch, just the converter that goes from HDMI to RJ-45 will need to be different (and more expensive )

[CubisticWings4]

7 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Well to put it simply, if you toss a switch on either end of the cable, just for the HDMI run itself, then plan to spend a good $500 to $1000 for something that does HDMI over IP

Obviously everything else is fine with a switch, just the converter that goes from HDMI to RJ-45 will need to be different (and more expensive )

I guess I could just direct line the HDMI of Ethernet and run the switch for everything else. Any issues there?

[Lurick]

3 minutes ago, CubisticWings4 said:

I guess I could just direct line the HDMI of Ethernet and run the switch for everything else. Any issues there?

That should work just fine

[CubisticWings4]

5 minutes ago, Lurick said:

That should work just fine

Will do. Thanks!