Wireless Office Network - Omada, Ubiquiti, etc...?

[Orale 1178]

I'm creating a wireless network for an office space that will serve up to 50 users at a time. I'm researching TP Link's Omada, Ubquiti's Unifi, and a few others. The space is about 4,000 sf and is an open floor plan without interior walls or large obstructions. The internet provider is Spectrum and I currently have a gig plan. After I set up a wireless network, I'll test the speed and consider enterprise offerings if the gig service is lacking. I need reliability, speed, security, and simplicity of use.

I may end up hiring an IT/networking company to set this up, but I'd first like to get objective opinions about the options. Opinions on forums like Reddit are all over the place. One person swears by a system and then another says it's the worst system ever. I appreciate any insights. 

[thunderlounge 8460]

Unifi. Hands. Down.

Find a true fiber provider. Spectrum will let you down, even a business account.

What types of data are moving around locally? Big files and such, or piddly shit?

Internal bandwidth matters, which will dictate switches and such.

 

[Francisco 2.0 32608]

For a business, I'd recommend Meraki.   There's nothing inherently wrong with Unifi stuff, until there is something wrong.  Their support, at least it used to be, was sorta there.

Meraki will cost more, plus you have the yearly licensing fee for each Meraki device, but only you can justify how important support + next day replacement for your Meraki gear (which comes with the license) is worth to you.

As for your internet connection, with that many users, 1GB is plenty, but you need something more robust than Spectrum cable.  

Also, invest in a spectrum analysis for access point placement, number of AP's needed for your environment, etc.   

[Orale 1178]

10 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

Unifi. Hands. Down.

Find a true fiber provider. Spectrum will let you down, even a business account.

What types of data are moving around locally? Big files and such, or piddly shit?

Internal bandwidth matters, which will dictate switches and such.

 

It's for a cowork space, so the data type will probably mostly be piddly. But it will probably be a mix of types depending on users on any given day. I'm going to look into other internet providers. Spectrum is already in the building and bringing in a new provider may be costly, but also maybe worth the expense. 

[thunderlounge 8460]

32 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Meraki will cost more, plus you have the yearly licensing fee for each Meraki device

And that’s the kicker.

I’m not sure if I’d run large enterprise with ubiquiti, but it’s never let me down.

With the additional info provided, a unifi setup would rock that space for a co-work setup.

I beat the crap out of my home lab for work and “play.” No complaints.

Agree a gig is fine for pipe size.

Since it’s a co-work space, and not a full, singular office/company, I doubt there would be large internal network transfers. That can save some.

4 AP’s, a switch with enough PoE budget, and a dream machine pro should be plenty for that.

Throw it in a mini rack, and good to go. If you need a printer, plenty of ports.

The UDMP will also have PoE as a backup, just in case.

It’s possible to use an Ultra Cloud Gateway Max, but not sure that’s going to be the best option for the router. Could maybe grab one to have on hand for a backup. Wouldn’t hurt to have an extra AP as well. You can still run on 3. 4 is just for coverage in the space.

 

[Orale 1178]

1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

4 AP’s, a switch with enough PoE budget, and a dream machine pro should be plenty for that.

That's nearly exactly the setup I'm looking at. There's an outdoor patio area so I'm planning to have an exterior AP as well.

I checked with Google Fiber and unfortunately they're not in my part of downtown (San Antone) just yet. I'll be looking at other providers as well, but I may be stuck with Spectrum. 

[thunderlounge 8460]

You could do worse for providers, but their speeds won’t be symmetrical, and won’t reach a full gig.

Their modems aren’t good, I’d look at buying your own.

AP6-Pro’s are the sweet-spot in the current AP offerings.

For the switch, a Pro Max 16 PoE will be plenty for those 4 AP’s. 

[Orale 1178]

1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

You could do worse for providers, but their speeds won’t be symmetrical, and won’t reach a full gig.

Their modems aren’t good, I’d look at buying your own.

AP6-Pro’s are the sweet-spot in the current AP offerings.

For the switch, a Pro Max 16 PoE will be plenty for those 4 AP’s. 

I appreciate the advice. The fastest I've gotten to a gig on speed tests is 600ish mb. Is there a particular modem you'd suggest?

[thunderlounge 8460]

That will depend on what is compatible with the spectrum network, and they "allow."

Ubiquiti does offer a cable modem, but you'll have to check it against spectrum's list.

 

[ITHorn 919]

Ubiquiti gear is hard to come by these days but great if you can get it. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Meraki but as mentioned above you absolutely pay out the nose for it after factoring in licenses.

[immamac 44408]

If you don't want to ever think about it ever again and just have it fixed when it breaks then go meraki.

[Jkwellborn 7053]

I think we’ve used both Meraki and ubiquiti stuff at work. I’d have to ask our engineer though.

[thunderlounge 8460]

1 hour ago, immamac said:

If you don't want to ever think about it ever again and just have it fixed when it breaks then go meraki.

While I agree, the licensing and shit make it a tough price to swallow for a small business.

 

[Gil Bang 26247]

On 10/4/2024 at 12:30 PM, Orale said:

I'm creating a wireless network for an office space that will serve up to 50 users at a time. I'm researching TP Link's Omada, Ubquiti's Unifi, and a few others. The space is about 4,000 sf and is an open floor plan without interior walls or large obstructions. The internet provider is Spectrum and I currently have a gig plan. After I set up a wireless network, I'll test the speed and consider enterprise offerings if the gig service is lacking. I need reliability, speed, security, and simplicity of use.

I may end up hiring an IT/networking company to set this up, but I'd first like to get objective opinions about the options. Opinions on forums like Reddit are all over the place. One person swears by a system and then another says it's the worst system ever. I appreciate any insights. 

I don't know shit about networks, but I do know one thing:  Reddit is great for pics of 19 year old girls jamming sharpies up their assholes.  For everything else?  Not so much. 

[52-80 19377]

 

[luke duke 6454]

I don't know shit about networks, but I do know one thing:  Reddit is great for pics of 19 year old girls jamming sharpies up their assholes.  For everything else?  Not so much. 

Where do the 20yo sharpie hiders like to congregate?

[Sam Lin 3606]

For small biz, Ubiquiti is great.

[markstanco 12804]

8 APs here for 62,000 square feet (probably overkill since lots of warehouse) with Ubi and not a single dead spot.