Apple network for new house?

[JensJ]

We are building a new big house, and will be needing about 3-4 access points in the new house to have great Wifi everywhere.

We want a fast and stable network that just work. The whole family uses Apple products (Macbook, iPhone, AppleTV).

Should we use an Apple network in our new house (3-4 AirPort Extreme), or should we consider another product?

 

[nebo1ss]

If you are building a new house you have an excellent opportunity to run lots of cat 6. You can deal with the wifi later it will also make your chosen wifi solution easier.

 

[DJLC]

A lot of people here would probably recommend Ubiquiti APs. I have no experience with them, but it looks like a solid product. You might also look at Xirrus, although their prices are steep for a residential install.

I personally would not recommend AirPort for your AP in this scenario. It's fine if you want to use an AirPort as your main router and connect the APs back to that, but to get 3-4 AirPorts to use simply as APs would have absolutely no benefit and essentially you'd be paying a premium for Apple hardware with no tangible benefits at all.

And +1 on running lots of shiny new Cat6 as @nebo1ss said.

 

[JensJ]

I definitely will be running a lot of cat6 cables

Is seems like the Apple Airport Extreme has an easier setup, and is faster than the UniFi AC Pro AP. And I will not be needing some advanced network settings. I just want a fast and stable network.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...-realize-how-terrible-consumer-wi-fi-gear-is/

 

[satcomer]

Make sure you using a DOCIS 3.0 modem too.

Just do a search on your ISP supplied modem, I bet it is an older DOCSIS 2.0 modem! So check your ISP web site for compatiple modems to get the correct ISP DOCSIS 3.0 modem and stop paying the outrage rental fees for an old ISP modem and buy your own!

 

[phrehdd]

I'll go along with wiring the entire house with cat 6 or a greater variant Ethernet.

Here is something you might enjoy reading (as well as other things from this site) -

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage


You may want to learn the difference between an access point and an extender. I don't particularly consider the Airport Extreme as a top contender though it functions. When putting together a complex network, there are other choices that are better fits. I will however say it can be done with AE routers. Without knowing the floorplan of the house, potential interference, advice is best left to generalities.

 

[JensJ]

If 3-4 AirPort Extreme is a bad choice what should I choose then?

I have looked at Ubiquiti EdgeRouterX and 3-4 UniFi AC Pro AP, but I maybe think it will be a too advanced setup. And I just want a stable and fast network.

 

[adam9c1]

Im sporting two unici AC LR models.

The confit is really simple, granted not as simple as Airport but I was up and running in 20 minutes with single AP. with Ubiquity you still need a router (mine is extreme 4th gen).

Rock solid. You do not need to have controller software running 24/7.

It's so awesome you get to run all your drops now.

 

[jeyf]

i wanted to update the home wifi but nothing seemed to work as expected and wound up returning both:
I needed something compatible with airPlay
-the airport extreme 6th gen hardware is dated June 2013 and hasnt been updated in a long while.
a little reluctant to buy this out dated product so this maybe a craigslist.com purchase You can find an apple refurbished unit for ~$200.00

i bought two expensive offerings:
TP-LINK ac1900 wifi Archer C9
was able to get it to work with airPlay but the trade off was its built in web page was not working

TITAN-AP HIGH POWER TM AC1900 WI-FI ACCESS POINT
yes this is a access point box
it flat out didnt work with airPlay

i gave up on the project

 

[AFEPPL]

If you are building a new house you have an excellent opportunity to run lots of cat 6. You can deal with the wifi later it will also make your chosen wifi solution easier.

Agree, flood the house with hard cables - this will transform the wifi as you wont have all the fixed things consuming the shared bandwidth.

just a point to consider over wifi you'll be lucky to get 20MBps, over wired you'll get 130MBps all the time... makes a huge difference. I'm running ATC for the wifi.

 

[sevoneone]

Yep. Wire the crap out of the house with Cat6 or Cat6a. Put 1 or 2 drops in every room, multiple in common areas like family/living rooms. You don't have to light up every cable run you install, but it is great to have the flexibility. Put enough drops in to cover your media streaming devices so they don't have to be on wireless. It will make a huge difference. Also, put drops in the ceiling where you want to place WiFi hot spots and don't use extenders.

I'm a newly minted Ubiquity fan myself. They make a great product. The UniFi gear is pretty easy to configure and if you update the EdgeRouterX to the newest firmware, it has a pretty good wizard and there are sample configurations you can download that cover just about any out of the box configuration you might need.

 

[Hilbert92]

I would put 2 network ports in every room, Office rooms get 4 ports. Place anywhere from 2-6 behind main entertainment centers. You can run an airport extreme as a router with the wireless shut off. I would recommend the new Unifi AC- Pro from Ubiquiti for the wireless (Round model not square). This will allow you to still use things like Home Sharing and AirPlay over the network. The Ubiquiti AP are rock solid. I wouldn't bother with anything less than Cat6 cabling. I personally have used thousands of feet of the Wired Home brand sold at PartsExpress.com. its great stuff. As others have stated its best practice to get everything off the wired network except those devices that only connect through wireless. The nice thing about the Ubiquiti AP is they are powered over Ethernet. So basically you can put them anywhere you can get a Cat6 cable to.

How many square feet is the house?

 

[IHelpId10t5]

As others have stated, pick a communications closet location, then run Cat6 from there to everywhere in the house including areas near the ceiling that may be good placement locations for access points (Apple or otherwise). Don't forget to do Cat6 to wherever you may want IP cameras as well. Also make sure to have all Coax, fiber, and Cat6 from the service demark outside the house run to the same comm closet. Also make sure to install power outlets in the comm closet so you can have one or more Ethernet switches in there and can push PoE through the Cat6 to things like IP cameras.

One other consideration to save money now yet have the flexibility later would be to just run conduit with pull strings to each location instead.

 

[monokakata]

Second to all this. I've got all the walls (and ceilings) on one floor of my house wide open, and I've run CAT 6e everywhere, including a closet in my workroom where I've run 4 cables. I had my electrician run metal conduits up and down from my wiring closet, with junction boxes at the right height, which will make any further wiring easy. Having two CAT 6e cables to several rooms will let me discover the best location for my AE, and then send its LAN output back to the wiring closet.

Open walls are a gift.

 

[LiveM]

i wanted to update the home wifi but nothing seemed to work as expected and wound up returning both:
I needed something compatible with airPlay
-the airport extreme 6th gen hardware is dated June 2013 and hasnt been updated in a long while.
a little reluctant to buy this out dated product so this maybe a craigslist.com purchase You can find an apple refurbished unit for ~$200.00

i bought two expensive offerings:
TP-LINK ac1900 wifi Archer C9
was able to get it to work with airPlay but the trade off was its built in web page was not working

TITAN-AP HIGH POWER TM AC1900 WI-FI ACCESS POINT
yes this is a access point box
it flat out didnt work with airPlay

i gave up on the project

You might have over-thought this one.

So your first choice would have worked, but you thought it was outdated? Put it this way: there is nothing about it that is outdated. No need to worry.
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If 3-4 AirPort Extreme is a bad choice what should I choose then?

I have looked at Ubiquiti EdgeRouterX and 3-4 UniFi AC Pro AP, but I maybe think it will be a too advanced setup. And I just want a stable and fast network.

Airport routers will suit you down to the ground. Personally, I think running cables in the walls is short-sighted but in the short term they might be quite useful.

 

[adam9c1]

When you run drops for access points leave some extra cable at the end so that you can position the WAP slightly in a different spot (if you have access such as in attic or basement if you finish it with access).