Who do I get ahold of at Calix to to a demo of their home mesh solution? On Fri, Dec 28, 2018 at 7:58 PM Darin Steffl <[email protected]> wrote:
> Yes I meant for all new routers deployed to be Calix. And if/when you see > issues with current routers, upgrade them to Calix. We had about 350 > cnpilot routers in the field and we're down to 120 left to migrate. You can > go as fast or slow as you want to. > > You should find the Calix has much better coverage than the Mimosa g2 and > other cheap routers. I've heard Amplifi has good range so I would expect > the Calix to perform similar to that or better. > > On Fri, Dec 28, 2018, 4:28 PM David Coudron <[email protected] > wrote: > >> Thanks for the offer of help Darin, we may take you up on that. Our >> head is kind of in the same place, but with so many routers already bought >> and paid for, it is a really big investment to make if the management part >> of our current routers isn’t currently killing us. However, there is a >> pretty strong case to be made for all new ones to be Calix if this works >> out OK. Problem is, we have 70 Mimosa G2s sitting in inventory….. ☹ >> >> >> >> We do charge a $10/month equipment fee. That includes the managed >> router and the time to support it. I think we are OK there, but the extra >> $80 a router is quite a bit of additional upfront costs per customer. >> Nothing that can’t be justified if life gets a heck of lot easier though, >> but I think our current support calls are more about in house coverage and >> less about router setup/management issues. >> >> >> >> I may reach out to you offline if that is OK. >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> David Coudron >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of * Darin Steffl >> *Sent:* Friday, December 28, 2018 3:42 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> David, >> >> >> >> I highly recommend if your testing goes well with Calix (It should or ask >> us for help), that you choose them for every Managed Router deployment. My >> head would explode if I had to manage Mikrotik, Calix, Mimosa, Cambium, >> Amplif routers instead of just Calix like we do today. >> >> >> >> We want a router that performs well in every home and for the 10% of >> larger homes that have coverage issues, one 804Mesh is always enough to >> cover everything fully. I'd recommend you tailor your plans so that every >> customer chooses the Managed Router by either offering some promotion to >> make it a no-brainer choice. We include it for $0 monthly and charge just a >> $50 setup. We warranty it as long as they're a customer and if they cancel, >> we still own the router so they have to return it. >> >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 28, 2018 at 11:28 AM David Coudron < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> We are looking at this more and trying to make a decision which way we’d >> like to proceed for larger homes. We use the Mimosa G2 block on every >> deployment today, but there are some limiting factors in larger home >> deployments. We may not have been doing things correctly, but using the >> wireless repeater mode cuts the bandwidth of the wireless network in >> half. We know that we can use a wired connection to extend the range, but >> in most deployments, that is more wiring than is easy or feasible to do at >> a moderate cost. Additionally the G2 is only 2.4 GHz. We like this >> unit, but it just doesn’t feel like a good solution for large homes. >> >> >> >> We also use Mikrotik Hap ac2 in our non-Mimosa deployments, or in >> situations where the customer needs more than one ethernet port. That >> works pretty well, but doesn’t give any mesh extension capabilities. We >> have messed around with SSID sharing/mesh type settings in the Mikrotik to >> hook more than one up, but not sure that this is as stable as we’d like. >> We also aren’t able to see the other nodes very well, but we might not be >> doing something correct. >> >> >> >> We have a pretty good test bed at my house. Internet comes into the >> utility room on the basement floor, and needs to cover about 6000 square >> feet on three different floors. We previously used a regular router >> (Mikrotik Hap ac2) at the connection point and wired extenders in the upper >> floor. Coverage was spotty at parts of the upper floor and pretty spotty >> in the middle floor. As a test we got the Ubiquiti Amplifi product and >> were able to verify significantly better coverage as well as throughput of >> >400 Mbps from the farthest end of the house to the connection point. >> Much, much better than the wired extender did. We also tried the Netgear >> Orbi and saw results that were pretty similar. The mesh stuff definitely >> works. >> >> >> >> The Ubiquiti Amplifi product was pretty impressive, much more so than >> their regular Nano gear, etc. The equipment looks impressive, the >> software is quick and well designed, and the things is super simple to get >> running. Far more impressive than normal Mikrotik software interface >> stuff (we use Mikrotik for all our infrastructure as well as some of the >> customer routers). We’d be all over this as a solution, except that the >> only remote management they have is using Facebook or Google accounts, and >> you can’t do this by IP address. Pretty much a deal breaker for us. >> >> >> >> The Netgear Orbi product is about what you’d expect. Same interface as >> all their routers, hardware is pretty well done, but nothing special. >> Again, pretty easy to hook up. Big thing is that it has remote management >> and that seems to give us access to everything we’d want from the testing >> that we did. It is pretty expensive though, but that doesn’t scare us >> away as we are asking customers to buy this equipment for those that have >> larger houses. Although it does have Remote Management, the Orbi doesn’t >> allow for a Provider login and a customer login like we do with the >> Mikrtoiks. We really like this because we can manage the router for the >> customer, but still give them access to change SSID id and password, do >> some port forwarding, etc. >> >> >> >> We have some Calix stuff headed our way to try out. From talking to >> folks, we expect it will do very well with the management side of things. >> I expect the performance to me more on the lines of the Ubiquiti Amplifi >> since there isn’t a dedicated backhaul/mesh radio band used, but we’ll see >> when we put it to the test. The biggest concern I have with the Calix >> stuff, is that it becomes a much larger decision. Instead of just buying a >> few of these for the large houses, you have to buy the cloud service and >> commit to a whole new brand and management platform. One of the nice >> features of the Calix stuff though is that you can buy the same main router >> for every installation and just add the mesh units where needed. A >> drawback of the Calix and the Netgear Orbi is that they want to be set up >> in Star configuration only, they don’t allow daisychaining like the Amplifi >> product does. We did test the daisychained configuration of the Amplifi >> for performance and it did very well. Again, much better than a wrired >> extender did surprisingly enough. >> >> >> >> We hadn’t considered the Unifi product, but from doing a little bit of >> reading it looks like every AP would expect to be wired, which would be >> tough for us to do. Since we have some Ubiquiti stuff here and there, it >> wouldn’t require commitment to a new management platform, that would be >> pretty nice. Our testing has gone well enough that we are pretty >> convinced some sort of true mesh network is needed for these larger homes, >> it just works so much better than repeaters, extenders and the like. >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> David Coudron >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Rory Conaway >> *Sent:* Friday, December 28, 2018 10:46 AM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Mimosa does 1 repeater, AC Cubes do 2 repeaters at least, and Unifi is >> unlimited. All 3 of them have cloud management. Why pay a monthly fee if >> it isn’t necessary? Does Callix have additional features beyond >> connectivity like blocking torrents or parental controls? >> >> >> >> Rory >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Mike Hammett >> *Sent:* Thursday, December 27, 2018 8:35 AM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Designed for single-device (or more if mesh\repeater\etc.) is needed vs. >> assuming a large ecosystem. >> >> >> >> ----- >> Mike Hammett >> Intelligent Computing Solutions <http://www.ics-il.com/> >> [image: http://www.ics-il.com/images/fbicon.png] >> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/googleicon.png] >> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/linkedinicon.png] >> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/twittericon.png] <https://twitter.com/ICSIL> >> Midwest Internet Exchange <http://www.midwest-ix.com/> >> [image: http://www.ics-il.com/images/fbicon.png] >> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/linkedinicon.png] >> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/twittericon.png] >> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix> >> The Brothers WISP <http://www.thebrotherswisp.com/> >> [image: http://www.ics-il.com/images/fbicon.png] >> <https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherswisp>[image: >> http://www.ics-il.com/images/youtubeicon.png] >> >> >> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSdfxQv7SpoRQYNyLwntZg> >> ------------------------------ >> >> *From: *"Rory Conaway" <[email protected]> >> *To: *"AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group" <[email protected]> >> *Sent: *Thursday, December 27, 2018 6:20:13 AM >> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> What is the advantage of Calix versus Unifi? >> >> >> >> Rory >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *David Coudron >> *Sent:* Sunday, December 23, 2018 12:02 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Chuck, >> >> >> >> We’d be pretty interested in that. Love to see that happen. >> >> >> >> Cory, can you reach out to us in the meantime, we’d like to learn more >> and some decisions to make soon about our directed for managed whole house >> Wifi. >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> *David Coudron* >> >> [email protected] | *Mobile: *612-991-7474 >> >> >> >> *Advantenon, Inc. * >> >> [email protected] | 3500 Vicksburg Lane N, Suite 315, Plymouth, MN >> 55447 | www.advantenon.com | *Phone:* 800-704-4720 | *Local: * >> 612-454-1545 >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *[email protected] >> *Sent:* Sunday, December 23, 2018 12:38 PM >> *To:* 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Calix historically sold to ILECs via dedicated regional sales reps. You >> had personalized service. >> >> They didn’t have a product with universal appeal until they did the 844. >> >> >> >> I will volunteer to stock and sell their products via my ecommerce site >> if they will give me enough margin to make it worth it. >> >> >> >> *From:* Ken Hohhof >> >> *Sent:* Sunday, December 23, 2018 11:03 AM >> >> *To:* 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' >> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Agreed, but that’s their business model. I think similar to the >> companies that OEM “gateways” to the likes of AT&T and Comcast. These are >> not supposed to find their way onto Amazon and Walmart online stores for >> end users to buy themselves and then try to figure out how to link them >> into their service provider’s operations systems. >> >> >> >> I guess our customers could make the same complaint about us. Maybe a >> few WISPs have online ordering portals, but I’m guessing very few. Not >> talking about put your location in here and a salesperson will call you, >> but actually sign up and schedule installation, similar to what we used to >> do with dialup service (where we just needed to assign a username and >> password, and publish a list of local access numbers). >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Jon Langeler >> *Sent:* Sunday, December 23, 2018 11:37 AM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> I think it’s a turn off when they don’t have an online store somewhere to >> simply order a 10 or 100 pack, or anything. But I got that vibe from them >> as well. >> >> Jon Langeler >> >> Michwave Technologies, Inc. >> >> >> >> >> On Dec 23, 2018, at 1:14 AM, Jason Wilson <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> How does one get Calix to talk to you? They seemed less than interested >> to talk at WISPAPalooza and no call from the lead generated at he show. >> >> Jason Wilson >> >> Remotely Located >> >> Providing High Speed Internet to out of the way places >> >> 530-651-1736 Office >> >> 530-748-9608 Cell >> >> www.remotelylocated.com >> >> >> On Dec 22, 2018, at 7:35 PM, Darin Steffl <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> You have to buy direct from Calix. >> >> >> >> We upped our plan prices $10 per month for new subs and now give the >> router "free". We're slowly migrating existing customers to these new plans >> and putting the Calix in their home. We're about 60% complete with the >> process. It dramatically reduces the number of tech support calls related >> to wifi issues. Huge time saver, money maker, and keeping customers happy >> and churn low. >> >> >> >> On Sat, Dec 22, 2018, 8:56 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected] wrote: >> >> The other piece of information that wasn’t apparent to me on casual >> inspection is there’s a minimum sub count if you want to use their Cloud >> features. My take is you need to come at it from the perspective that all >> your subs are going to get the Calix router, rather than viewing it as an >> optional upsell. At least if your WISP is relatively small. If you have >> 5000+ subs, that would be different. You could go through a transition >> with existing customers, but eventually it would be like a cable modem, >> everyone gets one. Either you throw it in for free, or charge a non >> optional modem rental fee. >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Chuck McCown >> *Sent:* Saturday, December 22, 2018 7:23 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> I buy direct. I think that is how they do it with everyone. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> >> On Dec 22, 2018, at 6:20 PM, David Coudron <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Where do you purchase the Calix equipment from? Our typical sources >> don’t seem to carry them (Streakwave, Winncom, ISPSupplies, Linktechs, >> etc. Are you purchasing direct from Calix? >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> David Coudron >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Darin Steffl >> *Sent:* Friday, December 21, 2018 5:34 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> Calix is the only good method today for routers and a mesh solution that >> can be managed by the ISP. Powerline adapters suck and we don't use them >> anymore. WiFi extenders are just as bad and we tell customers to throw them >> in the garbage. They cause more issues than they fix. >> >> >> >> We have 850+ Calix GigaCenters in the field and are deploying more of the >> Mesh units. Everything is very easy to provision and we have full >> visibility into the home network. Pricing is pretty good and we get to make >> money on it instead of the customer just spending money on their own >> solution. Sell it to the customer that we will warranty for the life of >> their service with us. >> >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 5:31 PM Jason McKemie < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> The GigaSpire Max & Blast look intriguing. Not sure on pricing as of yet >> though. >> >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 5:06 PM <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Calix 844 has a mesh extender that supposedly has touchless >> provisioning. I have a mesh box at home to play with but still have not >> taken it out of the box. >> >> >> >> *From:* David Coudron >> >> *Sent:* Friday, December 21, 2018 4:01 PM >> >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group >> >> *Subject:* [AFMUG] Managed whole house mesh wifi >> >> >> >> We have been running into more and more situations where customers either >> have homes that are too large to effectively cover with a good router, or >> have so many devices at the far end of the house from where their router >> has to be positioned that we are looking for good options to provide better >> whole house coverage. We have worked with Powerline extenders, but >> consider them to be too inconsistent for wide spread use, and have worked >> with some wireless extenders. The wireless extenders have a pretty big >> impact on wireless speed that we aren’t excited about them as a go forward >> solution. We also can’t log into the powerline or wireless extenders >> without some port forwarding work in their main router. We have played >> around with some mesh options, particularly the Ubiquiti Amplifi product, >> which we really like, but feel like it is not an option since we cannot >> manage it remotely. Netgear Orbi certainly seems like a viable option, >> but kind of spendy if you need 3 nodes. Cost isn’t necessarily an issue >> since customers will buy this equipment rather than us fund it, but we >> don’t want the solution to be so expensive no one opts for it. I know >> there has been a few threads on managed routers, but this seems like a >> little bit different take since we are going to have customers buy the >> equipment, but would like to be able to manage remotely. I suppose one >> option would be to still provide an inexpensive managed router as we >> currently do and have them manage the mesh system on their own. Any >> thoughts on what has worked well for whole house mesh systems, especially >> in a remote management situation? >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> David Coudron >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Darin Steffl >> >> Minnesota WiFi >> >> www.mnwifi.com >> >> 507-634-WiFi >> >> [image: Image removed by sender.] <http://www.facebook.com/minnesotawifi> >> Like us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/minnesotawifi> >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Darin Steffl >> >> Minnesota WiFi >> >> www.mnwifi.com >> >> 507-634-WiFi >> >> <http://www.facebook.com/minnesotawifi> Like us on Facebook >> <http://www.facebook.com/minnesotawifi> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >
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