I'm working on a complete redux of the evolution of our networking equipment as we've grown for my blog, I'll share it here when it's done. Here's a bit of a preview of the latest evolution.
On the router side of things, we now have a pfSense-based appliance called a Firebox. pfSense is a very robust piece of router software and can be run on a variety of appliances that range in price, but we were able to pick one of the older models (RX6264S) up on EBay for ~$220. pfSense itself is free and open source, but specialized hardware can run it optimally. We looked at new hardware from http://www.hacom.net (http://www.hacom.net/) and it runs $800-1500. It's a LOT more powerful than anything in the consumer arena, handling 1000's of users and millions of connections. Consumer gear starts to slow down with anything north of 50 users. It' usable, but you'll start noticing problems. Also, pfSense gives us REALLY great analytics for finding and squashing problems, like connections that are flooding the network for all users and also gives us really useful tools for giving things that need connection priority (like Skype and SSH connections) over things like Youtube and torrents. For us, that means a much easier to manage "network policy". You can use just about anything on our network, and the router figures out if it's causing problems and throttles the amount of network it has access to. The hardware we bought also allows for bridged WAN, which means we can install a fallback ISP for when our primary ISP is having issues, and that way people don't' ever lose their connection. On the wireless side of things, we tested Meraki and Ruckus and went with Ruckus. Meraki APs seemed to have a shorter range and while the Cloud Control system was badass, we'd never use 99% of it. The sales people were really nice and helpful, but it didn't seem like a good fit for us. Ruckus, on the other hand, was challenging to work with through their normal enterprise sales channels so we went to Ebay again and bought a new AP for 25% off list price and it works awesome. We don't get their enterprise support, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm very happy with the performance of a single access point (covering and supporting >100 users on 2 floors) and plan to buy a 2nd AP to beef up the coverage. We're using the Ruckus 7962 - http://www.ruckuswireless.com/products/zoneflex-indoor/7962 Thanks for the recommendation for Ruckus from the Cambridge Innovation Center crew. I'm a happy customer. I also strongly recommend NetSpot (www.netspotapp.com) for doing a site survey, which I was recommended by Chris Johnson (copied on this email). It's a free app that lets you do a heat map of signal strength and signal to noise ratios. It gave me a TON of insight into placement and the resulting coverage of wifi. Probably the most useful tool I learned about last month! -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Monday, June 4, 2012 at 11:34 AM, Angel Kwiatkowski wrote: > I lied, we use Netgear routers. They're odd. They needed to be restarted > constantly when we first moved in but now run very smoothly. > > On Sunday, June 3, 2012 8:55:04 PM UTC-6, Angel Kwiatkowski wrote: > > We use Dlink routers. One in the basement conference room where the juice > > line comes in that's hardwired up to the 3rd floor where most of the > > coworking happens. Both are activated for wireless. Additionally, I think > > the guys ran hard wires all the way upstairs and then hooked up a couple of > > switches. Several people hard wire in while at Cohere but the majority > > don't. > > We have 5-10 people in the space at any time and we have Comcast Biz class > > 50/10 for $200/mo. It all depends on how your city is wired up. We have > > some special consideration being just a couple of blocks away from a large > > university here. > > > > Angel > > > > On Thursday, August 25, 2011 9:09:58 AM UTC-6, JJ wrote: > > > Hey all, > > > > > > Without getting into too much introduction and details, I'll just cut > > > right to it. > > > > > > I'm opening a space next week in South Dakota. Working on finalizing > > > details right now, and one thing I'm not too sure about is internet. > > > We've got 20 members or so pre-signed to move in day 1 and in trying to > > > plan for the future, am trying to figure out what sort of internet speed > > > I need, and what sort of router to handle the space's size and amount of > > > people. It's a long space, about 150ft, and we could very easily have > > > 100 people accessing the network at any given time. > > > > > > Any of the larger spaces out there have insight? I'm currently looking > > > at an internet speed of 50 down/10up or 100 down/15 up. Also am looking > > > at 801.11n routers that have two to three adjustable networks built into > > > the device. > > > > > > Would love some thoughts. > > > > > > Best, > > > > > > Josh Aberson > > > [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) > > > m: 521.6158 | @JoshAberson > > > > > > > > > > > > 220 S. Phillips Ave. > > > Sioux Falls, SD 57104 > > > fb.com/workmeso (http://fb.com/workmeso) > > > @workmeso > > > www.WorkMeso.com (http://www.WorkMeso.com/) > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/OnmcNoyj3esJ. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
