I can second netspot, we used it at Uncubed to see what was going on around the building and see where our weak spots were
John Wilker Founder, 360|Conferences (720) 381-2370 twitter: jwilker (http://twitter.com/jwilker) johnwilker.com (http://johnwilker.com/) | 360|MacDev (http://360macdev.com/) | 360| (http://360stack.com)Stack (http://360stack.com) | 360|iDev (http://360idev.com/) On Monday, June 4, 2012 at 9:59 AM, Alex Hillman wrote: > 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 > (http://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 (http://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] > (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. 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