I have installed Ubiquiti Unifi APs at home and at a club I belong to. Been great so far. I absolutely recommend trying them out. The 802.11n devices are dirt cheap ($70 for one or $195 for three at Amazon). Well worth testing in a lab. You also don't have a hardware controller with Ubiquiti. It's a software application that doesn't even have to be running all the time. The only thing to remember about Ubiquiti's Unifi APs is that they do not use standard PoE. It's a lower power protocol that requires special PoE switches.
And definitely don't fear Ruckus. I have a friend in Richmond (where I also live) who is a Ruckus reseller and he loves them. Very good gear from what I understand. Nova Swimming has Ruckus, and I believe they handle all the guest devices at a big swim meet with no problem. On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 7:40 PM, Derrenbacker, L. Jonathan < [email protected]> wrote: > Some really great thoughts here. Thanks everyone! > Keep it coming if anyone has more input. > Also, for those running 802.11ac(both APs and clients), what speed are you > seeing? > > Just to reply to some of the questions and comments: > > >Two strikes, and Meraki is out. > >They have the ability to shut down your infrastructure. > >They host the web site that controls your infrastructure. > > I agree, that does bother me. > > > >Doesn't Meraki automatically update units, without any real reporting > behind it? > > One thing that bothers me about auto-firmware updates is what if someone > hacked Meraki, planted 'special' firmware and set APs to upgrade to it. Is > that not possible? From a hackers point of view, they hack 1 company and > then get access to 10's of thousands of companies. In the traditional > world, if someone hacked Cisco and uploaded some bad ios images, they might > get 50 guys upgrading that day who don't already have the code downloaded. > But if all Meraki APs call home every day? I'm sure it's extremely unlikely > though. > > > >What are the features that you're looking for? > > #1 is security. I want something that's as secure as wireless can be. I'm > thinking it will at a minimum tie into Radius with AD authentication and > certificates. I'm still learning wireless security(have AD/Radius/PKI setup > in the lab right now), so any insight is more than welcome. > #2 is speed. Most of our apps are written to be used on high speed > LANs(bandwidth hogs), so the faster the better. > Related to that, about 1/3rd of end-user laptops will be 802.11ac this > year, and 100% within 2 years. > > > >Take a look at Ubiquiti https://www.ubnt.com/enterprise/ > >We are replacing Cisco at %dayjob% with this. I have used this elsewhere > as well with good results. > > Looks like a lot of people are saying to try Ubiquiti. Are there any > features missing in Ubiquiti that you had with Cisco? > > > >I have experience with Ruckus, Cisco, and HP – Ruckus does its job very > well at a good price point, it has a lot of features, and easy to use. > Cisco is absolutely rock solid (you could stake your job on its > reliability) but you do pay for it up front and with SmartNET. > >I’d recommend getting some demo equipment, play with it, see what you > like and what you don’t. Some like it more technical, others more > point-and-click easy. > > Thanks, that's good to hear. I had never heard of Ruckus until yesterday. > Seems like almost no one has heard of them which makes me nervous. > Speaking of demo gear, I’m collecting it now. I just got a demo Ruckus AP > and controller in the mail today and I have a Meraki M34 on its way. We'll > see… > > > > > Thanks everyone, > Jon > > > > *Jon Derrenbacker | CISSP | Sr. Systems Engineer | Manager | Keiter *4401 > Dominion Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Glen Allen, VA 23060 > phone: 804-273-6221 | fax: 804-747-3632 | *keitercpa.com* > <http://www.keitercpa.com/> > *Encrypted File Upload* > <https://keitercpa.sharefile.com/r/rff820ebe11a43e38> > > *Experience* | *Knowledge* | *Relationships** |* *Insight* > *Unless the above message (“this message”) expressly provides that the > statements contained therein and in any attachments thereto (“the > statements”) are intended to constitute written tax advice within the > meaning of IRS Circular 230 § 10.37, the sender intends by this message to > communicate general information for discussion purposes only, and you > should not, therefore, interpret the statements to be written tax advice or > rely on the statements for any purpose. The sender will conclude that you > have understood and acknowledged this important cautionary notice unless > you communicate to the sender any questions you may have in a direct > electronic reply to this message.* > Note: This communication, including any attachments, may contain > privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended > recipient, or believe you have received this communication in error, do not > print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information > contained within. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or > distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please > contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original > message. > > > > > > > > > > > >
