Separate Wifi SSIDs via VLAN & Wifi AP recommendations

[marjohn56]

Yes, managed switches are not that much more expensive. I guess I just hoped for one less device I had to configure...

However, the idea with the PoE injector falls apart in two places:
1) I can't find a PoE injector where the documentation mentions VLAN tags to be maintained


POE has nothing to do with VLANs, it's merely away of passing power over the unused cores in an ethernet cable

2) I can't find the required voltage in the documentation of the Wifi AP, so I can't use a passive PoE injector with fixed voltage


POE is a standard, if the WAP supports POE any POE injector will work. The only difference is POE+ which is a higher power version, used usually for higher load devices, such as loads such as Loudspeakers.

Look at something like the TP-Link EAP225, it comes with a POE injector too.

[Asperamanca]

POE has nothing to do with VLANs, it's merely away of passing power over the unused cores in an ethernet cable

How can I know that a PoE injector isn't really an unmanged PoE switch internally, if the specifications don't tell me?

POE is a standard, if the WAP supports POE any POE injector will work. The only difference is POE+ which is a higher power version, used usually for higher load devices, such as loads such as Loudspeakers.

All the cheap PoE injectors I found are "passive". I read elsewhere that those injectors don't really fulfill the standard, but just provide a fixed voltage on a single port, and that's it. So I would have to know the required voltage.
The PoE injectors fulfilling the standard are not much cheaper than small managed PoE switches

Look at something like the TP-Link EAP225, it comes with a POE injector too.

The PoE injector doesn't seem part of the package, but at least they specify the voltage. Might be an alternative...

[marjohn56]

If you look at the EAP-225 it says,  802.3af POE or 24v Passive, it will accept either 802.3af which is industry standard 48v+ or 24v Passive POE.

No inline POE injectors are switches, they are all passive. As a sidenote, I have a number of POE injectors, some are 48v, some are 24v.

Passive PoE is 24v and is either on or off, so no autosensing on ports.

802.Xaf/at is 48v and is autosensing so it will only turn the power on if it detects a PoE device connecting to it.


if you go to https://www.tp-link.com/uk/business-networking/ceiling-mount-ap/eap225/ there are an image of the EAP 225 with a number of thumbnails underneath, if you select the 6th thumbnail it will show you what's in the box... one of those things is a POE injector.

[Mks]

Hi,

So my plan is the following:

    Deciso 3-port Firewall running OPNsense
    Wifi-AP with PoE injector connected directly to firewall ("trunk" port)
    Wifi-Repeater to improve coverage
    Unmanaged switch connected directly to firewall ("internal VLAN" port, so all devices connected to it belong to the internal VLAN)

I've never heard anything positive when it comes to WIFI-Repeater.
I would rather go for 2xAP configured via dedicated controller. So my recommendation for your (home) setup is:

• Firewall at least with 3 ports
• 8 port managed Switch (VLAN capable) with 4 PoE ports
• WIFI controller software or small appliance with PoE
• 2xAP connected to the Switch (no configuration needed this is done with the controller

br

[marjohn56]

Hi,

So my plan is the following:

    Deciso 3-port Firewall running OPNsense
    Wifi-AP with PoE injector connected directly to firewall ("trunk" port)
    Wifi-Repeater to improve coverage
    Unmanaged switch connected directly to firewall ("internal VLAN" port, so all devices connected to it belong to the internal VLAN)

I've never heard anything positive when it comes to WIFI-Repeater.
I would rather go for 2xAP configured via dedicated controller. So my recommendation for your (home) setup is:

   
• Firewall at least with 3 ports
• 8 port managed Switch (VLAN capable) with 4 PoE ports
• WIFI controller software or small appliance with PoE
• 2xAP connected to the Switch (no configuration needed this is done with the controller

br

✔

[Asperamanca]

I've never heard anything positive when it comes to WIFI-Repeater.
I would rather go for 2xAP configured via dedicated controller.

We're talking about extending the Wifi range by about 6m (maybe less if the new AP is better, and better positioned). If this is not a case for a repeater, I don't know what is.

Trouble is, existing cabling limits my positioning options for the second AP. So what's better: An ideally positioned repeater, or a non-optimally positioned AP?

Is an AP with a "controller" mode the same as having a separate controller and two APs?

I think I'll start with a single AP and see what I can do by positioning, then I'll add stuff when and if needed.

[Mks]

We're talking about extending the Wifi range by about 6m (maybe less if the new AP is better, and better positioned). If this is not a case for a repeater, I don't know what is.

Try those Long Range APs, may this will fix your issue.
Personal opinion, avoid whenever possible the repeater.

Trouble is, existing cabling limits my positioning options for the second AP. So what's better: An ideally positioned repeater, or a non-optimally positioned AP?

Only god knows ;),

Is an AP with a "controller" mode the same as having a separate controller and two APs?

Usually all the APs can also be configured without controller. The controller just reduces the effort when it comes to managing multiple APs. There are some additional feature like captive portal etc ... but this is another story.

br

[Asperamanca]

Thank you all for your valuable input! I certainly learned a lot in this thread (and doing research because of points you raised).