Restaurant having Wi-Fi Issues

[mau64]

Just left a restaurant and needed a bit of advice on their Wi-Fi setup. They are getting complaints from their customers that they sometimes have a hard time connecting to their wi-fi. I asked her at the most how many people would be connected at any given time and she replied that there would be no more than 10.

I walked around the restaurant running speed tests at the far corners and was receiving anywhere between 3-8 MBPS down. I was actually surprised at that since the router was through the kitchen going through several walls.

She currently has a D-Link WBR 2310. I told her the first order of business would be to get a stronger router that supports N networking. She wants to try that first and stay under $250 for the hardware. I looked around and searched these forums and got a lot of ideas but wanted a bit of feedback on what I think she could use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320091

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-BUSIN...d=1341526992&sr=1-77&keywords=wireless+router

Because I'm still new to a lot of this, I've been listening to a lot of Podnutz podcasts and I've really been enjoying Podnutz Pro. Matt, the most, talks a lot about Watch Guard's and I wanted more opinions from them if you got them.

Thanks everyone!

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

Check out the Engenius access points, SOLID units! coupled with a nice router and it'll work great (just did about 8 restaurants with them last month).

 

[FoolishTech]

I don't know about the second one, but the ASUS I've personally owned for a few months. I can say that the range is phenomenal compared to other products I have used, and goes through walls my older router wouldn't penetrate. It seems to be solid and stable, though I've heard of people using more advanced features that the firmware is buggy. All I do with it is set it up for dyndns, forward a few ports, and have it operate an isolated guest wlan. I have at any time at least 7 wireless devices connected to it including a Wii and Roku, PCs, etc. all streaming netflix and other junk and never had any issues. It is the best wireless router I have ever owned ... since my WRT54GL with DDWRT.

 

[mau64]

I don't know about the second one, but the ASUS I've personally owned for a few months. I can say that the range is phenomenal compared to other products I have used, and goes through walls my older router wouldn't penetrate. It seems to be solid and stable, though I've heard of people using more advanced features that the firmware is buggy. All I do with it is set it up for dyndns, forward a few ports, and have it operate an isolated guest wlan. I have at any time at least 7 wireless devices connected to it including a Wii and Roku, PCs, etc. all streaming netflix and other junk and never had any issues. It is the best wireless router I have ever owned ... since my WRT54GL with DDWRT.

Thank you very much for this info. I'll send her a link to this.

 

[mau64]

Check out the Engenius access points, SOLID units! coupled with a nice router and it'll work great (just did about 8 restaurants with them last month).

I've put in an Engenius access point for a client. I had to call customer service, which they were very helpful and wanted to hang out on the line even after I felt comfortable configuring it the rest of the way, and after it was all set up she hasn't had a single issue with it. I'll check out their routers as well. Thanks.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

I've put in an Engenius access point for a client. I had to call customer service, which they were very helpful and wanted to hang out on the line even after I felt comfortable configuring it the rest of the way, and after it was all set up she hasn't had a single issue with it. I'll check out their routers as well. Thanks.

I wouldn't use their routers.... I'd use a TrendNet/Cisco/or some business line

but then use the access points for the wireless.... not saying their routers are bad, I just haven't used them much.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'd get a true business grade router, even a *nix distro, and then hang some Ubiquiti Unifi APs behind it after doing a site survey to determine the best locations.

Reason for the biz grade router....superior stability with heavy concurrent loads, go for at least a year without needing reboots (most home grade routers suffer from this need), and strong QoS features.

To do this right, you'll have to talk her to up her budget above 250. Doing it for 250...you'll find yourself in the same boat using home grade hardware.
500 bucks in hardware, 500 bucks in setup fee...done. Gotta quadruple her budget.

 

[skdmaster]

I must agree the the Unifi AP are great. Just installed 3 indoor and 2 outdoor AP in a tap house & seafood restaurant. Never used the devices before but saw a few comments on the forums about them so decided to give it a try. Extremely easy to setup. I also liked that the indoor AP were designed for wall mount or ceiling tile mounting.

 

[SouthernTech]

I'd get a true business grade router, even a *nix distro, and then hang some Ubiquiti Unifi APs behind it after doing a site survey to determine the best locations.

Reason for the biz grade router....superior stability with heavy concurrent loads, go for at least a year without needing reboots (most home grade routers suffer from this need), and strong QoS features.

To do this right, you'll have to talk her to up her budget above 250. Doing it for 250...you'll find yourself in the same boat using home grade hardware.
500 bucks in hardware, 500 bucks in setup fee...done. Gotta quadruple her budget.

I would say the budget would depend on the service being provided. If the customers were being charged for access, sure. But as a complimentary? That would be a tough sell.

The network is more likely then not having issues due to interference from the kitchen and other customers. If you did your tests during a slow time, you wouldn't have been able to see the drop.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I would say the budget would depend on the service being provided. If the customers were being charged for access, sure. But as a complimentary? That would be a tough sell.

The network is more likely then not having issues due to interference from the kitchen and other customers. If you did your tests during a slow time, you wouldn't have been able to see the drop.

The difference in money really isn't much.....I'm sure the "budget" project with 250 dollar hardware budget will end up being over 500 bucks once his time/labor charges are added in.

I'm a believe in educating the customer in the differences in hardware, quality, performance...and usually it becomes an easy well. Or....you could lower yourself to a geek squad/"Linksys ranger" budget tech standard and keep pushing home grade stuff in a biz environment that does the job poorly.

Which one do you want to hang your reputation on?

If it's some small coffee shop..yeah they have small budgets, but he mentions a restaurant and "far corners"....that means tables to me...lots of 'em. And the owners desire for good wifi tells me they're shooting for the corporate lunch crowd.

===>Thus good working free wifi is an important need for them...they'll cough up the cabbage.<===

Entry level biz grade router...250-300 bucks. Stay away from home grade.
2 or 3 Ubiquiti Unifi APs at 90 bucks/pop...heck without seeing the place, they might even be able to get away with a single Ubiquiti "LR" Unifi model placed in the ceiling in the middle...115 bucks. I've seen those LR models handle 18 clients at once and not even begin to break a sweat! If that's the case, brings it down to 400-ish hardware costs plus his time...all could be said and done in 800 bucks or even 700 bucks...not knowing what he charges for his time. And he can walk away knowing he delivered a product that not only met..but exceeded, the performance needs of the client. Now THAT is a way to build your reputation as a tech!

 

[SouthernTech]

Don't get me wrong, I agree. Education is important and getting the best setup for the customer is ideal. But the some of the missing details of the restaurant left a few variable to be taken into account. I feel it would just be a good thing to show the reason for the budget increase, or increments along the way and possibly upfront costs vs potential upgrade to further sell it. Of course, without further details, I'm just going to a default small restaurant. A much bigger restaurant? Your suggestion is definitely more valid.


I hadn't seen the Ubi hardware before. I might try them out after I finish testing the Watchguard X-25W.

 

[mau64]

The difference in money really isn't much.....I'm sure the "budget" project with 250 dollar hardware budget will end up being over 500 bucks once his time/labor charges are added in.

I'm a believe in educating the customer in the differences in hardware, quality, performance...and usually it becomes an easy well. Or....you could lower yourself to a geek squad/"Linksys ranger" budget tech standard and keep pushing home grade stuff in a biz environment that does the job poorly.

Which one do you want to hang your reputation on?

If it's some small coffee shop..yeah they have small budgets, but he mentions a restaurant and "far corners"....that means tables to me...lots of 'em. And the owners desire for good wifi tells me they're shooting for the corporate lunch crowd.

===>Thus good working free wifi is an important need for them...they'll cough up the cabbage.<===

Entry level biz grade router...250-300 bucks. Stay away from home grade.
2 or 3 Ubiquiti Unifi APs at 90 bucks/pop...heck without seeing the place, they might even be able to get away with a single Ubiquiti "LR" Unifi model placed in the ceiling in the middle...115 bucks. I've seen those LR models handle 18 clients at once and not even begin to break a sweat! If that's the case, brings it down to 400-ish hardware costs plus his time...all could be said and done in 800 bucks or even 700 bucks...not knowing what he charges for his time. And he can walk away knowing he delivered a product that not only met..but exceeded, the performance needs of the client. Now THAT is a way to build your reputation as a tech!

These are all great points, something I'll bring up to her when I meet them again. Do you have a default router you would use in this situation? I looked around at some on Newegg and they mostly have mediocre reviews. Nothing really stood out, even though some of the bad reviews were for terrible reasons.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

I don't know about the second one, but the ASUS I've personally owned for a few months. I can say that the range is phenomenal compared to other products I have used, and goes through walls my older router wouldn't penetrate. It seems to be solid and stable, though I've heard of people using more advanced features that the firmware is buggy. All I do with it is set it up for dyndns, forward a few ports, and have it operate an isolated guest wlan. I have at any time at least 7 wireless devices connected to it including a Wii and Roku, PCs, etc. all streaming netflix and other junk and never had any issues. It is the best wireless router I have ever owned ... since my WRT54GL with DDWRT.

I have the Asus RT-N16 I am fairly certain I get wifi signal in my car at the end of my drive way which is through 4 walls and a car but I will try to remember to confirm when I get home. I can confirm the firmware is not flawless as mentioned by FoolishTech but I use tomato firmware and this is by far my favorite router to date.

Yeah I get signal strength of "fair" on my motorola from in my car.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

These are all great points, something I'll bring up to her when I meet them again. Do you have a default router you would use in this situation? I looked around at some on Newegg and they mostly have mediocre reviews. Nothing really stood out, even though some of the bad reviews were for terrible reasons.

The cheapest/smallest biz grade router we commonly deploy is the Cisco RV042. Their RV series has proven to be a very stable entry level biz unit in higher traffic biz networks.

 

[mau64]

The cheapest/smallest biz grade router we commonly deploy is the Cisco RV042. Their RV series has proven to be a very stable entry level biz unit in higher traffic biz networks.

I'll take a look at them. Thanks!

 

[bits-n-bytes]

I have the Asus RT-N16 I am fairly certain I get wifi signal in my car at the end of my drive way which is through 4 walls and a car but I will try to remember to confirm when I get home. I can confirm the firmware is not flawless as mentioned by FoolishTech but I use tomato firmware and this is by far my favorite router to date.

Yeah I get signal strength of "fair" on my motorola from in my car.

There's a huge difference from one person getting signal to 100 or 2,
I'm currently looking at replacing some of my engenius stuff with these unifi equipment. i need to do a RV park, and one or two AP's just isn't cutting it, no matter how hard I try. add a buncha tin cans to punch through isn't helping.