Advice Needed for Setting Up Hotspot at Membership Club

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

Good day all,

I am seeking advice on setting up a hotspot for a membership club and would appreciate any feedback or suggestions you might have. Here is the proposed setup:

Objective:
To provide a reliable and efficient Wi-Fi connection for club staff during the day and for approximately 60-100 members in the evening.

Equipment:

  1. Mikrotik Sextant G (3 units): These will be used to broadcast the Wi-Fi signal around the club.
  2. Mikrotik hEX S (RB760iGS): This will serve as the core router for the deployment. It offers excellent performance and features, including an SD card slot for cache, which will help in improving the overall network speed and efficiency.
  3. Starlink Satellite Internet: This is already purchased and will be the primary internet source for the club.

Setup Plan:

  1. Internet Connection: The Starlink satellite dish will be connected to the Mikrotik hEX S (RB760iGS) router.
  2. Router Configuration: The RB760iGS will be configured to manage the network, including DHCP, firewall settings, and hotspot authentication.
  • Utilize the SD card slot on the RB760iGS for caching purposes to enhance performance.
  1. Wi-Fi Broadcast: The three Sextant G units will be strategically placed around the club to ensure optimal coverage and minimal dead zones.
  • Each Sextant G will be configured to work in harmony with the others, ensuring seamless roaming for users moving around the club.

User Management:

  • During the day, the Wi-Fi network will primarily serve the club staff, ensuring they have stable and fast internet access for their tasks.
  • In the evening, the network will accommodate the members. Given the expected number of users (60-100), the network will need to handle multiple simultaneous connections without significant performance drops.
  • Implementing a hotspot login page will help manage user access and bandwidth usage. Members can log in using their club credentials, ensuring that only authorized users can access the network.

Points for Consideration:

  1. Network Load: Ensuring the network can handle peak usage times, especially in the evening when member usage will be high.
  2. Coverage: Proper placement of the Sextant G units is crucial for full coverage. Any advice on optimal placement strategies or potential pitfalls would be highly appreciated.
  3. Security: Implementing robust security measures to protect both the network and user data.

Questions:

  • Is the proposed setup sufficient for the expected number of users and their internet needs?
  • Are there any additional features or configurations on the Mikrotik hEX S that could enhance performance or user experience?
  • Would you recommend any changes or additional equipment to improve the network reliability and coverage?

Thank you for your time and expertise. I look forward to your suggestions and feedback.

2

After just a few lines, I knew this was AI generated as it made no sense.





Maybe you should ask your AI for advice as well.

3

Hi,
Thank you for your response. I tried to be as explicit as possible so that there wont be any mistakes.
I am not trying to waste anyone’s time here, if you feel that way i apologise totally.
but i still need advise on this project

4

The sextant G is AFAIK:
a) discontinued:
b) a very directional device intended for PtP (Point to Point) links, definitely not suitable as AP.

The RB760gs (Hex S) sounds a bit underpowered to manage some 100 connections.
Putting a cache on a SD card was - last time I checked - among the first items on the no-no list, maybe with last generation SD cards it is slightly different, but usually a SD card will die quickly when many write operations are performed on it.
The RB760gs has a little amount of memory, 256 MB Ram, 16 MB storage.
As a router, get a RB5009 instead, it sounds overkill for the speed the Starlink can provide, but you will have less issues, it has 1GB/1GB memory.
Maybe you could get away with a cheaper L009UiGS, but for 80 bucks or so difference, it is IMHO not worth it.

You should then look for devices intended as AP (access point) such as the Hap Ax2 or Hap Ax3 or the Cap Ax.

The need of using 3 (or 1 or 13) of these AP’s depends on the size of the club, if there are 100 people in it, it is likely to be several hundreds square meters and 3 may be, depending on shape of the building, walls and what not, not enough to cover successfully the whole area.

5

Thank you very much for your response. i will adjust accordingly