Hi, this is your newest member, from Turkey, my name is Ahmet, and i am very glad to be a member of such a helpful forum.

I've just taken some responsibility for my colleagues to serve them a fast, smooth and low-ping network which will be used for about 20 max 25 users at the same time and totally 100 to 150 users.
Restrictions:
-users will be manually added by me from their mac address, (i think this is ok)
-there will be an old computer for my access to router and will be used for logging. (logging is legally mandatory)
-we will have a fiber net with a speed up to 50-100 mbits, and if you advice, we may rent two different internet connections just to maintain speedy and low ping surfing (and gaming of course) what do you think?
-if possible i'd like to limit each user with max 8 mbits to control downloaders. (does this affect gamers?)

and presently we have a proffessional(actually i don't know, it seems pro.) switch, and 3 access points inside the building, we are planning to add 2 other ap s, there are lots of ports inside the building which are made of fiber or cat cables.. (yes we have a server room) all ap s are desired to be bridged..
With these restrictions:
1- what is the minimum computer specs shall we have for this?
2- which AP of mikrotik should we order? not very expensive please
3- is the modem important? if it is important, which modem would you advice?

ps: simple language please, not a native speaker, and no abbreviations please.
many many thanks for the answers..

Ok. I think there is not so much interest to this topic.
I have just one question then...

Which one provides faster networking in the same conditions?

1 - Hex S
2 - RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN
3 - RB2011UiAS-RM

Just compare these three for me please.

http://routerboard.com/ has test results for every device

Hi,
I would go for RB2011UiAS-RM and have the wireless/AP separate from the box.
I read you already have good LAN-switches, so the Hex S can also be used if you do not need the ports on the RB2011.
More then powerful enough as you have "low internet" speed.

-users will be manually added by me from their mac address, (i think this is ok)
> Sure, you can do this. Offcourse MAC can be "spoofed" to bypass your security, but for "typical" office user its OK

-there will be an old computer for my access to router and will be used for logging. (logging is legally mandatory)
> OK, you can "limit" management to the router only from the IP of this PC and have all logging transmitted to it. If the PC has a bit more power, you can even have some network-analyzer software and monitor more in detail.

-we will have a fiber net with a speed up to 50-100 mbits, and if you advice, we may rent two different internet connections just to maintain speedy and low ping surfing (and gaming of course) what do you think?
> OK, there are examples on how to config with 2 ISP's and steer some of the traffic to ISP1 and the rest via ISP2.


-if possible i'd like to limit each user with max 8 mbits to control downloaders. (does this affect gamers?)
> Possible yes, you can control this based on different criteria (eg. IP address, ports etc)

For the wireless I cannot advise. I personally use Mikrotik for the IP-routing part and Ubiquity for WLAN/AP's.
But I think you can find some low-cost good-enough AP's and integrate them with the RB2011

I read you already have good LAN-switches, so the Hex S can also be used if you do not need the ports on the RB2011.
More then powerful enough as you have "low internet" speed.

The hEX S is actually faster than the RB2011.

I read you already have good LAN-switches, so the Hex S can also be used if you do not need the ports on the RB2011.
More then powerful enough as you have "low internet" speed.

The hEX S is actually faster than the RB2011.

Indeed it is, but the RB2011 would still be a good match for the low speed 50-100megabit Internet line they seek to use. (even if they use 2 of such ISP lines)
If they would have 1Gbits/s Internet however, the extra horse-power of the hEX S (2 cores/4threads @ 880Mhz) would become more visible against the RB2011 (1 core @ 600Mhz)
I would only get the RB2011 IF the extra LAN-ports are really needed, but if enough other good LAN-switches are available, I would think about the hEX S

My RB3011 at home (2 core @ 1.4Ghz) on a 100Mbits/sec PPPoE xDSL almost never exceed 5% CPU even at 100% utilization of the link, but without QoS or IPSEC VPN or something.
I do have between 30-50 firewall rules, extensive logging to SPLUNK etc, all 10 ports are connected with devices.

RB2011 should IMO NEVER be recommended in 2020 - at least not for routing purposes.. it's close to 10 years old and will only do 50-100megabit internet routing with basic firewall.
As soon as you try to do anything else you will have unstable link.
OP asks for queues (which is needed for the limit users @ 8mbit) and mangling (for potentially two ISP's), both of which need fasttrack to be disabled which in turn will make CPU go 100% on RB2011 at these speeds.

Hex S is a much better device for routing. Combine with a separate switch if more ports is needed.
Or buy RB4011 to get all in one.

RB2011 should IMO NEVER be recommended in 2020 - at least not for routing purposes.. it's close to 10 years old and will only do 50-100megabit internet routing with basic firewall.
As soon as you try to do anything else you will have unstable link.
OP asks for queues (which is needed for the limit users @ 8mbit) and mangling (for potentially two ISP's), both of which need fasttrack to be disabled which in turn will make CPU go 100% on RB2011 at these speeds.

Hex S is a much better device for routing. Combine with a separate switch if more ports is needed.
Or buy RB4011 to get all in one.

So to conclude :

If no extra LAN-ports are needed or you can to combine with separate LAN-switch : hEX S (only 60-70 euros I think)
If up to 10 LAN-ports extra are needed : RB3011 or RB4011 (between 120-160 euros) is still a very safe choice. I have RB3011 since many years and happy with it.

For the wireless .. no experience with MT..a very happy Ubiquity user in this domain.

Thank you very much for the opinions and good ideas.
Because of our poor ISP, i still think 50 mbits is "fast" but you, in another country, you said it is "slow"


I need to know one more thing for the best choice.
Does a switch slow/retard my network?
I will go to work tomorrow, can you make a comment about our switch in use, if i upload its photo?
I also will take a photo of our AP.

Danke

Does a switch slow/retard my network?

No it will not.

RB2011 should IMO NEVER be recommended in 2020 - at least not for routing purposes.. it's close to 10 years old and will only do 50-100megabit internet routing with basic firewall.
As soon as you try to do anything else you will have unstable link.
OP asks for queues (which is needed for the limit users @ 8mbit) and mangling (for potentially two ISP's), both of which need fasttrack to be disabled which in turn will make CPU go 100% on RB2011 at these speeds.

It can max out 500/50 with basic firewall, no queues, no mangling, no encryption, hardware bridging, and fasttrack enabled.

That's not relevant since he said queues needed and mangling possibly needed, no fasttrack.

Well, he said it would do 50-100 just with basic firewall.

Yeah but why would you buy such an outdated device when the RB760iGS plus switch has 4x performance for less money?

Or get the hAP ac² with switch for even more performance plus dual band wireless (unless 128MB RAM isn't enough)

Because you need more than 5 ports (not all gigabit) and only want one small inexpensive box.

Yeah but why would you buy such an outdated device when the RB760iGS plus switch has 4x performance for less money?

Or get the hAP ac² with switch for even more performance plus dual band wireless (unless 128MB RAM isn't enough)

I am seriously thinking of this Rb760igs right now. Because we already have a switch

This is one of 3 ap we have. We may add 2 other..

https://i.ibb.co/KK17FVL/860-EEE28-4-B5 ... F124-E.jpg


And this is the switch we have.

https://i.ibb.co/37DSXnY/BC2-ADAA0-ED9- ... DADFED.jpg

Another point to consider is that these routers only have 16MB flash while the RB2011 has 128MB.

But the RB2011 would seem to be too slow for the OP.

The RB2011 also lacks The Dude.

Yeah I'm not sure what MT was thinking making all these devices with such small flash when 128MB wouldn't add but a few dollars cost and save a lot of headaches for some people.

I like the RB3011 more than the RB4011 because it has USB 3.0 and touchscreen.

This is one of 3 ap we have. We may add 2 other..

https://i.ibb.co/KK17FVL/860-EEE28-4-B5 ... F124-E.jpg

And this is the switch we have.

https://i.ibb.co/37DSXnY/BC2-ADAA0-ED9- ... DADFED.jpg

The LAN switch (HP Procurve 2626) seems to be an oldie with 24*100Mbps ports and some Gigabit SFP *uplink* ports. Nothing bad with that, as long as it serves your needs.
The AP's ... It seems Cisco AP's ? They are "standalone" or are you using some wireless LAN controller that manages all the AP's ??
Can't guess the model, but is not so important.

Rb760igs / hEX S is a good choice, more then fast enough to support all you needs. (and cheap too)

That is the only switch you have ? You have some sort of "router" today ? Just a flat network with no VLAN's ?
You could get SFP module RJ45/Ethernet and make the connection between the RB760IGS/hEX S and HP Procurve switch gigabit-ethernet. (eg. if you go for the 2 ISP setup with > 100Mbps you need such interconnect)

This is one of 3 ap we have. We may add 2 other..

https://i.ibb.co/KK17FVL/860-EEE28-4-B5 ... F124-E.jpg

And this is the switch we have.

https://i.ibb.co/37DSXnY/BC2-ADAA0-ED9- ... DADFED.jpg

The LAN switch (HP Procurve 2626) seems to be an oldie with 24*100Mbps ports and some Gigabit SFP *uplink* ports. Nothing bad with that, as long as it serves your needs.
The AP's ... It seems Cisco AP's ? They are "standalone" or are you using some wireless LAN controller that manages all the AP's ??
Can't guess the model, but is not so important.

Rb760igs / hEX S is a good choice, more then fast enough to support all you needs. (and cheap too)

That is the only switch you have ? You have some sort of "router" today ? Just a flat network with no VLAN's ?
You could get SFP module RJ45/Ethernet and make the connection between the RB760IGS/hEX S and HP Procurve switch gigabit-ethernet. (eg. if you go for the 2 ISP setup with > 100Mbps you need such interconnect)

I hope i understood you straight.

Currently We have another network which comes from air. Some kind of air based fibernet. No modem needed in this system. Router is enough. So we use 2+1 routers from some other ports in the building without APs. Actually they are modems used in router mode. And the one in my office is TP-Link w8960n, i think it will be our modem when the fiber comes. And it will be converted to cat6? i guess.
I also dont know the brand of APs. The ceiling is too high i need a ladder to see it.


Hp is the only one i can use for this. The others are related to our job (air traffic control), and controlled by professionals. Neither i nor our engineers can touch them.

By the way, i ve read that combining 2 internet connections would not be good for gamers. So i think i will give up 2 internets.

You will only be able to have 1 partition with 16MB.

With several routers in the network, you really will have to look at the routing.
Because basically adding an "Internet" router means that this Internet router device should become the Default Gateway for the PC's etc to keep things simple.

Offcourse on this hEX S you can add serveral static-routes pointing to whatever router (eg. air-link etc) to reach other segments of the network.
So you'll have to make an overview of the IP-plan of your whole setup. What must be accessible etc.

It is not fair if all the gamers do not get the same ping.

And do not connect them by air.

Check the ISP before contracting as they may have an unsolved latency problem.

Fiber cable is the best here.
Maybe i can arrange some ports for gamers. That's a good idea!

Thank you very much for your support.
I will read this topic again and again.

If you have no choice other than using WiFi for gamers, go ax.

Thank you.

Do not buy a lot of cards and APs without testing first.

I'll buy Hex S first. But before that, i am gonna have to make contract with the ISP.

Will inform you.

Just ordered Hex S from the internet..
Will see the ISP tomorrow.

Check out steamcache if you haven't already.

Check out steamcache if you haven't already.

I did not understand this one.

—-

I have the device now. But having trouble with the ISP to have an internet connection..


We need an AP in addition to our Ciscos. If i buy an ubiquity UNIFI UAP AC LITE Access Point do they work together as a single wifi?
Or
Which ap do you recommend

I did not understand this one.

Steamcache is a game download cache that supports several different services actually. There are alternatives.

It allows a group of gamers to download faster locally and the internet connection to be narrower.

This is one of 3 ap we have. We may add 2 other..

https://i.ibb.co/KK17FVL/860-EEE28-4-B5 ... F124-E.jpg

And this is the switch we have.

https://i.ibb.co/37DSXnY/BC2-ADAA0-ED9- ... DADFED.jpg

The LAN switch (HP Procurve 2626) seems to be an oldie with 24*100Mbps ports and some Gigabit SFP *uplink* ports. Nothing bad with that, as long as it serves your needs.
The AP's ... It seems Cisco AP's ? They are "standalone" or are you using some wireless LAN controller that manages all the AP's ??
Can't guess the model, but is not so important.

Rb760igs / hEX S is a good choice, more then fast enough to support all you needs. (and cheap too)

That is the only switch you have ? You have some sort of "router" today ? Just a flat network with no VLAN's ?
You could get SFP module RJ45/Ethernet and make the connection between the RB760IGS/hEX S and HP Procurve switch gigabit-ethernet. (eg. if you go for the 2 ISP setup with > 100Mbps you need such interconnect)

Hi, we just bought the hex s. Didn't set the lan up, still problems with provider.

By the way i am planning to add an ubiquity to our network.

Planning this for "air traffic control tower", which has 2 floors and each floors are about 40 square meter. It's a steel constuction the walls are plasterboard(=plaster ornament or ornamentation (usually fixed on a ceiling or the upper part of the interior wall of a room))

A fiber cable, and other cat cables between tower and the server room are already set up. We just need an ap. Is there a compability problem between 2 other brands of ap's?

How is this?
Which model should i buy?
Unifi AP AC Lite

The Unifi AC Lite, Unify AC LR, and Unify AC Pro are well liked and tested, the Unify nanoHD less so.

Given the above options choose the one that fits your needs.

So, i just ordered the The Unifi AC Lite.


Thank you all.

Hey, uh.. i tried the cisco ap’s only 1 of three is working. The other 2 seems to be dead already.
I tried with other cables(swapped with the working one), also tried with adapter 48 volts but no lights and no connections. Despite all these, the card seems good. Is there any chance to bring them back?

https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY4E0
https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY6Nv

you can change one capisator and it will work again.

Hey, uh.. i tried the cisco ap’s only 1 of three is working. The other 2 seems to be dead already.
I tried with other cables(swapped with the working one), also tried with adapter 48 volts but no lights and no connections. Despite all these, the card seems good. Is there any chance to bring them back?

https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY4E0
https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY6Nv

Good news.. Can you point which one it is?

you can change one capisator and it will work again.

Hey, uh.. i tried the cisco ap’s only 1 of three is working. The other 2 seems to be dead already.
I tried with other cables(swapped with the working one), also tried with adapter 48 volts but no lights and no connections. Despite all these, the card seems good. Is there any chance to bring them back?

https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY4E0
https://imgyukle.com/i/ntY6Nv

Hey all,
We finally created the network. The ISP gave only 35 mbits connection.
I bought a vdsl modem (cnet) it’s on bridge mode.
Hex s is managing the whole network. I was able to set it up basicly (pppoe, masquerade, ip, dhcp)
Bought unify ac lite access point, it working perfectly. We already have 2 tenda ap’s, one tp link modem on ap mode. And they are set up with static ip with dhcp off.

But i need firewall - hotspot rules for filtering users (only previously entered macs would be allowed and i should manage speed of the individuals or groups).
Can anyone help this issue by giving me scripts?