Philip81 wrote

I'm a volunteer for a local charity and we are looking to setup a WiFi network within the community hall that we manage, we already have network cables (I need to check if they are Cat 5, 5E or 6) throughout the building but all the other hardware was ripped out a number of years ago.

 

As a bit of background the hall has been left unmanaged for a number of years so there are a lot of repairs refurbishments that need to be done, this means our budget is going to be very tight, but once the hall opens and money starts to come in we should have more funds to invest back into the hall.

 

We are keen to provide a guest Wi-Fi capability throughout the building, but this doesn't need to be 100% coverage on day 1.

I'd also expect most of the network traffic would be the guest Wi-Fi straight out to the internet - We'll be putting in a PC as well but I'm not expecting this to be anything significant.

On day 1 I'm expecting our internet speed to be 150Mbps, but if/when demand increases we can bump this up.

Based on the size of the building and number of rooms I think we'll need 4 access points and I'd be looking to buy a PoE switch to power them.

 

Something I'm struggling with is the Ethernet speed and I'm hoping to get some advice on the best approach:

 

	Pros	Cons
Fast Ethernet	Cheaper to rollout (£36 per access point and £30 for a PoE switch) Can probably afford coverage across entire building on day 1	Network traffic limited to 100Mbps, Ethernet becomes the limiting factor if/when internet gets upgraded
Gigabit Ethernet	Futureproof if/when traffic increases, internet connection becomes the limiting factor instead of network	More expensive (£60 per access point and £50 for a PoE switch) Coverage across entire building not available on day 1

 

1. Would I ever really need a Gigabit speed within the network, am I worrying about this too much?
2. Would a more sensible option be buying a Gigabit Switch and 1 or 2 fast ethernet access points, this then gives me the option to upgrade the access points at some point in the future without having to buy a new PoE switch?

2  @Philip81 

  @Philip81 

Start with a Gigabit switch and one or two Fast Ethernet access points for cost-efficiency and initial coverage. This allows for potential future upgrades without replacing the switch, ensuring flexibility and performance alignment with your charity's growth.