Omada controller configuration for access points

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.

Omada controller configuration for access points

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Omada controller configuration for access points
Omada controller configuration for access points
2020-09-02 18:55:28
Model: OC200  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

For our hotel we installed 5 x eap 225 access points and omada cloud OC200 connected to poe switches. The system is working ok  but  I would like to optimise and  give the best for customer experience signal, strength, speed etc. What would be best practice for access point configuration both bands 2.4 and 5. Channel selection, channel width , tx power and anything you believe would work. 

Thank you all!

 

  0      
  0      
#1
Options
3 Reply
Re:Omada controller configuration for access points
2020-09-02 23:20:16

Hi @Nek,

 

Welcome!  I believe TP-Link has a variety of deployment guides and best practices on their website:

 

For example:

https://community.tp-link.com/en/business/kb/27

 

Some background information would be helpful:
 

1) Could you describe the layout of your hotel (in the context of the 5 AP's?) 

2) How many rooms/floors?  The typical number of guests?  Country?

3) What are the walls/floors made of? 

4) What bandwidth do you have available from your ISP to be shared by guests?  Generally speaking, you'll want to throttle Wifi clients to 5-10 Mbit/sec or they will rapidly consume all of your internet BW.

5) Have you isolated your business network from your customer network?

 

How will guests access the WIfi?  Will you give them a password?  Vouchers?  Open Access (not recommended).

 

-Jonathan

 

  0  
  0  
#2
Options
Re:Omada controller configuration for access points
2020-09-03 10:24:04 - last edited 2020-09-03 10:24:49

@JSchnee21 

 

Hi there Jonathan , thanks alot for your interest i will get back with the requested info  and typology later in the day.

 

  0  
  0  
#3
Options
Re:Omada controller configuration for access points
2020-09-03 15:16:19

Hi @Nek,

 

Sure, my pleasure.  For larger hotels with concrete firewalls (and floors) it's common to put an access point in every hotel room.  TP-Link makes some nice wall mounted units that also have ethernet jacks and/or PoE for hardwiring TV's and phones in addition to providing customer wifi.(EAP 225 Wall & 235 Wall).

 

You can use regular ceiling mounted AP's (EAP225 or EAP245) for lobbies, conference rooms, and other big open areas or larger rooms.  And EAP-225 Outdoor for courtyards, pool side, etc.

 

You'll want to evaluate how much band width you have available for customers from your ISP -- for example 100 Mbit/s or 1000 Mbit/sec and then roughly divide by the number of simultaneously wifi users you are expecting.  The OC-200 or Omada/SDN server software can controll the BW allowed to each wireless user.

 

For example, if you have 100 Mbit/s service (for your customers -- separate from your business) then this can supply roughly 20 simultaneous users 5 Mbit/sec each -- which is just enough to stream a video, Zoom, or Facetime, for example.

 

You need to isolate your business network from your customer network either by using VLAN's or by physically separating the networks (aka two separate feeds from your ISP). 

 

If you're doing this yourself, and don't have prior experience with VLAN's, I'd recommend keeping the two networks physically separate.  It means buying a little more hardware and subscribing to two separate services, but it's easier to understand/manage/maintain security in the long run.

 

But if you are leveraging a local IT service provider to install, configure, and support the system then using VLAN's offers a number of advantages -- mainly that you won't have extra equipment and can more flexibly shift resources from one VLAN to the other.  Of course the downside is that if it's not set up correctly your customers may have no internet access or may have access to your business PC's -- neither of which is good (-:

 

-Jonathan

  0  
  0  
#4
Options