Hi! I am about to set up a new small home office wireless network for the first time. The concrete building has 2 floors & 3 sections divided by 2 concrete walls. I am including two MK3 Surf Soho routers as part of the setup. The problem I tend to have is that there is wifi on only one side or in only one section of the building.
My previous network includes some wireless extenders, which greatly boosted coverage in the building, but the security on them just isn’t enough. (They can be hacked easily.)
What other Peplink products can I use to boost coverage in the entire building without compromising the security offered by the MK3?
In one of the threads I read, someone recommended an AP One AC mini, but I could not tell from reading the specs whether I could disable WEP & run only WPA-2, NOT a combination of WPA & WPA-2.
Also, I had seen some Pepwave indoor & outdoor antennas. Might they help the situation as well?
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
Hi. First, it does not sound like this application points to the use of two routers. Two (or more?) access points – maybe. Two routers – no. (Don’t confuse the concept of router and AP.) The SOHO is a superior product but is limited to a single AP – logical for it’s role in the product line and market. If the circumstances suggest more than a single AP we’d probably suggest the use of something like the Balance 20 and as many APs as needed [up to the limit of the controller’s capacity, of course]. The Balance series has a built-in AP controller which works well.
We’d never recommend the use of an “extender”-type device. Better to just engineer it right the first time. While there are optional antennas, as you suggest, We’d not plan to use them from the start unless there was a compelling need. You may be well-served to look up a Peplink Partner in your area to help with this project if you are unfamiliar with planning and executing such projects.
And, yes, one can run WPA-2 only on Peplink/Pepwave devices.