Need an advice on buying an access point for a small company

Hey guys,

I need an advice on buying an access point for a small company with 20-25 computers. I need to buy an access point that could support vlan (it is my first time doing this). I have two question:

1-Is this access point enough for this network?

2-Can someone explain to me what this means, on the specifications it says:
it says 1 management vlan and 8 vlan per ssid, I don't get this part. For instance if I create 5 vlan on my switch can I map them to the access point or not? How many vlans can I create with this access point? 1 or 8?

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PurpleIT

sattar wrote: »

Hey guys,

I need an advice on buying an access point for a small company with 20-25 computers. I need to buy an access point that could support vlan (it is my first time doing this). I have two question:

1-Is this access point enough for this network?

Probably. Will they be connecting their phones/tablets too? What's the physical layout? Will one AP give you sufficient coverage?

I typically figure 20-25 users per AP, but it depends on the users, the bandwidth and a few other variables.

[edit] - That page says, "Recommended user support - Up to 32 connective users, 20 active users" so depending on the users' habits you are right up there.

2-Can someone explain to me what this means, on the specifications it says:
it says 1 management vlan and 8 vlan per ssid, I don't get this part. For instance if I create 5 vlan on my switch can I map them to the access point or not? How many vlans can I create with this access point? 1 or 8?

It actually says "8 VLAN for SSID" which means you can map your 5 VLANs on your switch. It also has one management VLAN.

Depending on your situation, you might also want to look at the Meraki line - http://meraki.cisco.com/ - it is a cloud based managed AP that does some pretty neat stuff.

CodeBlox

Yeah, but Meraki is still cloud based as you mentioned :P and if you don't pay the bill, it's disabled and does not work.

networker050184

I like the Aruba with "Instant mode" virtual controllers for small office deployments. Incredibly easy and reliable.

NinjaBoy

I do like Ruckus kit, their ac stuff that's just come out ain't bad

Trashman

sattar wrote: »

Hey guys,

I need an advice on buying an access point for a small company with 20-25 computers. I need to buy an access point that could support vlan (it is my first time doing this). I have two question:

1-Is this access point enough for this network?

Been running 3x WAP321 on different locations within the building for a year now with Single Point Setup, and it works extremely well.
Highly recommend this product.

sattar

Thank you all for your help and advice.

@PurpleIT

Could you tell me what is the difference between management vlan and ssid vlan?

Will they be connecting their phones/tablets too?

Yes they will connect their phones and tablets or even laptops, but most of the computers will be connected via cable to a switch.

Will one AP give you sufficient coverage?

Yes it will give me enough coverage.

What's the physical layout?

Their network topology is a mess, I have to eliminate some dumb switches and buy management switches instead, but is there any kind of standard diagram or topology or even a book to guide me how to design a network? or being able to design a network needs experience?

PurpleIT

sattar wrote: »

Could you tell me what is the difference between management vlan and ssid vlan?

SSID VLANs will be VLANs assigned to various SSIDs. Ideally the SSIDs will have NO management access (security issue). A VLAN may have more than one SSID depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Your management VLAN is just that - if you have a separate management VLAN on the network you can connect and manage the APs via that and the users will have no access to something they shouldn't be playing around with.

Yes they will connect their phones and tablets or even laptops, but most of the computers will be connected via cable to a switch.

Look at total connected devices and how much they are used instead of the number of users. Phones and tablets usually don't use much bandwidth since they typically are for email and maybe streaming music. If most of the work and therefore most of the bandwidth will be on the wired network you will probably be OK.

Their network topology is a mess, I have to eliminate some dumb switches and buy management switches instead, but is there any kind of standard diagram or topology or even a book to guide me how to design a network? or being able to design a network needs experience?

Given the certification bias of this site I feel obligated to mention the CCDA learning materials, but truth be told for a network of this size there probably isn't much to it.

Users and servers connect to switches, the switches need to route between VLANs so either L3 switches or a router are in order and then connect to a firewall of some sort. Depending on your Internet connection you may not need an outside router as your firewall may do everything you need.