Friday, July 31, 2020

Wireless Bridge Recommendations Needed

I have read a few other similar posts but I figured that I had enough unique requirements that it made sense to make a new post.


I work for an IT department for an organization where we have a few locations that are not on our fiber network. These are mostly locations with a few cameras and such. We have an existing wireless network that is aging out and needs replacement. My biggest issue is that most of these devices are installed on a 100' aerial at their origin. This makes maintenance and replacement an issue as this requires we hire a professional to climb the tower to get to the hardware. There is a mix of makes and models that span years.

I have worked with and we have a mix of Ubiquity, Mimosa, Ruckus, and Mikrotik. I prefer an easy to use UI but in the end its all the same.

  • I would like to replace this aging hardware with a single manufacturer and model if at all possible.
  • I do not have a preference with manufacturer but I lean towards enterprise grade.
  • budgets are flexible but I would like to stay below ~$500 per location and the lower the better.
  • I was thinking that it would benefit me to have a model that allows me to place the radios in our shed and the antenna on the aerial. This will allow me to readily replace the hardware in the case of a failure. Really expensive to hire a pro to climb the tower and replace equipment.
  • Some locations are located in harsh environments/ocean exposure.
  • I don't have a minimum bandwidth requirement. 1Gbps would be nice for future proofing but I can get away with a solid 250Mbps.
  • Most are 1-1 but there is the need for 1-many in a couple spots.
  • Most locations are under ~2 km with the possibility of ~7 km in a couple spots.
  • I have some locations where there are trees in the way.
  • we are in a busy WiFi area so I am not sure if 5Ghz is what I need. I might be able to get access to a licensed frequency but the permit process can take a while so I need to move forward before that.

All in all; I want to unify our wireless bridge network with easily accessible, reliable, and robust equipment.

Thanks for taking the time. I am far from a wireless expert and am relying on the community to help out a fellow sysadmin.



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