Wednesday, October 27, 2021

High-Density Wireless AP/VPN Over Wireless Bridge

Tagged 'Wireless,' but Includes VPN/LAN Routing as well.

This may be a common occurrence, but one of the few times I've been asked to consult on a compact, easy to manage solution. The requirements:

  • Small Booth at A Large Conference (>250 Booths)
  • Only Wireless Connectivity Permitted for the Booths (e.g. Vendors Don't Get Wired)
  • VPN Backhaul Required for In-Booth Applications

My immediate default was a Linksys Wireless Router we'd updated with DD-WRT to provide the VPN and a wireless bridge. And, while this sounds acceptable (local booth clients will be both wired/wireless) it may end up being a "design on-site," job and I'd prefer to have something with which we're comfortable ahead of time.

Wireless was acceptable during last year's attendance, but the VPN was not required. Now, it would be preferable to have gear which (a) handled the wireless bridge and (b) handled the VPN. It doesn't seem available as a single package; rather, we'd need two components from just about any vendor. (Quick pass at Ruckus, Meraki, and Ubiquiti) A compact solution is preferred.

Are there recommendations for something like this? We would prefer to have the LAN side pre-configured and VPN tested ahead of time. That way, just connecting to the remote wireless gateway would be all that is required from the floor of the show.

Thoughts?



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