Wifi Network Setup (not sonos)

[ob2s]

I have a new house to set up and had a question about wifi zones, not Sonos, since almost all my sonos components will be 'wired' up. I am going to have three wifi routers in 3 different areas of the house. I was thinking that each would broadcast the same SSID but run on a different frequency, with the centralized broadband router doing all the DHCP, however I have read that as you move from one zone to the other, most devices will hold on the first signal for dear life, to the point of a diminishing performance. So my second thought was to give each router a different SSID (same network, diff frequencies), so least I would know that I need to change routers once I have moved on. What makes the most sense ? One of the main reasons for my concern is that my cellphone has UMA and uses wifi to make standard carrier calls because there is NO cell signal in my neighborhood. I'd like to take the phone around the house with me, but I KNOW I won't be fiddling with the buttons to change SSIDs every time I move about, but I certainly will switch SSIDs with laptops, since it is so easy to do.

Thanks !!

PS I also plan to statically map MAC addresses to IPs in DHCP setup, so the ip will be consistent for each device.

[RobertWillis]

In our office all of our Access points has the same SSID and when I move with my laptop it switches to the one with the higher signal. It will hold onto the existing connection until it degrades before switching.

Since I am not in the office I cannot confirm if they are all set to teh same channel.

[ob2s]

Thanks RW. If you find out about channel let me know.

Originally Posted by RobertWillis

In our office all of our Access points has the same SSID and when I move with my laptop it switches to the one with the higher signal. It will hold onto the existing connection until it degrades before switching.

Since I am not in the office I cannot confirm if they are all set to the same channel.

[ratty]

My advice would be to stick with the same SSID/key to ease roaming. Access point channel allocations will depend on overlap between adjacent APs, but if you can do so then alternate adjacent APs between 1, 6 and 11 (being mindful of the channel which Sonos is using of course).

It's not a disaster if adjacent APs are set to the same channel: they'll simply compete for bandwidth but you may never notice.

[buzz]

In my experience the newer PC's will easily roam across different channels, but Mac's tend to be balky about this. In the end you need to try to see what you can get away with.

[ob2s]

good point, doesn't have to be right the first time.

Originally Posted by buzz

In my experience the newer PC's will easily roam across different channels, but Mac's tend to be balky about this. In the end you need to try to see what you can get away with.

[ControlFreak]

I have a new house to set up and had a question about wifi zones, not Sonos, since almost all my sonos components will be 'wired' up. I am going to have three wifi routers in 3 different areas of the house. I was thinking that each would broadcast the same SSID but run on a different frequency, with the centralized broadband router doing all the DHCP, however I have read that as you move from one zone to the other, most devices will hold on the first signal for dear life, to the point of a diminishing performance. So my second thought was to give each router a different SSID (same network, diff frequencies), so least I would know that I need to change routers once I have moved on. What makes the most sense ? One of the main reasons for my concern is that my cellphone has UMA and uses wifi to make standard carrier calls because there is NO cell signal in my neighborhood. I'd like to take the phone around the house with me, but I KNOW I won't be fiddling with the buttons to change SSIDs every time I move about, but I certainly will switch SSIDs with laptops, since it is so easy to do.

The SSID shouldn't matter, but like you said devices like to hang on to the access point for dear life.

Best way to avoid this is to install access point management hardware which is remarkably expensive...or use UniFi.

[Diderik From]

Wouldn't this depend on whether wireless distribution system (WDS) is set up? Just placing three different routers with the same SSID would just create three separate networks and it would not be obvious which is which (?). Neither my linux-pc nor my mac will switch automatically between these different networks. If you set it up as WDS, however, all routers should be on the same channel (I would pick auto if you have neighbouring networks) and you laptop/cell should switch to the one with the best signal.
I may be mistaken, but I believe that is how it works in my setup.

[ControlFreak]

Wouldn't this depend on whether wireless distribution system (WDS) is set up?

WDS cuts your throughput in half because it acts like a repeater. Its not supported by the WiFiAlliance so you are forced to use identical products to ensure compatibility.

Despite its disadvantages it works very well for a small system and is a very viable option, thank you for pointing it out.

[drsox]

Not sure if I have 100% of your problem in mind, but I have a similar system already running.
I have a large L shaped house (4 floors with a long ground floor).
Cat6 is on each floor, but to accommodate a MacBook Air, iPad and iPhone I have 4 Apple routers installed.
There are 3 Airport Express and 1 Airport Extreme (Does DHCP and is in the attic connected to ADSL via modem).
The 3 Express units are in Bridge mode and act as access points to the wired LAN.
All 4 units have the same SSID and WPA2 etc but operate on different channels AND frequency bands (to allow the iPhone to connect)
One is 2.4Ghz n, one is 5Ghz n, two are mixed mode.
No problems making them all work together and the Apple bits connect to whichever is nearby at varying data rates.

Let me know if more detail would be helpful.