Hello friends! I’ve been doing some research for WiFi for a coffee shop and need some advice.
My requirements are as follows:
- guest network and POS network (both WiFi)
- coverage of 3200 sq feet, 280 of which are a separate room
- capacity is 101 people. Assuming worst case scenario (unlikely), everyone walks in with a phone and a smart watch and half the people bring a laptop and the place is full, meaning we need support for 250+ devices
Here are my options as I understand them:
- UniFi Edgerouter X with 3 access points (one in the separate room and 2 in the main area)
- Similar setup but with TP link omada router plus 3 TP link access points in a similar configuration as prior point
More info:
- the owners are not tech savvy so we need a set and forget system
- I am a software engineer with some networking knowledge so set up must be “intermediate” in complexity
- I’m not getting paid for this, I’m just helping out
- it doesn’t have to be fancy but I assume rated for small-business usage since people will go there to watch Netflix, do homework, browse the internet etc.
- potentially prioritize bandwidth to the POS WiFi network for obvious reasons
Which system do you recommend? Any particular models you advise I use? Any other options? I try to avoid off the shelf systems for home because they don’t support the peak amount of users we need.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance.
I like Grandstream kit, three of their access points like the GWN 7660 will be more than enough since each one supports 500 concurrent connections and up to 32 SSID’s. You can mesh them and manage them all from one central master, also remotely via the Internet. For more details take a look at https://www.grandstream.com/products/networking-solutions/indoor-wifi-access-points/product/gwn7660