Yeah I think so too!

Sure can - at the right hand end of the sliders there is a 'details' link. If you click that you get 2 text input boxes that allow you to set the up and down speeds independent of each other.

Z

My original thread intimated at my thoughts about free or open wifi, the business I work in, security is pretty important so I'm with you on that. I haven't done a penetration test on the Meraki itself...yet, but it's pretty easy to pop a firewall between it and your network.

Activity itself is not logged by the mini or the dashboard, but every device that connects is. It's dead easy to block specific users. There is always going to be some moron try to leech your bandwidth, break or do stupid things. I don't intend on letting the few wreck it for the many (or me).

Z

I was playing with the idea of connecting it to my current Airport Express, but when I tried to order one, they said you should order two as they don't recommend running them off 3rd party routers?!

Any comments on if it will work / effects? I browsed through their forum and couldn't really find anything about this.

I don't have an ethernet port I can plug the unit into, as I go straight from my ADSL modem to the airport express, then I just have my MBP. I 'could' share my ethernet port on the MBP, but then it means I can't take my laptop anywhere

Question:

How are these better than Aiport Expresses in WDS mode?

Apart from the obvious scenario when you exceed the WDS repeater limits. But for individual use or with one of two of them do they offer any advantage?

I've got five Airport Expresses at the moment, but want better signal strength and range. But these would be pricey once shipped from the US.

al

I saw that pop-up too, it reads:
Meraki units are designed to be used with other Meraki units to cover large areas with Wi-Fi. We do not recommend using a Meraki access point to repeat the signal of a non-Meraki wireless access point.

The way I understood that is the units are designed to repeat other Meraki signals, they should work fine with any wired router. They pick up an address from your LAN (with DHCP) then give wifi clients an address in a different range (NAT).

Sounds like you need to get yourself a router!

It would end up looking something like:

Modem->Router->Airport--wireless--Macbook
->Meraki--wireless--random people

Or, you can use the Meraki for your private network too (Public Tier and Private Tier)..But that example is pretty much what I have setup now and it works fine. As mentioned above, you can also drop a firewall (another router) between the Meraki and your LAN.

Z

There are lots of bits to this question so bear with me!

I'm not sure you can really say they are better or worse...Meraki are targeted specifically for spreading wifi and sharing your connection using a mesh, the Airport is not really for that...not even in WDS mode. My userstanding of WDS is that it's for extending a network, not meshing them together (or to create new ones).

It really depends what you are trying to achieve...But the absolute simplicity of the Meraki would probally give it an edge when it comes to spreading (and sharing) a wifi network. It doesnt have the media features, intergrationgor 802.11n like the Airport but WDS mode doesn't have the online monitoring, public sharing (billing) or meshing.


Sounds like you are pretty commited to the Airport network already, unless you want to contribute to public wifi or have a specific aim, I's say stick to what you are doing.

As I said in my previous post, Meraki units don't repeat non-Meraki signals so you would have to start over. Depending on the distance you are trying to cover, one Outdoor unit with a high-gain antenna might do the job by itself.

Z

Thanks for your ongoing info I think I would do the same as yourself and just replace the APE with the new unit.

I've also been having a look at the Open-mesh set up. They are substantially cheaper at only $40US a unit, but the Open-mesh unit doesn't appear to have private network like the Meraki does.

I suppose the things stopping me are, the talk on the Meraki forum is the lack of control people have as they decide to upgrade and change things (including firmware / ads etc). Also the cost of the repeater units.

I would purchase the outdoor pro model, but to build a network using those would need some revenue coming in. I could charge for the net access to cover this, but I think this moves away from the point of free internet for all.

If I could confirm the Open-mesh units would allow unlimited speed for particular users, then I'd probably go this way. I think there is more chance of people spending $40 (approx) to help extend the network. Hmm.....

Would love feedback on any of this if people have been able to find additional information that I've missed.

Zillatron, what was the all-up cost in Oz dollars?

I think you miss what I am getting at...

I would not suggest people use this sort of Network to doing for say, one example only, Internet Banking. Sure your Freenet might be safe to use, but if everyone thought that, and some really bad people started making free Internet available then the end user could be in for same pain.

I have heard this happen at hotels/motels already, someone in the room next door offers pretend Internet and steals private data.

I was not talking about un-authorized users, I was talking about the user who starts downloading kiddie porn, which will show up as you downloading kiddie porn at your ISPs end, and the authorities will come knocking on your door.

You're welcome! Happy to help.

I agree - my plan is only to fund the cost of the hardware..If I can buy more units it means more coverage which means more people can use it which means more units...etc etc

If it doesn't work out, it will just take longer to expand

If you do decide to go down the Meraki path, make sure you let me know and I'll add you onto the bulk buy list..

Z

It was $193 USD, so about $205 Oz dollars..the shipping was about $44 USD, so not cheap.

Hence the interest in bulk buying

Z

A good point - there are lots of things you can do to protect yourself. Here are some simple tips

Oh no, neither was I. The problem is two fold, 'network security' and what I call 'moron security'.
The first you can fix with firewalls, the second is a whole other thread's worth of discussion in itself...comes down to how much risk is too much for you.

Unfortunately the problem of people doing bad things with your network exists even without free wifi...

Z

Well I checked with the open-mesh guys and they informed me it will support two networks, one bandwidth shaped and the other private (all mind baby!).

So I've ordered an open-mesh unit, delivered for about $70US. I'll let you know how it goes once it arrives. If I had known you were going to do a bulk buy, I might have added myself before I bought this one. Oh well, I'll put this one down to product testing

So anyone else in Melbourne interested in this? I'm in the Footscray area so I'll be working on a network here

zillatron, as noted before. Put me down for contact on the next group buy. I am thinking of getting a Pro Mini unit so I can recoup some cost of any usage by neighbors who might not be able to get a more permanent internet arrangement (other then slow dialup).

Nice review.

EDIT: and hopefully it's not too long before a group buy happens

Absolutely! The list is in this post. If you want to be on it and you aren't please let me know!

Thanks!

You bet, can't remember where I said it, but I'm moving house in the about 2 weeks...so shortly after that. But I'll PM everyone on the list in advance...

Z