More robust / rugged router for garage

Flake87 · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:33

I have a detached garage which has an ethernet cable run between it and the house. It is a reasonable building with a tile roof dry, but not heated, as such it is a more hostile environment than many of the home routers appear to be designed for.

The intention is to install it around 10 - 12foot up, maybe wall mounted but no necessarily. Will a conventional router survive this environment, or is there a more rugged device available for such places. I've never seen such a thing so I'm a little at a loss here.

ChrisD. · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:34

Do you want a router or wireless access point?

Caged · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:35

I think you'll be fine if you just leave it turned on, the heat generated by the device will prevent it getting below the point where you'd have issues

Flake87 · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:44

ChrisD. said:
Do you want a router or wireless access point?

WiFi router, probably going to add a Poe switch later for IP cameras as well.

ChrisD. · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:54

Flake87 said:
WiFi router, probably going to add a Poe switch later for IP cameras as well.

To replace the router in your house? Or in addition to? In which case you'll need a wireless access point and not a router - they're different things.

BigT · 9 Apr 2021 at 11:58

Flake87 said:
WiFi router

Really? What's on the other end of the ethernet cable into the house? Does it not go into your ISP router ultimately? If so adding another router seems wasteful and depending on how configured will likely introduce double-NAT. I would have thought an outdoor access point would be the right next step - something like a Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Pro is rated 'outdoorsy' enough for this type of situation.

Flake87 · 9 Apr 2021 at 12:12

ChrisD. said:
To replace the router in your house? Or in addition to? In which case you'll need a wireless access point and not a router - they're different things.

Probably right but most routers are switchable to allow both options and still maintain the flexibility. The ISP box is in Modem mode to an 8 way switch.

BigT · 9 Apr 2021 at 13:20

Flake87 said:
Probably right but most routers are switchable to allow both options and still maintain the flexibility. The ISP box is in Modem mode to an 8 way switch.

True, but as you've discovered robust routers for outdoor applications are few and far between. Better to get the job done with something fit for purpose. Also if your ISP box is in modem only mode and straight into a switch what is doing your network routing at home? Where is your DHCP server residing for example?

alex24 · 9 Apr 2021 at 13:25

Sounds like you want an outdoor wireless AP, which would be a lot easier and cheaper to find. I don't recall ever seeing an outdoor router.

If your modem is currently set to modem mode, what is doing the routing/DNS/DHCP on your network today?

Flake87 · 9 Apr 2021 at 17:52

alex24 said:
Sounds like you want an outdoor wireless AP, which would be a lot easier and cheaper to find. I don't recall ever seeing an outdoor router.

If your modem is currently set to modem mode, what is doing the routing/DNS/DHCP on your network today?

There's an 8 port router / switch without WiFi doing that the WAP routers plug into that and yes they are routers set to WAP.

I think probably Caged has the thoughts I have, that an ordinary home router set to WAP is going to be able to survive in what is not exactly an outdoor environment, shouldn't get wet, but might get a bit cold at times. UK weather doesn't normally get much below zero and not for prolonged times so probably just a cheap one would do the job.

WJA96 · 10 Apr 2021 at 09:11

Yes, any old router/wAP will be fine in that environment. Just don’t buy one with a fan. Cold isn’t ever an issue unless you have displays on equipment. I’ve yet to see a router/wAP that’s not rated to something like -40C.

It is a poor solution though compared to dedicated access points. If you did add a PoE switch later, you could just plug the access point into the PoE switch rather than the other way round.

apachegoose · 10 Apr 2021 at 14:13

alex24 said:
Sounds like you want an outdoor wireless AP, which would be a lot easier and cheaper to find. I don't recall ever seeing an outdoor router.

They exist, Mikrotik do them. They are about some of the best options available if you need external switching generally all PoE (802.3) out as well, even have one (netPower 16P) that is powered via reverse power over one of the connections so you can connect it via a SFP+ feed then only have the fiber cable and the Ethernet cables running to it - although that is more intended for other countries where you connect to your fiber connection via a transceiver, something not possible in the UK unless you use B4RN or a couple of other alt nets.

Flake87 · 11 Apr 2021 at 13:08

It appears that there are devices like the Draytek AP 903 which offer Poe, at least in to power the device but it would appear not available to power other devices. Is there a WAP with PoE out to kill two birds with one stone? The AP 903 is not a cheap device at £135 but perhaps cost effective if it could combine PoE and an access point.

apachegoose · 11 Apr 2021 at 13:16

Flake87 said:
It appears that there are devices like the Draytek AP 903 which offer Poe, at least in to power the device but it would appear not available to power other devices. Is there a WAP with PoE out to kill two birds with one stone? The AP 903 is not a cheap device at £135 but perhaps cost effective if it could combine PoE and an access point.

Mikrotik has one similar, Omnitik but its not much cheaper.

WJA96 · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:19

apachegoose said:
Mikrotik has one similar, Omnitik but its not much cheaper.

24V Passive PoE only though.

WJA96 · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:21

Flake87 said:
It appears that there are devices like the Draytek AP 903 which offer Poe, at least in to power the device but it would appear not available to power other devices. Is there a WAP with PoE out to kill two birds with one stone? The AP 903 is not a cheap device at £135 but perhaps cost effective if it could combine PoE and an access point.

Unifi UAP-AC-IW - 2 1GbE ports, one is PoE out
Unifi UAP-AC-IW-Pro - 2 1GbE ports, one is PoE out
Unifi UAP-HD - 4 1GbE ports, one is PoE out

apachegoose · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:36

WJA96 said:
24V Passive PoE only though.

The old 100mbps version is but nobody should be using that any more and surprised they still list it. The AC version is 802.3 out.

apachegoose · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:39

WJA96 said:
Unifi UAP-AC-IW - 2 1GbE ports, one is PoE out
Unifi UAP-AC-IW-Pro - 2 1GbE ports, one is PoE out
Unifi UAP-HD - 4 1GbE ports, one is PoE out

None of those are outdoor rated, which is one of his requirements.

Caged · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:39

I wouldn't be clamouring to buy MikroTik for Wi-Fi access

The Cisco 145AC is their version of the UniFi In-Wall which is another option to consider https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/produ...-01-bus-145ac-ap-ds-cte-en.html?ccid=cc001530

Flake87 · 11 Apr 2021 at 14:50

apachegoose said:
None of those are outdoor rated, which is one of his requirements.

Outdoor rated is not necessarily a requirement as it will be in a garage and it's her btw !