Purchase Advice - Mesh Wireless Network

[ccitox1]

Hello Community,

My employer's accommodation consists of an office and a non-adjacent meeting room, in the same building. The offices are leased with all utilities provided with the lease, including wired Internet connectivity. We have a staff count of <50 - all hybrid.

The current Network equipment is: the office has a Ubiquity WAP, the meeting room a TP-Link WAP. The Network has grown ad hoc as the company has grown over the past few years. All the equipment was previously used in the home of one of the company founders.

It's now past time to build a more professional Network. I'm thinking of purchasing 3x WAPs - 2x to provide redundancy for the main office and 1x for the meeting room. My research thus far has led me to form a shortlist of the following options:

1. Cisco Catalyst 9117 Series Access Points.

So, what does the community think of my shortlisted options? Can a Mesh Network be created between just 9117s or will we need a separate controller? Any gotchas or tips you can share?

Thanks in advance for your help, Mark

[marce1000]

  - These devices can't do Mesh , but you are better of with them (taking into account sufficient wireless coverage ) , including a controller  (for the APs to connect to) ; in the end becoming a basic solution allowing for flexible (AP) growth if needed , 

 M.

[jagan.chowdam · Accepted solution]

Cisco announced EOL for 9117 series Access Points

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9100ax-access-points/eos-eol-notice-c51-744421.html

End of sale date was: April 30, 2021

The replacement AP is Cisco 9130AX series. 

I would also look at Cisco Meraki Access Points. https://meraki.cisco.com/products/wi-fi/models/

CW9164 or CW9166 can provide similar functionality as 9130AX plus Wi-Fi 6E. I've attached comparison sheet here.

Wi-Fi 6E will get you investment protection for future plus Cloud managed Meraki will ease the deployment, monitor and management. And Meraki APs can do Mesh as well.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Wi-Fi_Basics_and_Best_Practices/Wireless_Mesh_Networking

Jagan Chowdam

/**Pls rate useful responses**/

[Rich R]

Absolutely second @jagan.chowdam 's reply.

Mesh is always a last resort option, only where absolutely needed, so avoid it.  Cable connected AP is always better.  Meraki can use mesh as backup if there's a cable fault.

[ccitox1]

Thanks to marce1000, Rich R and especially to jagan.chowdam.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to answer my query. As I result I'm now going to change course toward Meraki models CW9164 / CW9166.

Thanks again, Mark