Mesh wifi that supports more than one guest network?

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tangoseal

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Is anyone out there using a mesh networking system that supports more than one guest network?

I am trying to upgrade my mother in laws home.

At my home I use Unifi Enterprise stuff, but no, not at her house.

I am an ex network engineer but I am not up to speed on what vendor offers multiple guest networks on their mesh systems in the home market.
 
Ubiquiti has their own mesh stuff, and their Unifi stuff can also mesh (as opposed to hooking up ethernet). Downside being that Unifi doesn't work at that level without a controller to my knowledge, but their mesh line is pretty straightforward.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
Ubiquiti has their own mesh stuff, and their Unifi stuff can also mesh (as opposed to hooking up ethernet). Downside being that Unifi doesn't work at that level without a controller to my knowledge, but their mesh line is pretty straightforward.
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Yeah I'm just asking what Home grade mesh system supports more than 1 guest network.

I'm all about unifi enterprise but not at my mother in laws.
 
Orbi Pro can support up to 3 SSIDs, apparently. However, they aren't entirely isolated from each other. And that's borderline commercial gear.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Multiple-SSIDs/m-p/1524249

You could roll something like DD-WRT, but again, once you hit that, you may as well be running Unifi.

Amplifi, the consumer mesh product from Unifi, can do up two SSIDs if you split bands, and each of the bands would have a Guest network (for a total of 4 SSIDs)

I think you really are better off with Unifi though, so long as your parents aren't the ones doing the install. You don't need to leave a controller running or have a cloud key or license - you can just configure them once and let them run. It ends up being a good deal cheaper than the consumer mesh stuff.

Or if you just are dead set against Unifi, you could purchase two different systems. Have one broadcast public + Guest, let the second be hidden except for the guest. That could get really crowded channel-wise though, especially if those consumer ones are trying to use wireless backhauls like most do.
 
Brian_B said:
Orbi Pro can support up to 3 SSIDs, apparently. However, they aren't entirely isolated from each other. And that's borderline commercial gear.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Multiple-SSIDs/m-p/1524249

You could roll something like DD-WRT, but again, once you hit that, you may as well be running Unifi.

Amplifi, the consumer mesh product from Unifi, can do up two SSIDs if you split bands, and each of the bands would have a Guest network (for a total of 4 SSIDs)

I think you really are better off with Unifi though, so long as your parents aren't the ones doing the install. You don't need to leave a controller running or have a cloud key or license - you can just configure them once and let them run. It ends up being a good deal cheaper than the consumer mesh stuff.

Or if you just are dead set against Unifi, you could purchase two different systems. Have one broadcast public + Guest, let the second be hidden except for the guest. That could get really crowded channel-wise though, especially if those consumer ones are trying to use wireless backhauls like most do.
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So after a sit down we've decided that I am going to just go pro.

Usg
2x unifi mesh AP.

This will be perfect because she said she wants perfect wifi without having to ever touch it.

She's really impressed with my house too. You know being full unifi commercial.

She needs true isolated ssid because she rents her basement via AirBnB and offers internet. Her current setup is absolutely horrific. Going to fix it all tomorrow for her with true Unifi gear.
 
I want to say that the need to run a Unifi controller somewhere for anything more complicated than adding an access point is certainly a bit of a turnoff.

It's not a hard thing to do, but it is another thing to maintain that can fail at some point.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
I want to say that the need to run a Unifi controller somewhere for anything more complicated than adding an access point is certainly a bit of a turnoff.

It's not a hard thing to do, but it is another thing to maintain that can fail at some point.
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You don't need to. I hardly ever go into my Controller. Its Java based and can be installed on any local PC. It runs on my Plex server... and I use the Android app just to check things and upgrade code. For me after I tweaked my channels and power ratings its set and forget.
 
Maybe grab a unifi cloud key for the controller and as a way to manage it off-site.
 
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Vengance_01 said:
You don't need to. I hardly ever go into my Controller. Its Java based and can be installed on any local PC. It runs on my Plex server... and I use the Android app just to check things and upgrade code. For me after I tweaked my channels and power ratings its set and forget.
Click to expand...

I was more responding to the OP, with respect to using Unifi for multiple guest networks etc. The APs are very easy to use by themselves and the controller can be run occasionally for maintenance, however, doing something more complicated generally necessitates running the controller perpetually.
 
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