Hi @CesarV,

Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "seamless" roaming.

As long as both AP's are connected to the same network (which you say they are via a PoE switch) and as long as they use the same DHCP server (likely your broadband router), and as long as the AP's are configured with the same SSID(s), encryption setting (e.g. WPA2) and passwords clients can easily roam from AP to AP.  I would recommend setting the AP's to use sepatate channels and you may need to turn down the transmit power to Med or so on one or both AP's (depending on the size of your house and how far apart the AP's are).

For most applications, normal, basic roaming (as described above) is fine.  But, to get "Fast Roaming" (802.11 k/v) you need to run a separate ESSID controller on your  to enable this.  Either the free Omada software from TP-Link or the OC-200 controller device.

Fast roaming is a newer feature that not all clients (STA's) support.  It is supposted to help prevent drops/disruptions during real time streamings like VOIP, etc.  I've tried both approaches in my home and haven't really found the need for the Fats Roaming for the applications I use.

But I already bought the OC-200 (I had used the free software previously) so I have it enabled anyway.  I really like the OC-200 it's great for monitoring network health and utilization and to centrally manage multiple AP's.

-Jonathan

@JSchnee21 Thank you very much for your detailed answer.

Reading further the specs sheets in the documentation, I can't find whether the EAP-225-WALL accept or not the 802.11 k/v/r protocols.

However the home page in TP-Link shows the three products, outdoor, wall and ceiling AP in a photo, and I would be surprised if any of the three does not support this feature.

However, it is not in the documentation.

Regards,

Cesar

Hi @CesarV,

I cannot say for certain whether ot not the EAP-225-WALL supports 802.11 k/v/r protocols as I don't have one.  But, I cannot see why it would not since these enhancements are not handled by the AP itself, anyway (but rather passed off to the controller).  Fast roaming is handled by the Omada controller server software either running on a PC (Windows, Linux, etc.) or running on the OC-200 management device. But, this product might use a different chipset than the other 225 series products.

BUT, unlike the EAP225 Outdoor which shows up in the 802.11k/v literature on TP-Link's website, and whose firmware prominantly lists fast roaming improvements, I see no such references to the "Wall" version.

Hopefully R1D2 or someone from TP-Link will chime in.

-Jonathan 

@JSchnee21 thank you very much for all your anwers.

I still have some question. After reading and watching some of the videos here, I still don't get the need (or advantage) of the OC 200 controller for a residential/smalloffice situation like mine. I will be installing 4 access points in my place.

There's a tutorial that says that for one or two EAP, you can easly go without controller, yet I don't see if this is a fixed limit or recommended. I would suppose all sum up to the fact that I will be replicating settings through each EAP for as much as I have, and that's it.

What do I miss if I run my EAP without the OC-200 controller?

Thanks in advance,

Cesar

Hi @CesarV,

The Omada server (free application software you can download and run on a PC of your choice) or running on the dedicated OC-200 appliance, enables the following capabilities (in a nutshell):

1) Centralized administration, management, and monitoring

2) 802.11k/v Fast Roaming coordination

3) Wireless MESH configuration and dynamic failover

4) Remote cloud accessibility (to the management interface)

5) On prem portal (for captive portal Wifi deployments)

So, the long and short answer is that you don't need it per se.  You can do without 1,3,4, and 5.  And clients will still roam from AP to AP even without #2..  But to enable Fast Roaming (eliminates re-negotiation of the WPA2 encryption key as STA's roam from AP to AP saving ~100-200msec or so of handover delay.

I only have a small home network myself (2xEAP225's (adding an outdoor soon), and the OC200).  When I first started I used the built in web pages on each AP.  Then I moved to the Omada software, but running it on a PC all the time kinda sucked.  So I just bought the OC-200 last Fall when it came out (it was $200 at the time) and I love it,

Now when my wife or kids call me in the middle of the day while I'm at work to complain that "the Wifi doesn't work" I can actually check it on the spot.  Of course, the Wifi is always working fine (thanks to TP-Link) and so is my broadband (thanks to Verizon FIOS).  So inevitably it is either my wife's stupid work laptop, one of her company's crazy networking configs, or one of my kid's gaming servers, discord server, or something else.  Between the Omada App for my smartphone, and the Downdetector app, I can say "not it" in less than 60 seconds (-:

Priceless!

-Jonathan

@JSchnee21 Thank you very much again for your detailed answer!

I'm sorry to add a last, unavoidable question, based on your last response.

Some background that I should say since the my first post. My quest began by searching the best combination of a wifi solution combined with my current wired situation. Wifi has not been a problem because ethernet was available where need, desktops PC's, and TV or media players or consoles....  a total up to 20 devices could be conected in a day: 5 desktop PC, 1 laptop, 4 either TV+Roku or RokuTV,  3 game consoles, 2 Ipad and 5 cellphones..... wow, first time I count them all  and with 3 grown up kids starting college soon we will be adding 3 laptops and this is where my worry started.

Wifi is currently provided by two old linksys AP (different models and capabilities) on front/downstair and bottom/upstair of my house, and my provider router in the middle, near stairs. House is about 60ft long, both stories. We have mortar/brick walls. There different SSID identifiyng the position and though, it is the same password, they don't even have the same exact encryption protocol. So, we're used to manually switch AP as need, but there are parts of the house were wifi signal is very poor and so is speed.

So, my question is, if I just, turn off the WIFI in my router, get rid of the old access points and replace with 3/4 brand new AP with AC1200 capabilities or so... have them all with matching SSID, encryption and passwords........ How is installing 3 or 4 access points EAP-225 better than home-user oriented AP ?

Note, that budget is not necesariy a problem, up to certain extent, I just don't want to overcomplicate my wifi needs with an enterprise solution, though technicality is not a issue either (I'm an IT worker).

Thanks for your understanding.

Cesar

Hi @CesarV,

No worries.  As R1D2 indicated, these business class devices tend to be more stable and support higher numbers of clients than most home user equipment (the two classes of devices generally use different classes/types of Wifi chipsets, amplifiers, and antennas).  This is starting to change somewhat as home MESH solutions from TP-Link and others become more popular and advanced.  But, aside from the hardware itself, you also need to look at the functionality, stability, and frequency of firmware/software updates from the vendor.  TP-Link general does a great job here releasing updates usually twice a year or more for its business class products.

My house is similar, two story, long and skinny, but my ISP comes into my house at one end, rather than in the middle.  I've disable the Wifi on my Verizon FIOS (I have Gigabut fiber)  router and instead replaced the Wifi portion with 2xEAP225V3's (regular ceiling mount version).  I have one at one end of the house (1st floor) in my office (where the router is).  I've sat this one on a table facing up.  The second one I have is at the other end of the house, ceiling mounted on the seconf floor facing down.  Additionally, I have the OC-200.

These two AP's easily handle the 38-45 Wifi clients I have on a daily basis (I have another 20-30 wired clients).  We have two kids, 6 laptops, 3 ipads, 4 phones, multiple Nest cameras, smart home devices, IoT devices, etc.  Even with all of this connected, I generally see Wifi speed tests on my phone or laptop in the 300-500 Mbit/sec range (depending on how far I am away from a particular AP).

In your case, if you already have everything hard wired, you might go with 3 AP's (1st floor center, 2nd floor at either end).  But the one challenge you will have is that there are only two 80MHz wide 5.8GHz channels.  So you may have some overlap.  But you could use one channel on the first floor and the same channel on the second floor.  You'll need to turn the AP transmit power down to Medium or perhaps lower.

A hardwired EAP225 can handle 40-50 clients or more, so with three you should have plenty of capacity and coverage.  Two would be fine as well, but you'd need to move your 1st floor AP closer to one end of the building.

At $58 per EAP225, and $86 for the OC-200 (amazon pricing) these are a great value.  If I were you, I'd probably avoid/skip the EAP225 Wall version.  While I really like the design (especially the accessory RJ45 jacks), the lack of Gigabit ethernet support seems like a huge oversight.  I can see where it makes sense in a hotel (which is what it was designed for) to limit bandwidth to individual clients.  In the home setting, this kinda sux.

-Jonathan

@R1D2 

Thank you very much @R1D2  AND @JSchnee21 for all your helpl and patience!

But EAP235-Wall is on the way and it features a Gigabit interface.

 

That's great news. Any time frame for that to happen !?

Regards,

Cesar