How to choose the best access point for your restaurant’s WiFi network (part 1)

by Marketing Team | Oct 31, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, WiFi Networks, Wireless Hardware

How to choose the best access point for your restaurant’s WiFi network (part 1)

Are you planning to deploy a new Wi-Fi network in restaurants? Read this article to find out the three main requirements for a successful Wi-Fi deployment.

When setting up a new Wi-Fi network, you need to make sure you choose the right access point depending on the environment in which it will be deployed and your project’s budget. As for Wi-Fi projects targeting restaurants, you need to consider the following aspects: the size of the network’s covered area, the number of concurrent users and internet usage.

1. Location size

The first step to consider is the size of your Wi-Fi network’s location: is the size of your restaurant big, medium or small?

On average, a large restaurant can hold from 80-200 people, a medium-sized restaurant from 30-80 people and a small restaurant from 10-30 people. Depending on the size of your venue, you will need to choose one or more access points to cover the area. Also, should your restaurant include a terrace or a small garden, consider that you will need to install not only indoor but also outdoor devices for your deployment. Check out the list of Tanaza’s supported access points: by being multi-vendor, Tanaza offers a wide range of devices, both for indoor and outdoor environments.

2. Number of concurrent users

Based on your location size, the number of concurrent users connected to your network will vary accordingly. The network of a large restaurant may host approximately a maximum of 30 concurrent Wi-Fi users, the network of a medium-size restaurant may host a maximum of 12 concurrent users, whereas the network of a small deployment will likely handle an average maximum number of 5 concurrent users.

3. Internet usage

Lastly, it is important to pinpoint what kind of online activity your Wi-Fi users will do while being connected to your Wi-Fi network. Indeed, some applications consume more bandwidth than others: for instance, the rate of data transfer in your network – measured in bits per second (bit/s) – will be lower when users message and chat on Facebook, Whatsapp or Telegram, check their emails and browse the web. On the other hand, a higher number of bits per second will be transmitted across your network when users share or download/upload pictures and files on Dropbox and Google Drive, stream Youtube and Netflix videos, make VoIP calls or video calls on Skype.

Read the second part of this article by clicking here!

Tanaza new firmware: upgrade your MikroTik device and get higher performance

by Marketing Team | Oct 25, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Wireless Hardware

Tanaza released a new firmware to increase the overall performance of the Tanaza powered access points.

While almost all of the access points supported by Tanaza were available with the latest firmware version, some access points required a longer process to be developed and upgraded.

Up until recently, the MikroTik devices were part of the second group. However, we are happy to announce that the firmware is now available for them too!

One of the biggest improvements on the latest firmware release is the Captive Portal engine performance, specifically for access points configured with the Captive-on-LAN feature (sometimes called “Gateway” feature). This feature allows our customers to use a Tanaza powered access point as a gateway by adding Tanaza Hotspot management features to an already existing Wi-Fi network.

The problem often faced when using Tanaza as a gateway is that it could lead to a block in the performance funnel. In fact, due to many connection requests coming from the third part access points, only one Tanaza powered device was left to manage all network. Thanks to the huge performance improvement introduced in our latest firmware, you will no longer have to deal with this issue and you can now make the most of your MikroTik access point.

Upgrade now your MikroTik devices to get higher performances from your Tanaza!

If you don’t know how to upgrade your Tanaza firmware, read this article for more info.

Upgrade your firmware

Maximum number of concurrent users per Wi-Fi access point

by Marketing Team | Aug 29, 2017 | All articles, Classic Hotspot, Networking, Wireless Hardware

Maximum number of concurrent users per Wi-Fi access point

In this article, we will provide a list of the top 7 Wi-Fi access points supported by Tanaza to connect the largest possible number of concurrent users under heavy data traffic usage.

When designing your Wi-Fi network, you need to consider client coverage carefully. Indeed, different factors can affect the number of concurrent users a wireless access point can support. Here are the main variables to consider:

AP model: the first thing to keep in mind is that single radio devices handle a smaller number of connected users compared to dual radio access points. Look for the right dual radio Wi-Fi device for your installation with Tanaza: being multi-vendor, you can choose from a wide range of access point models from different vendors.
Bandwidth and throughput: depending on the internet usage of your customers your access point handles a different number of concurrent users. For instance, web browsing and instant messaging require a light bandwidth usage; social media medium/light usage; Skype voice calling medium/heavy usage; video calls and video streaming (Netflix, Youtube) require heavy usage. So, if the majority of guests are uploading pictures on Instagram, a limited number of users will be supported. Conversely, if all customers are sending emails, a larger number of clients will be simultaneously connected. Read this article to know how to calculate your Wi-Fi bandwidth need. Different web application requires different throughput requirements. For instance, web browsing requires approximately 500 Kbps, whereas high throughput apps such as HD video streaming up to about 3 Mbps. Read this article to know the throughput requirements for your Wi-Fi network.
Coverage and interference: independently of the access point performance, if users are not reached by a powerful wireless signal, the number of simultaneously connected clients in a location will be limited. At the same time, interference due to multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs operating on the same channels could affect the propagation of the signal, which would result in less supported concurrent users. Remember to perform a site survey to assess the environment and potential interference affecting your Wi-Fi network: for instance, by relying on a network stumbler or survey tool able to detect coverage and capacity.

Given these parameters, let’s now see the top 7 access points you can deploy with Tanaza when you need to provide your Wi-Fi connection to a large number of concurrent users. The list below shows the maximum number of concurrent users the selected access point support when customers engage with a very low, low, medium, high or very high data usage. As you can see, data is expressed in Mbit/s, the unit of measure used for Wi-Fi speed.

Please note that the following data has been calculated by our tech team based on average results of our lab tests, and it is not precisely indicating how many clients you can connect in a real deployment.

AP	Wi-Fi speed (Mbit/s)	Max Clients Very low usage (Mbit/s)	Max Clients Low usage (Mbit/s)	Max Clients Medium usage (Mbit/s)	Max Clients High usage (Mbit/s)	Max Clients Very high usage (Mbit/s)
OpenMesh MR1750	1.750	150	150	150	150	131
TP-Link TL-RE450	1.750	150	150	150	150	131
EnGenius ECB1750	1.750	150	150	150	150	131
EnGenius ESR1750	1.750	400	400	400	219	131
EnGenius EPG5000	1.750	400	400	400	219	131
Ubiquiti UAP-AC-PRO	1.750	150	150	150	150	131
TP-Link AC1750	1.750	150	150	150	150	131

See all devices

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Need professional devices? Get a Ligowave Infinity

by Marketing Team | Jul 27, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Wireless Hardware

Need professional devices? Get a Ligowave Infinity

Ligowave devices of the Infinity series are a new entry in our list of supported devices.

These access points are very small, nice to see, and have an interesting price-quality ratio.
They’re suitable for any indoor deployments, particularly when you’re in need for ceiling- and wall-mountable, PoE devices, with a minimal eye impact.

The supported devices include NFT-1N, NFT-1NAF, NFT-2AC.
While the first two devices run the 802.11n standard, are mono-radio and can be used only for deployments with up to 50 clients indicatively, the newer NFT-2AC is a 1200Mbps AC device, suitable for deployments with 100-150 clients.

If you want to provide your customers with well-working wifi, and reduce the expenses for hardware, get a Ligowave device from an authorized distributor today.

Click here to see the full list of compatible devices

Wi-Fi for hotels will be easier, with UniFi AC In-Wall

by Marketing Team | Jul 27, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Public Hotspots, Wireless Hardware

Wi-Fi for hotels will be easier, with UniFi AC In-Wall

Tanaza now supports Ubiquiti UniFi AC In-Wall, a small and easily deployable device, suitable for hotel rooms.

The In-Wall comes with a sleek design and almost “disappears” once installed.
We suggest to install the devices right above the room’s desks, so that the access point can provide wireless connectivity with a good coverage and be used for wired connectivity as well.
Indeed, the UniFi AC In-Wall features an ethernet port, thanks to which users can connect their laptop through a cable.

By empowering this device with Tanaza’s firmware, you will get a full set of features to manage your Wi-Fi network and your social hotspot. Create an SSID for your hosts with the social login or the email authentication, collect data and insights about your clientele to run target marketing campaign. Control all your networks from one single pane of glass and configure each access point easily.

Click here to see the full list of compatible devices