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Using a MikroTik hAP as a WISP gateway

I no longer use a cable company for Internet service. My new Internet service provider offers me Internet over WiFi, otherwise known as a Wireless ISP (WISP).  I use a WiFi router as the gateway to my WISP, and it was far easier to get reliable high performance than I originally envisioned.

MikroTik hAP as a WISP modem

 

My neighbor is a professional with a lot of Internet needs. He contracts with a company that has a huge Internet pipe, and he offers the service to the neighbors using 802.11ac wireless. Given my close proximity to him and the low cost of service, this is an incredible deal for Internet service.  

At first I thought I would need to install a dedicated outdoor WiFi access point with a directional antenna to get a decent signal, but I decided to start simple and experiment with equipment I had around the house. Since I like the quality, functionality, and price point of MikroTik gear, I decided to start with the inexpensive MikroTik hAP AC Lite I had on hand.

At first I connected to the WISP using the hAP on my workbench, and it worked pretty reliably.  This was surprising because my workbench is in a lousy location for wireless anything. From there, I took the MikroTik around my house, testing every physical location near an Ethernet jack.

The best location for quality seemed to be on a first floor window sill.  It was super fast and reliable in the window, but the window location had one huge problem: there was a very high risk of what home network administrators call spousal network interference.  This means that my spouse would give me interference about network gear sitting in the living room.

Happily, I found an even a better location: my attic.  I have an Ethernet feed in the attic, and the attic location is up high with a minimum amount of stuff in the way of a WiFi signal.  The hAP performed just as well in the attic as it did in the living room window, and it it could be out of everyone's view.   

Why the MikroTik AC Lite?

I'm sticking with the MikroTik hAP AC Lite.  It is my preferred solution for a number of reasons:

  • The hAP AC Lite is very inexpensive (under $50), yet it has extensive configuration options.
  • Attic temperatures can easily exceed the capabilities of most routers.  In my area, attic temperatures can bottom out around -5°C in the winter and hit as high as +40°C in the summer sun.  And then there are the extreme days that can happen once or twice a year, where it could go as low as -25°C in the winter and as high as +50°C in the summer.   Unlike many routers, the hAP has is rated for operation between -30°C to +70°C.
  • The hAP performs well for my application.  The latency between my local network and the "far side" of my neighbor's WISP infrastructure is consistently under 2ms.  I get a full bidirectional 75 Mbps throughput, which is the maximum bandwidth that my WISP offers to me. 
  • The hAP is very reliable.  The vendor provides frequent software updates. I have never had a problem with it crashing or acting flaky.

My networking setup

The hAP is operating as my Internet modem and my home router. The MicroTik connects to the WISP over 802.11ac and routes traffic to my local ethernet network via a CAT5 cable to my basement-mounted switch.  I plan to have the same hAP operate as an Ethernet switch to feed other two upstairs rooms that  have Ethernet jacks, but I don't want to crawl in the attic just for you: I'll connect those feeds when I have a need.

Power

I have limited AC power in the attic, and I'm just too lazy to spend a few awful hours installing a convenient 120v power outlet up there.  Regardless, PoE is a better solution because it means one less component in the attic.

Although the hAP supports passive PoE, my home's primary switch is provides "active, standards based PoE".  Therefore, I use a PoE to 12v splitter to feed the PoE power to the MikroTik.  I do wish that the hAP model supported standards-based PoE, but at least my splitter work-around is reliable and inexpensive.

The other beauty of PoE is I can easily do a hard power reset by breifly pulling the cable at the switch.  I've never needed to do that (the MikroTik has been rock-solid), resetting the power remotely sure does beat having to crawl up into the uncomfortable attic.

Conclusion

Using the hAP as an attic-mounted WISP gateway is a reliable and affordable solution for me.  My only plan for change is to improve the cable management and device mounting in the attic.

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