Will an eero router work with my Control4 System?

Yes, with lots of but's likely attached. Never used one myself tho. C4 has a recommended network gear list and that isn't on there. 

 

Network stability is crucial for control4, even more so these days with everything being IP controlled 

9 hours ago, knowitall said:

Yes, with lots of but's likely attached. Never used one myself tho. C4 has a recommended network gear list and that isn't on there. 

 

Network stability is crucial for control4, even more so these days with everything being IP controlled 

Is the list of recommended network gear available to end users? If so, where do I get it?

6 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Is the list of recommended network gear available to end users? If so, where do I get it?

It's not the newest list and, ultimately, control4 recommend's Pakedge.  More so for medium to larger systems. The setting up of a network is not meant to be the burden of the end user but your dealer may be of assistance if you really need to know. There's a lot of feedback in these forums of brands/models that are not on the list.  Network setup without the help of an experienced dealer can sometimes be a monster of it's own.

I'm hearing decent things about Eero Pro, but have yet to use it myself or with a Control4 system.

14 minutes ago, thecodeman said:

I'm hearing decent things about Eero Pro, but have yet to use it myself or with a Control4 system.

It's impossible to know for sure unless you've tried it in your own system for a long period of time.  Otherwise, like Wyclef Jean once said "Don't believe the hype"

I've only had Control4 in my house for about 3 months but use  Eeros (1st gen) for routers (my dealer actually sells them and says they've had mostly excellent experiences with them in their installs). My house is wired with Cat6. I have all my Eeros wired so that they don't have to use WiFi for backhaul network traffic and nearly all my locations for streaming (Rokus, TVs, Xbox, etc.) are wired. The main Eero goes directly into an Araknis switch in my AV closet.   

I haven't had any network issues whatsoever and I've even got horrible 3 mbps DSL coming in.  With that in mind, they are actually quite helpful in identifying, very quickly through the app, random iPads/computers that are using up my precious little bandwidth. The WiFi coverage has also been great. I have full coverage in every part of my 5000 sq ft house (I have 3 eeros total). They also look good enough to place them in a position to maximize coverage and not hide them in a cabinet. When the gigabit fiber that's available 500 ft away from my house finally makes it way to me, I'm sure I'll find them to be even better!  

23 minutes ago, rea said:

I've only had Control4 in my house for about 3 months but use  Eeros (1st gen) for routers (my dealer actually sells them and says they've had mostly excellent experiences with them in their installs).

That's good feedback. I'm also wondering how much strain the local network is being subject to at any given point (not including video/audio streaming from the internet). Do you use sharebridge, stream multiple local video/audio media from a nas, stream/record local video ip cameras (without nvr), etc. Do the wap's also mesh into one ssid? Can a ddns, ftp, VPN, smb share, etc, be set up? I know some of this is not required for everyone's needs but I do use these features. I haven't researched these much so that's why I'm asking, in case you know.

Eero are basically glorified sonos bridge/boosts

1 hour ago, dcovach said:

That's good feedback. I'm also wondering how much strain the local network is being subject to at any given point (not including video/audio streaming from the internet). Do you use sharebridge, stream multiple local video/audio media from a nas, stream/record local video ip cameras (without nvr), etc. Do the wap's also mesh into one ssid? Can a ddns, ftp, VPN, smb share, etc, be set up? I know some of this is not required for everyone's needs but I do use these features. I haven't researched these much so that's why I'm asking, in case you know.

I haven't tried to set up a ddns, ftp, VPN, smb share, etc so I can't help you there too much. I would guess most of that is possible, but can't confirm. I'm pretty sure it doesn't support QoS. My external connection is so slow right now that I don't even want to bother with any of the advanced settings. 

As far as my traffic, I generally have 40+ devices connected (as per my Eero app). I use Shairbridge quite a bit and haven't had the slightest issue with it. I don't have local IP cams set up yet, but do use a Doorbird and it works great. I do stream video through the house via Plex quite a bit and don't have any issues--even with full quality Blu-ray streams. My local music streams have never had a problem either. It is generally only my wife and I in the house so having multiple, different streams at once is never really a concern for us. And yeah, Eero is a full mesh--it's a seamless transition between your router/access points as you walk through the house.   

Hope that helps. 

@reaI'd be content with results like that if I didn't need most of the advanced features

[mention=139951]rea[/mention]I'd be content with results like that if I didn't need most of the advanced features

Euro sounds pretty decent

What's your router of choice for these features?


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3 hours ago, koxkp said:

What's your router of choice for these features?

For medium sized systems, I've tested the Asus RT-AC56U (not the best for wifi) and the 68U (on c4 recommended list and much better antenna's for wifi). I usually use ubiquity ap's anyways so I turn off wifi on the router.

This is a good setup now but it might not be sufficient in the future as C4 evolves or as the system grows with more networking demands.

1 hour ago, dcovach said:

 

For medium sized systems, I've tested the Asus RT-AC56U (not the best for wifi) and the 68U (on c4 recommended list and much better antenna's for wifi). I usually use ubiquity ap's anyways so I turn off wifi on the router.

This is a good setup now but it might not be sufficient in the future as C4 evolves or as the system grows with more networking demands.

If you are using Ubiquiti for WiFi why wouldn't you use the Ubiquiti router, which is cheaper and a better product then the ASUS routers you mention?

42 minutes ago, THEORY said:

If you are using Ubiquiti for WiFi why wouldn't you use the Ubiquiti router, which is cheaper and a better product then the ASUS routers you mention?

Ubiquity is great but the Asus models I mentioned can pretty much be purchased anywhere and be heavily customized (for the advanced user) and is reliable.  There's a good handful of end users here that have more IT experience than most of the dealers so I'm sharing my experience. Asus are generally reliable to get a c4 system back up and running after a factory reset to the original stock firmware (in case the customization is incorrect), unlike some of the other popular routers that dealer's use.  It's hard to brick an Asus router and the stock settings are pretty solid for C4.  I like easy.  I think it's fair to recommend something easy for inexperienced IT enthusiasts.

9 minutes ago, dcovach said:

Ubiquity is great but the Asus models I mentioned can pretty much be purchased anywhere and be heavily customized (for the advanced user) and is reliable.  There's a good handful of end users here that have more IT experience than most of the dealers so I'm sharing my experience. Asus are generally reliable to get a c4 system back up and running after a factory reset to the original stock firmware (in case the customization is incorrect), unlike some of the other popular routers that dealer's use.  It's hard to brick an Asus router and the stock settings are pretty solid for C4.  I like easy.  I think it's fair to recommend something easy for inexperienced IT enthusiasts.

Ubiquiti products are very easy to get, and the interface is simple and very reliable.  You had mentioned what you use, and I still don't fully understand why if you are using Ubiquiti WAPs you wouldn't be using the routers also as part of your solution.  Especially when the Ubiquiti offsite tools are much better for a dealer then what is in the Asus.

29 minutes ago, THEORY said:

Ubiquiti products are very easy to get, and the interface is simple and very reliable.  You had mentioned what you use, and I still don't fully understand why if you are using Ubiquiti WAPs you wouldn't be using the routers also as part of your solution.  Especially when the Ubiquiti offsite tools are much better for a dealer then what is in the Asus.

Using a full ubiquiti system is better. That's a good suggestion. I think that's what you wanted to hear or you're just lacking some creativity/adaptability. I'm recommending a small to medium system router (from c4 list) and confirmed a ubiquiti wap (or several) can be added later to expand the wifi range without having to toss the Asus (in case it's heavily customized beyond the limits of most routers and is important to leave in tact). I wasn't sure how well this would work but it does. I like it, but I like a lot of other solutions too.  I wouldn't use this in a large system.

I can say the Ubiquiti UI is not super easy for the average user. It is a little clunky and lot of the "advanced features" I was asking about can't be done in the GUI. Maybe the "average" C4 user would give in and buy 4sight if they realize they need to get into the CLI and write some commands to get VPN access.


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I'm just trying to play this from both angles.
I still think Ubiquiti routers are a solid choice.


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There might be some old threads with successful diy networks but it would be good if a new one started up every so often as new model numbers surface. Smaller systems can't always afford commercial gear. It's not always necessary either.

Maybe I am in the minority but I wanted to use the Ubiquiti router because I liked their APs so much.  I purchased it and returned it.  I am fairly technical, not the most technical on this board but for an end user I know a ton.  All of my friends/family turn to me to set up computers/home networks and I even helped my friend who is an electrician spec out some home networking for a few small projects.  That being said most of the "advanced" features were hidden and support (and forums agreed) I had to write scripts to get things accomplished.  I gave it a quick hack, hated it, boxed it up and returned it.

Since I use APs in the house I am only using the router as a router, so I have stuck with my linksys stuff and it has been fine.  Just my experience as someone who really wanted to use Ubiquiti.  I was in the market for additional switches too and if I liked the router I was going to get a switch to match but wound up going elsewhere.

2 hours ago, dcovach said:

There might be some old threads with successful diy networks but it would be good if a new one started up every so often as new model numbers surface. Smaller systems can't always afford commercial gear. It's not always necessary either.

A ubiquiti gateway router is like $100.... so don't think it's a cost issue vs Asus.

19 minutes ago, ejn1 said:

A ubiquiti gateway router is like $100.... so don't think it's a cost issue vs Asus.

Now add a switch... and are the extra features there?  Maybe some extras are there if it's managed but those are a pain for C4 and not needed for small systems.

7 minutes ago, dcovach said:

And a cheap switch to go with it?

Another $100 for a unifi switch or $80 for a Ubiquiti toughswitch.... I would think though if you want to compare apples to apples to a switch embedded in an asus router, then any $25--35 5-port switch would be on par.    For another $100, you can have a much better switch with a GUI and a little POE capability.     Just saying that Ubiquiti gear is not considered expensive by most folks.     

ps, we are on a C4 forum where a single light switch is $180

12 minutes ago, ejn1 said:

Another $100 for a unifi switch or $80 for a Ubiquiti toughswitch.... I would think though if you want to compare apples to apples to a switch embedded in an asus router, then any $25--35 5-port switch would be on par.    For another $100, you can have a much better switch with a GUI and a little POE capability.     Just saying that Ubiquiti gear is not considered expensive by most folks.     

I don't think price is the issue in this thread.  Some networking gear is overkill and a pain for C4.  Some C4 users want to know what else they can buy.  If you've setup unifi dozens of times, of course it's easy.  A lot of the asus stuff is easier and there's lots of support for the advanced configurations.