How many Duet Wifis can a network handle?
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Hey again,
I'm still running a 0.8.5, and only one at that, so I can't test this out. How many duets (wifi or otherwise) could one have in a farm, all with Duet Web Control instances open for each one, without running into network issues? 2? 10? 100?
I'm planning a small print farm and this issue isn't one I've thought of until now, but I'd like to prepare for it ahead of time. Would I be needing to run multiple SSIDs on different channels with the Wifi? I'm wondering if someone could test it out if they have several wifis going at once (or a wired 0.8.5s or 0.6s for reference).
Nathan
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I regularly run one or two wired Duets plus one or two Duet Wifis on my network. If you have more than one wired Duet on a network then you must assign them all different MAC addresses in config.g. This doesn't apply to the Duet Wifi which already has a unique MAC address.
A wireless access point will have a maximum number of devices it can support, sometimes as low as 8.
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I would imagine as many as you have IPs for. The bandwidth needs are very low as compared to say streaming HD video.
I have ~20 devices on my wifi, one of which is a Duet Wifi. The rest are computers, printers, chromecasts, thermostats, cell phones, etc. No problems.
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Thanks for the input. Knowing that about 4 will work is good enough for now, but I would love to see tests with regular consumer wifi gear, to determine how many could print at once and not lose connection to DWC. My worry wouldn't be bandwidth, but perhaps routing problems causing the web interface to timeout and disconnect. Obviously, for testing, the boards don't need to actually be printing but just simulating it. Any chance of that happening?
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We sent all the prototypes out bar a couple so we will have to wait until we have fulfilled the pre-orders and have some spare boards to test with.
Given a robust WIFI access point (most modern ones) you can easily support 10s of devices simultaneously, The limitation is likely to be at the AP end rather than the ESP on the board. Issues such as interference from other wifi networks (mentioned as an issue for wifi in general) may also impact the maximum number, so it may end up being specific to your situation.
