AllTech01
Two networks, one company
A separate circuit means separate DHCP, separate firewall, no domain access, and no shared drive. Every system in that building becomes an exception.
UniFi Specialist · Network & Infrastructure
The building across the yard
doesn't need its own internet.
Anything you can see from your roof can be on your network at wired speeds: a shop, a scale house, a second warehouse, a barn, a pump station. AllTech surveys the path, calculates the link budget, mounts the radios properly, and monitors the link so you find out about a degraded signal before your staff does.
UniFi airMAX & Wave
Path surveys
Monitored links
Local engineers
01 · The problem
"Just put a second internet line out there."
The default fix for an outbuilding is a second ISP circuit. It's the most expensive option and it creates a second network that can't see the first one. The shop can't reach the ERP, the cameras can't reach the recorder, and the badge reader out there has to be managed separately. The other default is a consumer range extender aimed out a window, which works until the first snowstorm.
02
The recurring cost never stops
A second business circuit is a monthly bill that runs forever. A wireless bridge is a one-time install.
03
Trenching quotes stop projects cold
Fiber between buildings means permits, an excavator, and a parking lot you can't use for a week. Across a public road or a neighbor's easement, it may not be possible at all.
04
The DIY bridge is not a bridge
Two access points pointed at each other through a window drop under load and fail the first time a tree leafs out in the path.
If you can stand on one roof and see the other, there is usually a link to be built between them.
02 · How it works
One radio on each building, aimed at each other.
A point-to-point link carries a single Layer 2 bridge across the gap. Done correctly, it behaves like a long Ethernet cable, with the same VLANs, subnet, and management on both ends.
Two topologies
- Point-to-point (PtP)
- Shape: One radio to one radio Best: Two buildings, maximum throughput When we pick it: Warehouse to office, plant to scale house
- Point-to-multipoint (PtMP)
- Shape: One sector antenna to several remote radios Best: A campus, a yard, several outbuildings from one mast When we pick it: Municipal buildings, ranch, multi-shop campus
What actually determines whether it works
01
Line of sight
The radios need an unobstructed visual path between them. Pointing "roughly toward it" is not enough. Trees in leaf, a new building, or a grain leg going up will each kill a link.
02
Fresnel zone clearance
The signal travels in an ellipse, not a straight line. The middle of a long shot needs vertical clearance above the ground and rooftops as well as a clear sightline.
03
Link budget
Transmit power, antenna gain, distance, and frequency have to add up to a margin that survives rain, snow, and heat. We design to fade margin, not to the best-case number on the box.
04
Spectrum
We survey the noise floor before we pick a band. 5 GHz is crowded in town; 60 GHz is fast and short-range.
05
Mounting
A radio on a mast that flexes in wind will lose alignment. Most "the bridge is flaky" calls we inherit are mounting and grounding problems, not radio problems.
The gear we standardize on
- Under 500 m, clear path
- UniFi Wave — 60 GHz with 5 GHz failover
- 500 m – 5 km
- UniFi airMAX / airFiber, 5 GHz
- Campus, several sites
- airMAX sector plus remote stations
We don't publish a throughput chart, because the honest number depends on your path. Expected throughput is calculated from the link budget during the survey, documented in the quote, and measured in both directions at handover.
03 · What's included
Survey to monitoring, one crew.
- 01
Path survey
We look at both roofs, measure distance and elevation, check the Fresnel zone against terrain and obstructions, and scan the local 5 GHz noise floor. If the link won't hold, you hear that before you spend anything.
- 02
Link design and budget
We document band selection, radio and antenna choice, mast height, fade margin, and expected throughput, so the number we quote is the number you get.
- 03
Mounting and cabling
Non-penetrating roof mounts, masts, or wall brackets; outdoor-rated shielded cable; proper grounding and surge protection at both ends. This is the part that determines whether the link lasts five years.
- 04
Alignment and validation
Aimed on signal, not by eye. We test throughput both directions, log signal margin and capacity, and hand you the numbers as a baseline to compare against later.
- 05
Network integration
We carry VLANs across the bridge so the remote building is part of your network, with the same domain, the same firewall policy, and the same cameras and door access.
- 06
Monitoring and maintenance
The link is in our RMM and UniFi monitoring. Signal degradation, capacity drops, and reboots alert us. Seasonal re-checks catch tree growth and mount drift before an outage.
04 · Where these go
The gaps we get asked to close.
01
Manufacturing
Plant floor to a detached warehouse so scanners, printers, and the ERP client all live on one network.
02
Agriculture
Home office to shop, scale house, or pump station across a field where trenching isn't practical.
03
Municipal
City hall to a public works yard, fire station, or water treatment site, often as point-to-multipoint from one tall mast.
04
Multi-building offices
A second suite across a parking lot the landlord won't let you trench.
05
Camera coverage
Getting cameras at a remote gate or lot back to the recorder without running fiber to it.
06
Temporary and construction sites
A link that goes up quickly and comes down when the job ends.
05 · How we engage
Three phases, and the survey can end it.
01
SURVEY · Go / no-go with a designed link
We visit both endpoints, check distance, elevation, obstructions, mounting options, and power and cable runs, and run a spectrum scan. You get a go / no-go with a designed link and a fixed quote. If the honest answer is "trench the fiber," we say that.
02
INSTALL · Mount, aim, integrate
We install mounts, radios, cable, grounding, and surge protection, then aim, test, and integrate the link into your VLANs and firewall. Baseline throughput and signal margin are documented before we leave.
03
OPERATE · Monitored alongside the network
We monitor the link alongside the rest of your network, alert on degradation, manage firmware, and re-check the path each season. If it drops, we already know.
06 · FAQ
Common questions
How fast is a wireless bridge, really?
Faster than most of the buildings it connects, and typically faster than a second ISP circuit would be. The honest number depends on distance, band, and path, so we design the link budget during the survey and document the expected throughput before you commit — then measure it at handover.
Do I need line of sight?
Yes. Point-to-point wireless is not a "signal through walls" technology. We need a clear visual path with clearance around it. During the survey we tell you whether you have one — and whether you'll still have one in July when the trees fill in.
What happens in snow, rain, or wind?
A properly designed link has fade margin built in for weather. 5 GHz handles snow and rain with very little loss; 60 GHz is more affected, which is why we pair it with a 5 GHz failover on longer or weather-exposed shots. Wind matters more than weather — it is a mounting problem, and we over-build the mount.
How does this compare to a site-to-site VPN?
They solve different problems. A wireless bridge is the physical link between two places you can see. A site-to-site VPN or SD-WAN connects sites over the internet, at any distance. For buildings on the same property, a bridge is faster, cheaper to run, and has no ISP in the middle.
What does it cost compared to running fiber?
A typical two-building link is a fraction of the cost of trenching. That said, if the run is short, the ground is open, and you want a permanent path with no weather exposure, fiber is the better long-term answer — and we install that too. We'll quote both.
On the VPN comparison, seeSite-to-Site & SD-WAN; on the fiber alternative, seeStructured Cabling.
07 · Related services
The rest of the stack it plugs into
01
Site-to-Site & SD-WAN
The tunnel that may run over this link, and the answer when the sites are too far to see.
02
Structured Cabling
The fiber alternative when trenching is the better answer, and the cable on both ends of every bridge.
03
Wi-Fi Design
Outdoor coverage at the remote building once it is on the network.
04
Security Cameras
Cameras at remote gates and lots, reporting back to one recorder.
05
Switching & Gateways
The switch and PoE at each end of the link.
06
Firewall & Routing
The VLANs and policy the bridge carries across.
Start with a conversation
Point at the building. We'll get it on the network.
Send us the two addresses and we'll tell you on the survey whether a wireless bridge is the right call. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Local since 2009
UniFi specialists
Traveling for the right install project
