So this question is a bit vague, and it's partly because I'm not entirely sure what I should be asking. Hopefully someone here can point me in the right direction.
What I'm trying to do:
I have a number of WiFi connectable digital meeting room displays (https://getjoan.com/shop/joan-6/) that I'd like to connect to a server that runs management software to control/configure/update them. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, we're not permitted to allow these devices to access our main network, so a server running on our network on prem is not acceptable.
Furthermore, I'd like to maintain an active connection, as when you remove them from the network they start incessantly beeping.
My initial attempt was to install the Joan management server on a Raspberry Pi and have all the devices connect directly to the RPi as sort of a singular WiFi access point - the only thing they can access is the management server.
This works, however the WiFi chip on the RPi is understandably not quite up to the task... The range is a bit less than required, and it seems to only allow ~8 devices to connect concurrently. Beyond that, it's "one in, one out", so to speak.
My next thought was to purchase a USB wifi dongle to try to improve the range and max # devices, but I got stuck in the stage of working out specs.
Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for in a WiFi dongle that corresponds/correlates to max number of devices? Should I just buy a half decent one and try it?
I'm limited with the knobs I can turn on the software side without undertaking a massive operation to try to optimize things for my needs. So I'm hoping there is a relatively straightforward solution with the right components.
