I've recently been researching wireless networking for my office and wanted to get a few opinions from those of you who know this field... I know enough to be dangerous...

1. 802.11g versus 'Pre-N' technology. What's the deal? Is Pre-N here to stay? It looks like the newer of the two technologies and thus, I'm willing to give it a go but, I'm concerned about compatibility in the future. As I read it, it's not an IEEE standardized technology.

Belkin Pre-N Router

2. The laptops in my company will be the only wireless devices. Everything else will be wired. There are a total of less than 10. The office is an old house with loads of concrete and solid plaster walls. Will a 'G' network have enough power to get around? The majority of the users/wireless objects will be within 30 feet of the router. Will I need to add a booster? An additional antenna?

3. Linkysys or US Robotics or Netgear or Belkin? My current wired network is Linksys and I've had my share of packet collisions and thus, lock ups. I've never had to reconfirm but, the weekly tradition of having to reboot the router is REALLY getting old. It has the latest firmware but, it still continues to blow chunks on occasion. Should this be an omen?

4. Linksys has this 'speed booster' item which claims up to 35% faster connectivity using speed booster devices (requires special pcmcia card). Is this worth it?

This US Robotics Setclaims up to 100 Mbps. At $90, it's not a bad deal but, I'm not too worried about costs here (other than having to buy all the PCMCIA cards on a budget).

5. Linksys specific question. If my router is a speed booster variety and my PCMCIA cards aren't, will they work? Also, if I have some Speed Booster cards in the office and some that aren't, will I encounter compatibility problems? Will the SB cards be SB enabled or will all of them have to go straight 'G'?

That's all for now. Thanks a bunch for all of your help in advance! I'm leaning toward Linksys based on past experiences and also product recognition. I also like the fact that they offer additional antenna kits if the reception in the office is poor (or if we can't get a signal next door at the Mexican restaurant Hey! Happy Hour is 12-5 over there! Just call this 'pre-planning').

RP

 

Can I phone a friend?






You computer gurus are too much for me. Half the damned time I can't figure out how to shut down properly.

Hang tight, I am sure good resources are on the way.

 

Depending on the information going across your wireless network, I personally don't like to use them. Unless you use client certificates to encrypt the traffic through some vpn tunnell, someone could probably get on it. Not sure about G but A & B is so unsecure it's funny. Not sure if G is any better.

 

Ok, few more questions:

What are the applications that will be used? Ie, just e-mail, lite surfing, etc... or some network-intensive apps. Also, what is the current network gear? Sounds like a small shop and little to no network setup, correct? What kind of internet access? Do you currently share internet, blah blah blah..

I can help you out, but need more info. Odds are you'll be fine with a couple 802.11b access points (not routers).

There is a TON of other stuff to cover, but I'll hold off until you spill the beans. Also, it'd be really nice to have dimensions of the building, what walls are what, etc...

Tell you what, I'll be happy to do a site survey & layout a plan, install & train you monkeys real cheap. I'll only charge for gas money & my normal hourly consulting rate.

 

Thanks dz and drk!

No apps will be shared across the network. Each machine has everything it needs on board... Only a file server and www connection will be beaming around and about. DSL. www is shared.

Very small shop. Current setup consists of a router and a switch. Straight DHCP.




Building is about 4500 ft2 (not including basement -- no need for connectivity down there). Walls are very very rigid and are plaster, not sheetrock. Not sure on other info.



hhehe... thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it if things don't work out.


Thanks again!

RP

 

Not likely...then he'd have to give you his address...something of which none of us would like to do.

 

Consulting rate?

I like the $ I get for my side job consulting rate. Wish I got more of it.

 

If this consulting fee gets out of hand, I'll be forced to retaliate and change you guys' user names to:

"RavagedRump" and "LubeMeUp" respectively.

LOL!

Only kidding... or am I?

RP

 

Your not. I charge my bro's office $100/hr when they goof up their servers. I rather enjoy it. Their tech messed things up so bad I put in 30 hrs to fix things.

That's not milking the clock either, I don't do that for that kind of money. It bought goodies for my truck though

 

Heh heh... you haven't seen my rates yet... those names fit right in.

Anywho, sounds like my first hunch was right - a couple 802.11b access points (NOT routers) will work just fine. Look for WAPs that support WPA or 128-bit WEP. USE ENCRYPTION AND A COMPLEX KEY/PASSWORD. Don't make me come down there if you don't. Being able to disable the SSID broadcast is very helpful as well. Get a WAP that allows this AND DO IT. You'll want to keep the two WAPs close to the interior of the building as possible to prevent sigal leakage to the outside. Your best bet is to get a pro in there to do a survey and place the WAPs in the right place.

Sticking with 802.11b will give you plenty of bandwidth for browsing and mild file sharing (unless your sharing large files) and offer you nearly 100% compatibilty across the board (unless some clown has an 802.11a card). Plus, it'll be cheap.

EDIT: oh yeah, of those you listed, I'd only consider the Linksys... still not great, but showing great improvement since Cisco snapped them up.

 

I use 802.11b here. Cheap cheap. But since it's in your business, security is more of a concern. 128b WEP, MAC security, and no sid does not help with someone who has a little time, linux and airsnort, etc. to get your key.

Of course if the signal is kept in your building or does not leak out far, they have to sit near the building to do it or point a cantenna at it.

Cisco did that to us years ago I am told and our VP yanked every WAP on campus. Instead of fixing the issue.

 

Thanks dz...

So just scrap my 802.11g idea? That seemed to me like the easier option honestly. You don't think so?

I'd really like to have some access outdoors as we have a couple of picnic tables and such (not to mention the Mexican place across the street -- I really wasn't joking there. ).

How many machines will these 'access points' handle? Range? Shared files won't amount to much at all. 10mb would be a large file...

All of the lappys that could go wireless will also have hardwire capabilities at their desks as I've already pulled Cat 5 like a madman. In short, I want the wireless as an option; not a necessity.

Sorry, I should've mentioned the earlier.

RP

 

Thanks drk!

 

10 folks doing a little browsing and file swapping are going to take a long, long time to gather the packets required to crack a 128-bit WEP key. It's not THAT easy. The punks driving around looking for WAPs to use are not going to waste their time on a weak signal, low traffic, encrypted network.

Other helpful hints, do NOT put your biznaz name, address, etc... as the SSID. Use something stupid and off.

 

Roger that... I already know what I shall name it... I shall call it MiniPick. (that's one of those names you have to read twice before you realize what it says... LOL!)