Wireless network

Avesther

Avesther

New Member
I'm putting together a quote for a wireless network and need some wisdom.

Description of the enviroment:

8 Computers running Windows XP pro
1 Laptop running Windows Media
1 Server runnings Windows NT 4.0

The server can connect to the router via wire, wireless is not required.

The furthest workstation from where the wireless router is situation is between 50 and 75 feet away. Average number of walls between router and workstations : 3

Currently have a linksys wireless router (WRT54G).



Should I stick with the current wireless router and purchase the required Linksys wireless G adapters.

or

Should I go with the Netgear 108Mbps offering (router and wireless adapters)

or is there something else I need to look into.
 
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speaking of punching...can you get in above the walls and look at dropping wire as an option? i would just generally shy away from wireless in an office environment, particularly one where large files are being transferred as it's preeeety painful. for $50 for the glow-in-the-dark fishing sticks and some sweat equity you're good to go :)

re Lloren's comment on bandwidth...54 will get you 1080p streamed...but it'll eat up about half the available bandwidth (assuming uncompressed video) so it's nice to have a sufficient buffer for moving other content around.

((1900 x 1080) (bytes) * ( 8 bits / byte ) * (30 frames / sec ) * (60 sec ) / ( 1024 bits / Kb) / (1024 Kb/Mb)

...hopefully i wrote that down correctly =/
 
Good call Natty. I forgot this was for an office. I can't imagine us going back to anything other than Gigabit ethernet since we switched. That should say 54Mb on my other post.
 
Not streaming video's or music of video's. Emails might have pdf's and autocadd drawings attached. And a connection to the Accounting database (running on a pervasive SQL DB).
 
well, if all they're looking at it for is based on pc -> internet transfers, then you'll be fine with what you have (most likely) since you'll be constrained by the internet connection speed. i.e. if you only have a 10Mb connection, then 54Mb wireless will do ya (+ any additional hardware to get through walls and extend range).

for pc->pc transfers, there's more bandwidth involved and people are usually less tolerable of wireless speeds for it.
 
Gods_Peon said:
I'm putting together a quote for a wireless network and need some wisdom.

Description of the enviroment:

8 Computers running Windows XP pro
1 Laptop running Windows Media
1 Server runnings Windows NT 4.0

The server can connect to the router via wire, wireless is not required.

The furthest workstation from where the wireless router is situation is between 50 and 75 feet away. Average number of walls between router and workstations : 3

Currently have a linksys wireless router (WRT54G).



Should I stick with the current wireless router and purchase the required Linksys wireless G adapters.

or

Should I go with the Netgear 108Mbps offering (router and wireless adapters)

or is there something else I need to look into.
Click to expand...

frankly i would go with a wireless N router and use the matching wireless nics if you want to stay wireless. For an office environment(especially a winders one) I would consider wiring Ethernet to any non-mobile machines for security and performance reasons. If you do that then stick with the wrt54 and any netgear or linksys "G" nic will work fine. If you are set on wireless considering your environment go with a "N" series router..from netgear. I'm not a fan of linksys or dlink..both of them have quality issues..dlink since as far as i can remember and linksys since they got borged by the cisco collective.
 
We are currently wired. Issue is, the building was built prior to the concept of the personal computer so wires had to be strung along the ceilings and walls. While it looked really cool for awhile, the bridge of the Enterprise D after being hit by a torpedo look became very unprofessional.

Right now the office is going through a bit of an upgrade, new paint on the drywall and new carpetting and along with the upgraded interior look the board essential told me that wireless was the way the wanted to go.
 
the board? what kind of business? Rmember if this requires any kind of priveldge(client privacy or anything like that) then the wireless signal will leave hte biulding. That means you MUST take hte appropriate security precations..aka you must use wpa encryption. Your wireless key must be longer than 14 characters and be randomized(to prevent brute force cracking). http://www.grc.com/password is good place...i use all 63 characters in clients iwith privledge requirements(wired is the most secure..try rerunning the cables inside conduit attached to the baseboards(the platic kind that can be painted0..)
 
If you are putting up new drywall, you might as well run the wires before they replace the drywall. Really easy if the walls are open with a drop ceiling. As for security I agree with hescominsoon. Wireless is breakable no matter what you do. The way he says it is best to be secure, but it is still possible to break in if someone really wants to.
 
Just new paint atm, not drywall. Its basically a metal fabrication business, so unless they get contracts from the military, wireless security might be suffice. Not sure what he decided, but he called and said he had been inside everyone's computer and was filthy dirty (welding dust ftw).....here's hoping he was wearing his black dress shirt, not his white one to the office today.
 
Not white, wine red shirt :)

Got it all up and going. There is no real need for security as our business is not high on industry espionage. More likely that somebody will try to piggy back on our INEt connection so I did set up security to deter that. I also named the wireless network something that had nothing to do with the company, its name or the industries its in.
 
Gods_Peon said:
Not white, wine red shirt :)

There is no real need for security as our business is not high on industry espionage.
Click to expand...
That line of thinking is the main cuase of every compromise..either the small one or the large ones that make the news. Remove that line of thinking immediately for the sake of your clients..
 
There is no at risk informaiton. Other then the financial data, all the information is available by looking in the yellow pages. There is no credit card info, baking account info or business number info actually stored.

Requirement of security starts long before hardware\software security. We don't actually keep any info electronically stored that would put any business or person at risk if it was digitally stolen. If somebody wants to know what our marketting expense was for last year, they can sit their in a black van and try and crack in.

And if the government wants the info they just have to ask...actually, under Canadian law, the CRA has wide reaching authority to confiscate records with little or no notice required.
 
i am really grateful for all you smart people who figure out wireless networks...cause it makes all of the rest of our lives that much easier
 
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