Re: Best way to implement wide area wireless?

["Jon Wilkins" <jonpdwilkins@xxxxxxxxx>]

You clients (PC, etc ) will probably store security details by SSID,
so if
you use the same SSID, you really must make sure to use the same security
details (type -- ideally WPA2 -- and key).  Otherwise you'll have to keep
re-configuring your clients each time you move them because they'll only
store one set of details at a time.

You could use different SSIDs but then when you move from one APs coverage
to the other, your PC will have to "switch network" which will
take longer
and if there is still a sniff of the SSID it was connected to, it will hang
on -- and as you get to the fringes of coverage it rate scales all the way
down to 1Mb/s before looking for another preferred SSID.  On some clients
you will have to manually tell it to switch SSID ....

*2) Have them all the same SSID and on different channels with the same
password?
*Yes.. best option to make 2 or more APs co-exist and your clients work as
seemlessly across the area*
*
Different channels important -- use the same channel and you'll have grief.


In theory 802.11b/g coverage can go quite a way - you must have a really
big
house if your 802.11b/g won't reach from one side to the other.  In
practise
it seems a lot of domestic "wireless routers" have very poor
radios/antennas, leading people to think "wireless" is a bit
flaky and needs
3 or 4 APs to cover an average house.  Of course, you might live in a
castle
with 12 inch thick stone walls - in which case forget wireless & get
loads
of cat5 (and the moat will seriously soak up the RF as well).

Your router is probably positioned for optimatal broadband sync - ie right
where the bt line comes in - whereas the AP ought to be centrally mounted
in
the house and away from large amounts of metal & water and with
*both*antennas mounted a short distance apart.  Normally these two
optimal
locations are mutually exclusive and sensibly the broadband location is
chosen and many 'routers' only have a single 'twig' antenna anyway.

If you are getting a seperate AP then you'd probably do best to mount it
centrally in the house so it will reach everywhere and run cat5 to it. 
Then
you can disable the Wifi feature in the router.  The discrete AP will
probably be a better "AP" than the router anyway as in the router
it's an
"additional feature".  Chose an AP with disconnectable antennas
as these are
*likely* to be better than non-removables and take some time to
"survey" the
best location for the AP.

HTH

jon

2008/12/14 Mark McCall <lists@xxxxxxx>

>   > 2) Have them all the same SSID and on different channels with
the same
> password?
>
> Worked for me.
>
> M.
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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