Wireless/Mobile /

Wireless networking

By Ron Nutter
Network World Fusion, 06/04/01

My company is expanding and we're adding additional offices into an older building that we have been in for several years. Several areas of the building have solid concrete walls. Running wiring to these additional desks will be very expensive, noisy and take a long time to get done. Is wireless networking an option?

- Via the Internet

It may be, if you are referring to the 802.11b standard that has been out for several years now. Read the specs closely before you start to place the wireless access points. Determine where your users will be located. As your distance increases from the Wireless Access Point, your effective speed will begin decreasing. At most, you will get 11M bit/sec if you are real close. Also, think about the amount of rebar or metal reinforcement present in the concrete walls. If you have metal in that part of the building, you will lose connection to the network after moving only a short distance due to the frequencies used.

If you have these limitations, see if you can find an Amateur Radio Operator also known as a Ham Operator. Most of these folks who have been licensed for several years and have worked with either VHF or UHF radios. They will understand the limitations that you dealing with and could be helpful. If you can't find someone with these talents, check the software that comes with the wireless network card. It should have some type of a network browsing mode that will let you see the wireless access points you have configured. You will also want to know how strong a signal you have to a particular Wireless Access Point and the speed of the connection.

Finally, take a look at the software that comes with the wireless network for an encrypt feature. This will allow you to encrypt the data going to and from the wireless card in your desktop/laptop and the wireless access point. Consider this option to protect the privacy of your wireless network. How much encryption you use is up to you, but not using it could be inviting snooping on your network that you don't want.