Question

  Asked: May 21 2005   1:48 AM GMT
  Asked by: benbje


Wireless LAN roaming


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I need to set up a wireless LAN (ADSL router with 3-4 access points). The client wants to be able to move between the access points without being cut off from the internet. Which products will do the job? Any special design considereations?

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As a design consultant I would recommend that you use Cisco Access points (1200 series are excellent), with a BlueSocket front end. This will allow them to seamlessly roam between AP's as well as create a secure connection between client and the network. All wireless communication is basically run thru a VPN type connection. Fully encrypted and secure. The basic model of BlueSocket is the 400, this would support upto around 50 concurrent users encrypted with a maximum throughput of around 30Mbps.

Just my .02 worth.

CiscoCat6k - CCNP/CCDP/CCSE
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ramheka  |   May 21 2005  9:26AM GMT

depends on the distance between the access points and what in between them you can set one as an access points and the others as signal boosters which means you will have a greater coverage I did a setup with the same senario and 3com products seemed doing the job nicely

RAM
No qualifications just first hand experience

 

tfreestone  |   May 21 2005  12:55PM GMT

There are a couple of other solutions you could consider as well. Is this going to be a stand-alone WLAN with no Windows Server 2000/2003 Active Directory and separate RADIUS server to go along with it? If so you could also use the Gateway 7001 AP’s, because they offer a built-in RADIUS server in addition to enterprise-level encryption and authentication. They also work well with Active Directory and external RADIUS authentication.

Here’s the link.

<a href="http://www.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=gtwy7001_ag_wap&seg=sb" rel="nofollow">http://www.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=gtwy7001_ag_wap&seg=sb</a>

They sell for $300-$500 with a 3 year warranty depending on the sale running at the moment. They have been recommended by various IT periodicals for their enterprise feature list while being priced at 1/4 to 1/3 of say Cisco or other enterprise-class wireless solutions. Being able to get clustering (up to 8 AP’s share settings to make administration a breeze), built-in RADIUS or external RADIUS, Power-over-Ethernet, WPA with AES encryption, 802.11 a/b/g compatibility, guest interface using a separate LAN or VLAN’s, etc. at that price point was very attractive. This worked well when we used an external Windows 2000 RADIUS server with EAP/PEAP certificates and Active Directory group policy for authentication and WPA/AES or WPA/TKIP for encryption.

Another great choice that is also enterprise quality but much more attractively priced that Cisco is Proxim. Their AP4000 runs about $470 at CDW and is loaded with all of the encryption and authentication offered by Cisco AP’s. Here’s some links for it.

<a href="http://www.proxim.com/products/wifi/ap/ap4000/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.proxim.com/products/wifi/ap/ap4000/index.html</a>

<a href="http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=588065" rel="nofollow">http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=588065</a>

That’s my 2 cents and then some. :)

 

benbje  |   May 21 2005  2:27PM GMT

Thanks for suggestions.
More info: It’s a very large house, No servers, No Radius authentication, no need for local encryption. They just need to be able to move around the house without loosing the internet connection. Any suggestions?

 

techtone  |   May 22 2005  4:30AM GMT

OK

Hold on. I have a question or 2 or 3. You have a large house, What house, Software house? There are no servers?
How do you access internet at the moment? Detail your response pls.

TT

 

mousejn  |   May 22 2005  12:39PM GMT

SonicWALL has a solution if you use their access points. They issue you a Virtual IP so even when your access point has a different subnet the servers see them as the same IP.

3 to 4 AP would require a PRO 2040

 

computab  |   May 22 2005  1:29PM GMT

Get a Belkin ADSL router, model F5D7630. Its easy to setup. If the secondary PCs connected by wireless have 2 or more brick walls between, or there are steel joists around, the signal will be reduced. Enable encryption for wireless.

 

benbje  |   May 23 2005  1:31AM GMT

I was asked for further clarification:

The site is a big house, approx. 400 sq. metes, 2 storeys. They want to have internet access throughout the house, and be able to move around without interruption. They have an ADSL line. My test shows, that 1 access point will not cover 1 floor. I need to suggest ADSL modem/router, Access Points etc. I would like some recommendations about which brand/model numbers you recommend for this scenario. Thanks.

 

victoriano  |   May 23 2005  3:47AM GMT

I’d suggest using Cisco/Linksys WRT54G. They can be setup as wireless repeaters with one antenna talking to the ADLS router AP and the oter antena acting as AP for the roaming PCs. There is a lot of information about that all over the Internet (just enter wrt54g in Google). It is one of the most hacker friendly pieces of hardware that I have ever seen. My team has set up a configuration like the one you are looking for in a condo with several buildings.

 

mtburke  |   May 23 2005  4:47PM GMT

Check out Lucid Link software. The software could configure your access points and provide RADIUS level security.

<a href="http://www.lucidlink.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.lucidlink.com/</a>