Hardware Recommendations 2

[MrTBC]

XP SP2/2000 Server

We currently run a wired LAN but would like to add a (hardware) AP to this to pilot running a few wireless desktop workstations.
To cover the whole of one building will require distances up to nearly 150ft but we do have lots of thick brick internal walls to get through. Ideally I would like run this on 5GHz at 108Mbps and potentially support up to 50 clients.
Where possible we tend to use 3Com or Cisco hardware.
I'm based in the UK.

Any recommendations for an AP and NICs please?

Thanks very much guys.

 

[TimRegester]

APs are now in their third or even fourth generation, Cisco and 3Com do provide quality gear that may not be the most powerful but do take security seriously and have done from the start. So either would do.

One AP will not cover your whole building especially with thick brick walls. I firmly believe in a new adage for the twenty first century "Wired where you can, Wireless where you can't" So unless running Twisted pair to a desktop PC is difficult or unwieldy they are best left wired.

Wireless, even at 108Mbps will never match the performance and crucially the stability of a wired connection. Simple things can interrupt the signal, in a test at a police station a copper walking in front of the desk killed the signal completely as he was wearing body armour while a box containing maxpac coffee cartons killed the connection due to the silvered packaging.

Wireless in an office is good for conference rooms, breakout areas and possibly hotdesking areas all with laptops, it is not ideal for someone using a PC for 7.5hrs a day unless the AP is next to the PC and the signal will never suffer interruption.

The very nature of wireless communications being radio is it's achilles heel, this will never change, though multiple access points in the same area can alleviate these problems, but in most cases will be overkill and drive up cost.

 

[MrTBC]

Thanks TimRegester - that's really useful. We do have one very small building that is currently uncabled and will be used for occasional computer use only - so will still want to test this.

 

[stussy]

That's excellent advice re AP's. We use 10 ap's currently for 5 handheld devices onsite, and with the grief they give me, I would NEVER want to replace dependable, wired connections. I probably reboot one ap every 5 days, there are days where they just don't want to connect, or they connect but the speed is atrocious...maybe OK for the home, but not work.

 

[MrTBC]

OK thanks guys. So...if I want to put a single AP in place to cover the one unwired building, can you recommend an AP and NIC for a desktop that could run at 108Mbps please?