how to roam among 4 access points

[jsaad]

i have a plan to use tablet pcs in a medical office where the staff want to roam easily using wireless lan. i have 4 poe access points with unique ssid. a computer consultant tells me i should have all APs with the same ssid and on the same channel. each ap is about 100 feet from the other using 54mb/G rated ap.

what do you think:
1. same or unique ssid
2. and all on the same channel or different channels (i use 1, 6 and 11 with 2 aps on channel 1)

 

[dberg35]

If they are quality AP's then you could connect them as one unit. Example: Unit1 is primary and units 2-4 mask unit1 SSID and mac address. One note of concern is what about HIPAA? This can be a huge security issue and something not to take lightly.

http://www.sans.org/reading_room/papers/?id=1335

 

[jsaad]

well they are quality but dont have that masking feature you mentioned. it is a veterinary office so only cats and dogs, HIPAA is not a concern (but a good warning, thanks).

so any thoughts on my first two points:
1. same or unique ssid
2. and all on the same channel or different channels (i use 1, 6 and 11 with 2 aps on channel 1)

 

[dberg35]

Ok so what make are the AP's?

 

[jsaad]

I am using Engenius brand APs that give us really strong signal. They are POe and have web based mgmt.

 

[dberg35]

Ok looking at a couple of manuals and not knowing your model this can be done, it is called WDS. Checkout their site.

 

[jsaad]

If WDS is necessary to get seamless roaming, i will try it out.

But isn't wds necessary when you have an un-wired AP that acts as a repeater. all of my APs are wired and won't WDS slow down the network speed.

 

[dberg35]

Again I am only looking at a PDF but there should be something there to set it up to link all AP's.