Settings up Domain network from Wired to Wireless 1

[amanua]

A client has a wired network of 2 DCs, 1 file server and almost about 15 workstations. The systems are almost over three years old and the servers running windows 2000 server OS and all workstations runnning win 2000 pro; except 2 running XP prof.
He is moving to a new building and suggesting going wireless.I am concern about performance interms of connectivity because 3 of the workstations are running 2 critical applications that constant connectivity is very crucial .
By the way, any opinions and if that wireless option is possible what best hardware would be needed as well as configurations.

 

[kmcferrin]

Wireless is a good complement to wired networking, but it is not a substitute for it.

For starters, wireless networks are less secure than wired networks. This is because every packet is broadcast over radio waves and can be received by anyone who chooses to listen. Properly encrypting and securing wireless communications involves managing security certificates, which can be cumbersome for non-technical people. Not only that, but even encrypted packets can be captured for later cracking/analysis.

Secondly, wireless networks are slower than wired networks. On a wired network you can get dedicated 1Gbps connections for very little cost. If you're willing to spend lots of money you can even get 10Gbps wired ethernet. With wireless networks you can get 54Mbps (roughly 1/18th the speed of 1Gbps) with commonly available hardware, and if you get special hardware you can hit 108Mbps.

Thirdly, wireless networks are a shared media much like the old ethernet hubs were. That means that while you can get 54Mbps with 802.11g wireless, that 54Mbps is shared between all devices using those frequencies. That means that all of your PCs communicating with the access point share the same 54Mbps of available bandwidth, AS DO OTHER PEOPLE USING 802.11g TECHNOLOGY WITHIN RANGE OF YOUR DEVICES! So other people operating wireless networks will result in slower network access for you. It also means that if a device is transmitting on the network, the other devices on the network cannot transmit at the same time.

Fourthly, wired ethernet scales. What do I mean? Well, let's say that you're saturating the network connection to your server. If you need more bandwidth you can just add a second network card and double your available bandwidth. This can be done with network teaming (a feature of the card) or network load balancing (a feature of the OS), or you can just designate the second card for a different function (i.e., backups run over the secondary interface and everything else runs over the primary). Because wireless networks utilize shared media (airspace/frequency ranges), added a second wireless adapter does nothing for you.

Finally, wireless networks are susceptible to interference from other radio devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range. This interference can further degrade network performance.

So why use wireless networking at all? Because wireless network enables 1 key feature: mobility. You aren't tied to your desk if you need network access, and you aren't required to find a live network port anywhere. So wireless networking is mostly only useful where you're connecting mobile devices (laptops/PDAs).

There is a secondary benefit of wireless, and that is that it costs very little to implement due to not having to purchase and install cabling. However, for non-mobile applications the potential cost savings is far offset by the limitations of wireless networking.