On Tue, Sep 27, 2005 at 09:29:25AM +0000, Oleg Goldshmidt wrote:
> I don't see another relevant question discussed here: How about not
> laying cables at all? Having everything wireless? Pros and cons? Has
> anyone here done it recently?
I have both. There are cons to the wireless side, I'll discuss them
because the cons to wired side are well known.
1. Restrictions. In Israel you are limited to channels 4-8 an 100mW
RADIATED power. That means if you add a 6db directional antenna,
you must reduce your power 6db (to .25%).
2. Interference. The IDF uses the frequencies outside of channels
4-8 and here in Jerusalem, it often overloads the receivers of my
WiFi equipment and the network crashes. With some equipment, I can
set the firmware to recover in 5-10 seconds, some takes over a minute.
2a. 2.4gHz cordless phones also cause the same problem, except that they
actually operate on the same frequencies. My next door neighbor has one.
(n.b. DECT phones do not interfere.)
3. Coverage. I live in an apartment with the usual poured concrete,
steel reinforced floors. What is unusual is that there is a room under
the apartment that we use too. WiFi cannot penetrate the floor.
4. Obstacles. We have a large shelf unit in our living room made of
pressed-board (glued wood flakes). It's opaque at 2.4 gHz. Paper and
books are the same.
5. Security. WEP is great for making the guy driving down the street
looking for a place to upload his SPAM or download his kiddie porn
go somewhere else. It won't stop someone who really wants to break in
or use your network. (really want is defined as willing to spend a
1/2 hour or less trying).
6. Speed. I have an 11mbps network. Throughput is less than 10m Ethernet
and much less than 100m. I do daily backups of my wife's email
and hourly rsyncs of mine. On a 100mbps network it's quick, on WiFi
it would take too long.
My expectations for Max is that in five years, all of the above
problems will be overcome. But that will require a total replacement of
all equipment. I would recommend running 1gb wire (cat 6) and
appropriate sockets at each end. I would not waste my money on 1gb
switches (hubs no longer are made) and patch cables.
Note: Hubs only connect multiple Ethernet devices to the same bus. Switches
receive each packet and retransmit it as necessary. (store and forward)
Any "hub" that claims to allow you to mix 10mbs and 100mbps devices is
therefore a switch not a hub as it has to store and forward packets
to change their speed.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel [EMAIL PROTECTED] N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (077)-424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
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