2011/11/3 Marghanita da Cruz <[email protected]>: > Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: >> >> No, I don't think range is much of a problem. XOs are pretty good at >> picking up wi-fi signals (dual external make a big difference). >> >> The main problem is capacity of the network. School wi-fi networks are >> typically not well-geared for every child actively using the >> connection at the same time. >> > > Is it the capacity of the WiFi network or the Internet link? > > Are they on a Satellite or Terrestrial (Wireless or Fibre) Internet > Connection? > > Is there a GSM/4G network available? > > Small/remote communities, through necessity, tend or at least need to be > better integrated - is there a library, hot spot provider in the vicinity? > > It seems one approach to increasing wireless capacity is to reduce the > size/range of cells and increase their number. eg lightRadio > <http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/features/light_radio/index.html> > > So, maybe multiple routers connected via ethernet. May also be worthwhile > testing different Antenae.
This is strictly a WiFi problem. Computers running Sugar can talk with each other over the network, for the purposes of collaboration (think multi-player games, etc.). This can generate a fair amount of traffic (lots of multicast packets), and for best results should have a fairly decent wireless link. This isn't a typical network use case. Using multiple APs at lower power is technically not a bad idea (that's what I'd do), but is a little too much for the school. The wireless equipment would be purchased on school budget and implemented by a non-technical person (most likely a teacher), so there needs to be minimal components and configuration required. I'm looking for something as close to plug-and-play as possible. Anything more risks being too complicated to be successful. Sridhar -- "Our mission is to enhance learning opportunities for the 300,000 primary school aged children, living in remote Australia, by providing each one with a connected XO laptop as part of a sustainable training and support program, by 2014." http://www.laptop.org.au/ http://www.laptop.org.au/participate http://dev.laptop.org.au/participate -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
