On Sat, 2009-10-17 at 20:04 -0600, 3-dB Networks wrote: > but for instance > one city I am working with now wants to be able to watch streaming video > from security cameras while driving up to 75MPH... that's hard to do without > a Mesh IMO.
Maybe hard..but not impossible. Is my solution better? Hard to say. I'd be hard pressed to say outright that the mesh solution is better, though. FWIW, my solution would work fine if the infrastructure WERE a mesh, but it does not require it. I'd suggest reading through the blog post I made that details some of the obstacles that this type of network has to overcome. I have built this solution with MT CPE (in the cars), but it can be done with nearly ANY CPE that can be made "smart" with a script. I have been playing with ImageStream devices as the router connected via ethernet to multiple radios and am nearly able to do the same thing with ImageStream (which means virtually ANY Linux device can do it). The brains in my solution resides in the CPE, and not the network. > Also, I doubt that Homeland Security is paying for anything here or they > wouldn't be hitting up Walmart for free laptops :-D Probably correct. The reason they are not likely to get homeland security dollars is more because they don't know and didn't ask. Last year, there were more $$ budgeted than were given out. > For your last part... you didn't explain what you did for your network. > What equipment was used, how it was configured, etc. I would suspect you > ended up working around the 802.11 protocol to handle the roaming hand-offs > better. It's explained in the blog post. > It might not be a true mesh (meaning you have actual nodes > meshing), but something similar must be done (more AP's than point to > multipoint service to account for worse link budgets from omni's and > typically NLOS shots). Generally it's also best to have the AP's below the > trees... also kinda lends itself to a mesh. You're on the right path, but not quite there. The "mesh" in my case was a fully routed network. My method offers some significant advantages over a simple meshed network, however. As I said, the brains are in the CPE. What that means in the real world, is that I can allow the CPE to connect to ANY network that I know about and can configure interfaces for. I built one network that utilized 3 ISPs with access methods that varied from DHCP, PPPoE and Static IPs (different IP, depending on the tower we connected to). That is something that a mesh cannot compete with, since the mesh would be owned by a single entity (at least in most cases). > With that said... I'm not advocating any manufactures product here (I just > happen to be the most familiar with Motorola's)... but if I was to build out > a Mesh network, and mobility was required, I'd choose something that was > designed for it and proven for it. An if it sounded like I was knocking the Moto option, it was not intended that way. The fact is, that I know (from experience) that we are not nearly as limited as your post seemed to suggest. With smart CPE devices, you'd be surprised what can be done. In some cases, we can do way more with my methods than any other solution is capable of. > Heck I'm really advocating air cards > here... I've got no stake in that but realistically is probably the cheapest > and best option for this police department assuming that there is decent 3G > service there. I would agree, sort of. It really depends on what they need. If it is simple access (even with a vpn) to a network that can handle the high latency and low speed of the cellular network, then an air card is almost certainly the best option. -- ******************************************************************** * Butch Evans * Professional Network Consultation* * http://www.butchevans.com/ * Network Engineering * * http://www.wispa.org/ * Wired or Wireless Networks * * http://blog.butchevans.com/ * ImageStream, Mikrotik and MORE! * ******************************************************************** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
