StuntMonkeh wrote:This is my very first post, little did I know how interesting all the information I have found was going to be when I typed 'wardriving' into Google that I had found on a page that did not describe its meaning !!
Now I have read enough posts on the forum to know that I will get shot down in flames if I do not do some legwork. This I am willing to do but I need a starting point like 'you need to find/calculate X'
I need to create a wifi link between an AP and a laptop that can communicate within a realitivly large building. I cannot specify how big but it would be upto say four floors within a max 50m footprint or typical office/hospital type building as this setup would be used only for a few days at a time at any one building. The laptop is likely to be used in most cases in a few set locations from the AP and comms needs to be setup quickly i.e: time=money. The AP is most likely to be situated within a plantroom on the basement, ground or top floor of the building.
Would just a cantenna type arrangement work if you could remember roughly where the AP is in relation to the laptop position?
I'm guessing what I am asking may not even be possible without a repeater somewhere.
Just finsihed writing my post and realised it could look a little suspect without a reason for this link. The wifi link is to be used when commissioning BMS control systems.
If I had to do this on a repeating basis with various building layouts, I would put together the following kit in a couple of portable boxes.
1 small ethernet switch
4 (insert your favorite brand) wireless access points. Not routers (or just turn off routing/dhcp functions).
1000' spool of cat5e cut and terminated into 200' lengths. 4 for APs and 1 for switch to existing network.
Power injection appropriate for the APs you are using. Screw POE.
That would give you the means to quickly drop cables down an elevator shaft (if legal) or drop it down the risers between wiring closets. Keep in mind that building codes vary, and in the U.S. many states are beginning to enforce codes against abandoning cable in buildings. Many local fire marshals are citing this as a violation.
The parts above would allow you to use NetStumbler (w/ correct card which I am sure you have already discovered in your searches) to quickly lay out a usable network to temporarily provide usable coverage.
As you discover how your coverage works out, add a couple of 5-9 omni antennas to the kit to boost weak points.
If time really is money, it should not be difficult to make a business case to acquire the equipment listed above. Then 2 men should be able to cover a building the size you described in the first morning of a new project.
4 of us put up a temp wireless network in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on the cat walks in 2 days. This included 50+ APs w/external antennas on 5' PVC extensions and 8000' of cat5 pulled back and dropped down the columns to the underground wiring and switches. We were having to terminate the RJ-45 connectors by holding a flashlight in out teeth to see the colors. 3 days later, we pulled it all out in 1 day. And yes, we got caught leaving the cat5 and had to pull and roll up 8000' feet of cat5. It's amazing how many garbage cans that fills up.
MikeP
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.
-- Benjamin Franklin, 1759