Wireless statistics..

So, apparently we're renovating at work, but it's TOP SECRET.

But alas, since I work in IT I have to know these things.

Anyone, on to what I need to know...

I work in a factory (manufacturing military insignia)

Now, as you can imagine lots of metal/concrete/walls/etc.

They're thinking about putting wireless for all the desktop PCs in the new office(s).

I need some statistics of the range of a wireless AP, and if it would be better (and cost efficient) to stay wired.

I personally think we should stay wired, since 80% of our machines are W2K, (W2K doesn't support WPA2, right?

), cost of wireless cards and all the issues that can come with wireless.

Anyone want to help?

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Comments

darkerosxx

Is it just one room full of computers? Are the machines inter-mingled?

I don't know about the limitations of W2K's wireless security, but that would definitely be something to check. If you can't get WPA at the least, then don't bother.

vCole

darkerosxx wrote: »

Is it just one room full of computers? Are the machines inter-mingled?

I don't know about the limitations of W2K's wireless security, but that would definitely be something to check. If you can't get WPA at the least, then don't bother.

Not just one full room, we have different departments, I'm unsure of the layout.

tiersten

How many offices, how spread out are they and how many devices are going to be using the WiFi?

FadeToBright wrote: »

I work in a factory (manufacturing military insignia)

Factories tend to be a very noisy RF environment from all the heavy machinery. Wireless probably won't like it. You'll have to do a site survey really to check.

If they can do it then I'd recommend staying wired in an office. It will be significantly more reliable, faster and more secure. Wireless is great for users with laptops but also with the ability to plug into the network when necessary.

dynamik

How many machines? How many rooms? How large of area?

Range will vary based on equipment, antennae, interference, etc.

WPA2 is XP/2003 SP2 and later. WPA is still considered secure though.

darkerosxx

FadeToBright wrote: »

Not just one full room, we have different departments, I'm unsure of the layout.

If they're full rooms of desktops separated from the machinery rooms, you could set up a wireless access point in each department room to avoid having to get around the machinery. If you don't currently have wiring, this will likely be cheaper, as it will only require wiring for the AP or a mesh AP setup that works around the machinery area.

vCole

dynamik wrote: »

How many machines? How many rooms? How large of area?

Range will vary based on equipment, antennae, interference, etc.

WPA2 is XP/2003 SP2 and later. WPA is still considered secure though.

Well we deal directly with AAFES who is on military bases. So everything needs to be kept on LOCK DOWN and super secure.

The factory is over a mile long.

I'm going to have to see how they're laying it out.

vCole

Also, does anyone have any goods links to WPA/WPA2 information?

darkerosxx

WPA/WPA2 - DD-WRT Wiki

JDMurray

If it's DoD-style, you'd better become familiar with CACs and card readers (both contact and proximity) too.

macdude

If it is for military it would be better to stay wired. More secure and less of a headache. It's a little more up front, but worth it in the end.

kalebksp

I'm not a fan of wireless for systems that aren't going to be moved around a lot. The only benefit is that you don't have to run wires, at the cost of performance (not only in bandwidth, wireless is functionally like a hub, only one system talks at a time), reliability, and security.

ULWiz

Have to agree with the posts above. WAP with a good amount of users just bog down as well. Wired would always be a better solution here but of course we dont have to much info to go on here.

Kepp us posted when you get a little more info so we can try and help you out.

JavonR

Never ever, ever, ever do full wireless for a business. It's just not worth the headache.

mamono

JavonR wrote: »

Never ever, ever, ever do full wireless for a business. It's just not worth the headache.

Agreed, only if your clients are mobile. You are better off with staying wired. I worked with a system integrator and there was a great deal of interference. The office area on the 2nd floor wasn't too bad, but that was a whole different story on the ground level 1st floor. Made sense with all the dense concrete and a lot of interference coming from the warehouse. Stay wired; but for due diligence, do a site survey. That way, you can back up your claim with evidence.

Good time to sit down with a CWNA book.

vCole

JavonR wrote: »

Never ever, ever, ever do full wireless for a business. It's just not worth the headache.

When it's all said & done, it's the owner's call, not mine. I can just present my evidence why it's a bad idea.

darkerosxx

What people have said above is nothing new. Wired is almost always going to be more efficient. However, will it be cheaper? I wouldn't run to tell your boss it's the wrong thing, because it's not for everyone. Everyone has different needs and not everyone needs wired connections. Depending on your company setup, in may help your stature to do a cost/benefit analysis for your boss and present that showing whether wired/wireless would be better. Heck, you might find it's cheaper to go wired based on the AP requirements for your building.

vCole

darkerosxx wrote: »

What people have said above is nothing new. Wired is almost always going to be more efficient. However, will it be cheaper? I wouldn't run to tell your boss it's the wrong thing, because it's not for everyone. Everyone has different needs and not everyone needs wired connections. Depending on your company setup, in may help your stature to do a cost/benefit analysis for your boss and present that showing whether wired/wireless would be better. Heck, you might find it's cheaper to go wired based on the AP requirements for your building.

With an estimated 5 APs alone, the cost of PCI cards in all desktops is about $3,000.

But, we can't do WPA/WPA2 w/ W2K, which we have 38 machines, out of 46 total machines in the building. So we would have to replace those, even at $600/ea, you're looking at $22,800 on top of the $3000+.

paintb4707

FadeToBright wrote: »

Well we deal directly with AAFES who is on military bases. So everything needs to be kept on LOCK DOWN and super secure.

The factory is over a mile long.

I'm going to have to see how they're laying it out.

If security is an issue I don't understand why wireless would even be considered.

Not to mention, if you have wireless clients using an ERP you're going to have the biggest headache ever.

darkerosxx

FadeToBright wrote: »

With an estimated 5 APs alone, the cost of PCI cards in all desktops is about $3,000.

But, we can't do WPA/WPA2 w/ W2K, which we have 38 machines, out of 46 total machines in the building. So we would have to replace those, even at $600/ea, you're looking at $22,800 on top of the $3000+.

Have you found out how much it would cost to setup a wired infrastructure?

Plus, read above...I'd get the security approved before wasting your time with anything else.

vCole

paintb4707 wrote: »

If security is an issue I don't understand why wireless would even be considered.

Not to mention, if you have wireless clients using an ERP you're going to have the biggest headache ever.

As of said a few times, it's the owner, not me.

paintb4707

FadeToBright wrote: »

With an estimated 5 APs alone, the cost of PCI cards in all desktops is about $3,000.

But, we can't do WPA/WPA2 w/ W2K, which we have 38 machines, out of 46 total machines in the building. So we would have to replace those, even at $600/ea, you're looking at $22,800 on top of the $3000+.

Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of lost productivity. Just as a broad example, you have an employee that gets disconnected from the wireless for X amount of time and you pay him X amount of money while the company gets zero return.

Just something to think about over an extended amount of time. It adds up. If your boss can crunch numbers I'm sure that would change his mind.

paintb4707

FadeToBright wrote: »

As of said a few times, it's the owner, not me.

I wasn't knocking on you. Just thinking out loud I guess.