Adding Wireless Network Access

[LarryG]

Our office network, starting inward and working out, consists of:

various workstations and servers
10/100 switch
router with built-in firewall
DSL modem

If we wanted to add wireless Internet access for laptop computers to this, but without making the entire network wireless, what would we have to do? What additional hardware would we need, about how much would it cost, and how would it fit into the overall topology?

(I should mention that the laptops themselves already have wireless capability. Also, I'm not looking for a blow-by-blow walk-thru of the exact steps required to make this work, rather just a broad overview.)

Bonus question: if the laptops are equipped with RJ45 Ethernet jacks, is there any real reason we would WANT to add wireless connectivity to our network -- other than the obvious one, to cut the laptops' cords, so they could be used in any room in the building whether that room is wired or not?

[LCHIEN]

Personally, I'd replace the router connecting the DSL Modem to the switch with a D-Link or NetGear wireless 802.11g + 4 port router for less than $50.
Then you can plug the switch uplink to one of the 4 wired ports.

As for the wired or wireless, you can use one or the other or both together. I've had some computers tied into my home network both
through the RJ45 10/100 jacks and wirelessly at the same time. It was seamless as far as I can tell. I think it requests addresses on all available network ports and uses the first one that responds.

Also a good reason for using it is rooms where there are no jacks, but rooms where the network jacks are not convenient, it keeps people from tripping over cords. Especially in conference rooms where the network jacks are on the walls and the table is in the middle. Some conf rooms have hubs located in the middle of the table but even that is not always convenient.

Also in rooms where there are not enough jacks.

If your clients are mostly communicating with the internet then the DSL modem at 1-2 or 3 mbits/sec will be the bottleneck and no one will suffer noticable bandwidth loss using wireless vs. wired.
If you transfer data from a server to other computers within your local network, then the wireless network will limit the speed to wireless clients. Wired, can go as high as 100 mbits per second, the wireless will go at 54 mbits/sec, but may slow down depending upon signal strength and interference to speeds like 22 or 11 or 6 mbits/sec on a bad day.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_point
Wireless Access Point ties into wired network. Very simple, very easy.

And, no there is no benefit other than cutting the cord. If file transfer between computers is heavy in the office the wireless will likely be slower than wired.

[JSUPreston]

I'd personally avoid the D-Link stuff. They are really bad about releasing multiple versions of their hardware as the same model number, but the firmware is different for each version, and then abandoning support on some version of the hardware, and not others.

For example, I used to have a D-Link DI-604, revision C (IIRC). Major security hole has been found, but they will not release an update to my revision, but those who have revision D or later might get an update. Often times, the revision you get is up in the air.

I personally prefer the Linksys. As others have said, no problem with the wireless, but large transfers are going to be slower, and may be subject to signal degredation based upon the interior of the building.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I'd personally avoid the D-Link stuff. They are really bad about releasing multiple versions of their hardware as the same model number, but the firmware is different for each version, and then abandoning support on some version of the hardware, and not others.

For example, I used to have a D-Link DI-604, revision C (IIRC). Major security hole has been found, but they will not release an update to my revision, but those who have revision D or later might get an update. Often times, the revision you get is up in the air.

I personally prefer the Linksys. As others have said, no problem with the wireless, but large transfers are going to be slower, and may be subject to signal degredation based upon the interior of the building.

100% agree with Linksys over D-Link!

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As for the wired or wireless, you can use one or the other or both together. I've had some computers tied into my home network both
through the RJ45 10/100 jacks and wirelessly at the same time. It was seamless as far as I can tell. I think it requests addresses on all available network ports and uses the first one that responds.

That's interesting. Do you get any noticeable difference in stability, access time, etc?

[uglystick]

some other inputs

One issue with wireless is security:

modern access points comes with built-in encryption algorithms, but most of those have been proved easy to crack.

Something you may want to consider.

At work, the wireless network is ubiquitous & I believe the Cisco access points are all powered over ethernet (PoE) instead of requiring an outlet power source. When docked the laptop uses 10/100 wired network, undocked it switches to wireless for meetings, etc.

At home, I use a Linksys router/AP with DSL and have had no issues.

[LCHIEN]

I had two linksys wireless routers die on me in different ways, the real popular 802.11b + 4 port variety. I replaced them with a D-Link DI-524 802.11g and it has worked flawlessly.

Just my experience. No more linksys for me.

[JR]

If we wanted to add wireless Internet access for laptop computers to this, but without making the entire network wireless, what would we have to do? What additional hardware would we need, about how much would it cost, and how would it fit into the overall topology?

Add a wireless access point inside the firewall. It needs to have an ethernet port for inclusion to wired network. It should be really cheap, I dunno <$100, unless you want it to have other things like VPN or whatever.

Bonus question: if the laptops are equipped with RJ45 Ethernet jacks, is there any real reason we would WANT to add wireless connectivity to our network -- other than the obvious one, to cut the laptops' cords, so they could be used in any room in the building whether that room is wired or not?

Wireless can facilitate providing internet access for guests, which is a hospitable thing to do.

As others have mentioned, security is an issue with wireless enabled networks. For maximum security you'd enable access by entering the actual MAC addresses of those laptops expected to access the network. This, of course, tends to mitigate the hospitatility factor if you're out of the office that day.

JR

[vanguard]

I've also had issues with Linksys equipment and no longer recommend it. I've had very good luck with both D-Link and NetGear equipment.

If you do decide to ahead and implement the wireless network in the office, be sure to read up on security and depending on your needs, applications and equipment I would segment the wired network from the wireless.

[crokett]

Get Netgear. Stay away from DLink or Linksys. I have a Netgear business class router/WAP at home. got it as an open box buy and it has a DLink PCMCIA adapter in it. The same adapter would not work in a Dlink product.

The small-business class firewall costs a bit more but allows for more. It allows forvirtual private networks for if you want to work from home, more control over what gets through and what doesn't and remote access to manage the router. Handy sometimes.

For a great education and the most flexibility, find a Pentium or P2 class machine at the thrift shop, add a wireless card and install Linux and build a firewall.

[Ken Massingale]

I'm a novice at this but will share my experience. I had a Linksys and DLink. I couldn't get more than 50 feet range with a reliable signal. Went with Belkin Pre-N and more than tripled that range. The laptops do have to have the Pre-N cards tho.

[LarryG]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. I'll take all this under advisement but for the moment, with adequate wired jacks available, I think it's most likely we'll just stand pat. But I'll talk to the boss about the possible desirability of making wireless available to visitors. We get a lot of clients and product reps through the office each day, but hardly any of them are carrying laptops. Over time that could change, though, especially as free wireless access becomes more "expected." (Remember when people asked, "Do you have a fax machine?" That morphed into "What's your fax number?" and now it's "What's your email address?")

[onedash]

not sure what kind of phone system you have at work but I have vonage at home with the linksys router and its sweet. They gave me the router for free after rebates plus $25 gift card at best buy.
Business plans are probably more than homes but with the money you save you could invest in more bandwidth. The router is so much better than my linksys B I had. it has VPN and other fancy features I am not really familiar with.

[vaking]

Larry,
Security is a major issue with wireless. All the setups discussed before suffer from one oversight: You mentioned that your office has servers attached to the wired network. Adding wireless to the same network may expose the data on those servers. Remember that wireless signal is not limited to your office exactly, somebody next to your building can catch that signal and steal the data from servers. Adding wireless network for visitors is a good idea and not difficult to accomplish but you don't want to compomise security of your wired network for that. I would have done it in a following way (opposite to what JR suggested):
Add one more cable/dsl router with wireless built-in and at least one wired port as well. Install that router immediately after the DSL modem. Install your existing wired router with firewall after that (plugged into wired port of the new router). Your existing router with firewall will continue working as-is and will still be protecting your wired network. The new wireless router will allow wireless laptops connect to the Internet but not to wired servers (Router with firewall will prevent that). New router does not need to be expensive or elaborate because most security is still provided by existing router. The new wireless network is established outside of your existing wired network.
A lot depends on how sensitive the data is that your company keeps on existing network but this setup does not introduce any new risks really.