Re: Multi-AP WiFi best practice

ken@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Slightly OT, so I apologise, but this is the closest group, I think.

I visit a school that, like many, has a 'notebus' - a trolley
containing 16 laptops that is pushed to a classroom for the pupils'
use. They complain of a frequent inability to logon and very poor
speeds.

When I checked from my laptop I could see 12 APs and could connect to
every one of them. They are all configured identically (same SSID and
security settings) but an attempt has been made to spread the channels
around.

A walk around the school showed 2 APs in every classroom. The APs are
all Zyxel G570U devices that can be set up in many ways (WDS etc.) but
are all set up as wired APs.

So, how would a WiFi expert set this network up? I have considered
changing half of the APs to another SSID,and changing half of the
laptops to use the new one, thus avoiding all 16 using the same AP
(which is a risk otherwise) but is there any other guidance the sages
herabouts can offer?

And how to force XP to wait until the connection is established before
logging on? At least I assume this is what is preventing users from
logging on when their credentials have not been cached (it's a AD
domain-based RM CC3 network).

Ken

I hope I qualify as an "expert". I have implemented wireless solutions
in education and I am a member of the janet wireless advisory group.

In networks with anything more than 1 wireless access point I would
recommend installing a proper wireless switching system, such as
Trapeze, which is available from vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, D-Link
and 3Com (under different names). These work using "fit" access points
which are controlled by a central switch. This makes implementing a
wireless network far simpler as you only have one device to manage, and
they take care of frequency management for you.

If you would like more detailed information, please contact me offline
and I will be happy to advise you further, be it from my own experience,
or putting you in touch with the right person.

Regards

Chris
.

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