Topic 15 [wireless]: Wireless IP: New alternatives to leased lines
#544 of 545: Paul Terry
http://www.spring.com/yapp.html (terry) Tue
Nov 25 '97 (07:04) 3 lines
I'd be interested in more details on the waveland stuff Steve.
I'm still scratching my head on how to do a wireless setup for Austin
to my isp that others could share. Any more ideas Dave?
Topic 15 [wireless]: Wireless IP: New alternatives to leased lines
#545 of 545: Dave Hughes (dave) Tue Nov 25 '97 (08:31) 57 lines
Its really pretty basic terry. For the crudest rule of thumbm
assume that connecting up wirelessly anyone to your ISP system
who is 5 miles or less away is pretty easy, between 5 and 15,
harder, and over 15 hardest.
Then decide who are you trying to hook up at what (as an
acceptable minimum) throughput speeds. Knowing the cheapest
way for starters is to assume a base radio - at your ISP
location - will operate up to T-1 half duplex. Which could
handle 24 simultaneous 56kbps sessions.
So you then look at radios, like Breezecoms, where one 'Access
Point' at the base, connected into your system via an ethernet
connection (or thru a hub) can be connected to X number of
'Bridge' units - all acting like one big LAN.
And systematically after you connect up the Access Point to
as high gain an omni antenna as high as you can get it on
your roof above your system, take Brigde units to each
customer's premises and see if you can get a link, carrying
a small omni, or yagi, to point back to the AP as the case
may be. Knowing that the ethernet coming out the bcak of
the radio can run up to hundreds of feet without serious
loss.
So if you get 3 customers with Bridges, which cost you about
$1,800 apiece, the AP about $1,400 - their radios talking
to be base radio (little green link lights on all), then
all thats left is connecting them by their ethernet to their
radio, giving them IP addresses, and they are connected.
In this configuration with those radios, acting as extensions
to your LAN, each user will be able to use up to the highest
thruput of your radios, expecting at least 512kbps each.
Degrading only as more users share the same base radio
thruput. So figure out what to charge them since you
will not require phoneline at your end, serving them.
Alternatively, if where your system is is *not* central
enough to radiate out to your intended customers, then
you can find a tall building which is more central, and
between which you can see/reach by a pair of radios.
Then make a deal with the building management to put an
omni antenna on their roof, run the RF cable to the top
floor where, inside you can get wall power and put the
radio, put the *Access Point* radio there (one AP can
talke to many WBs), and connect up your Bridge radio
first to get a good link, and connected up as many
others at customers premises who can see/link to the
high antenna and access point. (no computer needed there,
for the AP just receives and relays traffic).
The effective throughput will be halved to maybe 512kbps,
but thats hardly a problem when its free secure, digital
communications unaffected by weather.
While the radios may differ, the principles I have laid
out above stay pretty much the same.