Best practices for setting up this home network?

[TechnoPro]

The large home is 3 stories, as follows:

Level 2
Level 1
Basement

Cat5 jacks are in every room, terminating as loose cables in the garage on Level 1.

Topology right now looks like this:

Comcast -> Firebox SOHO6 WatchGuard -> 8-port hub (old, suspected of failing) -> various runs
A room on Level 2 has some cheap wireless device plugged into the wall jack.

Objective is to have full wireless coverage of both levels and outdoor patio, as well as having live jacks in certain rooms.

My first thought was to replace the old hub with a switch to give the specified rooms a wired connection.

Next, the house (including yard) is too big for 1 wireless device of any type, so 2 are in order. I was thinking of 2 Linksys WRT54GS's (set as APs) strategically located throughout the house to maximize coverage.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[spidey07]

That's what you could do. Just make sure the cables are terminated into a patch panel (and it wouldn't hurt to ground the panel according to specifications)

No matter how big your house is a proxim or cisco AP would blanket the whole area. But two linsys or buffalo APs using WDS will work well.

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: spidey07
That's what you could do. Just make sure the cables are terminated into a patch panel (and it wouldn't hurt to ground the panel according to specifications)

No matter how big your house is a proxim or cisco AP would blanket the whole area. But two linsys or buffalo APs using WDS will work well.

There's a trend I've noticed among electricians who take a stab at running Cat5. They neglect patch panels. So this house just has a bunch of cables dropping from the ceiling in the garage, all terminated with connectors. Mind you, they did a meticulous job in labeling every run...

Are there specific models of Cisco or Proxim AP's that you recomend? I'll look into them for future big spaces.

I will profess my ignorance here. What's WDS?

 

[ColdZero]

WDS is a way of linking one base station to another. You could have 1 base station actually wired to your network and then another base station hanging off the wireless network extending it further.

--------[] ) ) ) )) [] ) ) ) ) ) ) []
Wired AP WDS Laptop

Personally, I wouldn't use a WDS if you have so many Cat5 cables around. I'd connect each base station to the wired network. I'd also go with Linksys WRT54G's rather than Cisco or Proxim gear which would cost waaay more.

 

[spidey07]

Actually WDS allows for clients to seemlessly roam between access points without the need to re-authenticate/resend key information enabling a wireless network to appear to the client as "one big wireless network"

I would assume the linksys/buffalo support this, but I'm not keen on SOHO gear.

As far as leaving the cables dangling like that - yeah, the installer is an idiot. Overtime they will fail and cause you all sorts of headaches.

If it is solid core wire you could just buy a patch panel and some jacks and rewire it.

 

[ColdZero]

http://www.proxim.com/support/techbulletins/TB-046.pdf

Actually WDS is a Wireless Distribution System to extend wireless networks beyond wired access points or to bridge wired.

The roaming between base stations in the same wireless network is part of the 802.11 mac handoff process.

 

[spidey07]

hahah, leave it to manufacturers to make up their own acronyms.


Sorry to confuse you OP.

For Cisco WDS is wireless domain services. What proxim calls WDS is what cisco calls "link role flexibility" where it can be a bridge, an infrastructure AP, a client a workgroup bridge or any combination of them.

"Understanding WDS
When you configure Wireless Domain Services on your network, access points on your wireless LAN use the WDS device (either an access point, an Integrated Services Router, or a switch configured as the WDS device) to provide fast, secure roaming for client devices and to participate in radio management. If you use a switch as the WDS device, the switch must be equipped with a Wireless LAN Services Module (WLSM). An access point configured as the WDS device supports up to 60 participating access points, an Integrated Services Router (ISR) configured as the WDS devices supports up to 100 participating access points, and a WLSM-equipped switch supports up to 300 participating access points.

Fast, secure roaming provides rapid reauthentication when a client device roams from one access point to another, preventing delays in voice and other time-sensitive applications.

Access points participating in radio management forward information about the radio environment (such as possible rogue access points and client associations and disassociations) to the WDS device. The WDS device aggregates the information and forwards it to a wireless LAN solution engine (WLSE) device on your network.

"