Can a wireless AP get over loaded???

[MadPeriot]

If you have 100-200 users accessing one AP (Dlink), is it possible to overload the AP if too many users are connecting to your network?? I wouldn't think so, but need expert advice?

 

[JackMDS]

Wireless connection to be stable needs around 2Mb/sec.

I.e. a single Entry Level 802.11b Wireless device might get clogged with 4 and more cocurrent users.

:sun:

 

[Swimmer12]

What about something like DLink's Air Premier series routers... http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=37 They are made for business..

 

[cmetz]

MadPeriot, yes. There are two ways in which this can happen. First, the APs have a table of how many clients are actively associated with the AP, and this table can have a size limit - sometimes small, like on SOHO devices. How many home users have 1,000 clients? Second, 802.11 is a shared medium, and after some not very big number of active users (not idle), it's going to get too slow to be useful. Statistical multiplexing helps with this - not everyone is likely using it at the exact same time - but that only buys you some single-digit factor of oversubscription.

Some enterprise-grade access points (e.g., Cisco) allow you to REDUCE the power of the device and tell the clients to do the same, allowing you to pack more APs closer together, and thus decrease the number of active stations per AP, to deal with heavier volumes.

 

[MadPeriot]

Thanks for clearing up my question.