wireless ethernet access

[hans007]

do any of you guys use this? how useful is it really. currently i dock my laptop to an ethernet enabled docking bar which makes wireless pretty useless at my apartment. but apparently ucla is considering putting 802.11b or a similar technology on campus so i was wondering.

 

[spanky]

we have it in our school. just in the german dept, becuz we're too cheap to run fiber there. sometimes wireless is a pain in the butt because depending on where your access point and wireless nic are located, you sometimes get weak signals or dropped signals. we're using all cisco equipment, so i don't think its a problem with the quality of the parts we use. just some kinks that need to be worked out in the technology.

 

[Jfur]

nasty security problems

 

[vegetation]

I need frequent access to my file server so the 802.11b is just too slow for now. Less than 1/2 the speed of a good old 10mbps wired link (encryption on).

 

[phatcow]

just make your connection is encrypted, allthough ive been reading on security holes bigger than certain prostitutes.

 

[IcemanJer]

It really depends on how far you are away from any given access point, and how many people are connected to that particular access point. The 802.11b is THE industrial standard for wireless ethernet, so that's probably what your school will do. We here at Dartmouth has got about 97% campus coverage since the initial installation back in April, and almost all the time it works great, that I could get coverabe anywhere I walk. The only problems we've had recently is oversaturated access points with too many students trying to use it.

Security is definitely a problem, even with the industrial standard EAP/LEAP 128-bit encryption. I can't say much about that since we haven't even turned on the encryption for our wireless yet because Apple hasn't released the encryption-enabled Airport card for the iBooks/PowerBooks (yes, Dartmouth has been a Mac campus, and they're dragging the rest of us down!).

 

[cipher00]

I use it at home so I can roam the house with the laptops. Some security issues, but I think they're overblown in some cases. Of course, that depends on your situation. Overall, I give it a cautious thumbs up.

 

[Danman]

At my school, we have 5 mobile labs with 20 Compaq P3 Laptops in them with Cisco wireless router and wireless nics. They are great and we never have any problems with them. I think they were 25 grand a lab............