When everyone has wireless, nobody will have wireless (that works)?

In the process of trying (simply as a volunteer) to help some newly
arrived international students get their WiFi-equipped computers to
access the campus network, I have discovered that the area has a
ridiculous number of wireless networks, many of them on the same
channel. Some have been established by this particular academic
institution (one for the library, one for the student lounge, one for a
popular campus gathering place, two for the housing complex, and perhaps
others that I have not yet identified).

Then there are networks established by the institution next door, plus
other that are not identifiable by their SSID (e.g., simply "Router!")
but perhaps are home systems belonging to nearby residents. And who
knows how many more nearby networks are not broadcasting their SSIDs?

According to the Netgear Web site, only Channels 1, 6 and 11 have no
overlap. Other combinations may have overlaps and interfere with each
other, resulting in low throughput if the systems work at all.

So what will happen when wireless networking becomes even more popular?
Will access become even more difficult?

This is quite apart from the susceptibility of WiFi connections to
interference from cordless phones: our own home WiFi connection dies
whenever the 2.4GHz cordless phone is in use. And is anyone keeping in
mind that Channels 1 through 6 overlap with a band allocated for use by
the Amateur Radio Service, where operators may use vastly more power
than wireless networking systems and may blot out WiFi communications
over a wide area? Be thankful that this is not yet a highly popular
Amateur Radio band and that highly directional antennas are normally
used on that band.

Perce

May i suggest using 802.11a which i think is on the 5.4ghz frequency. That
way you may only conflict with commercial isps if there are any in your area
or upper priced cordless phones.


"Percival P. Cassidy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:sMMJg.921$(E-Mail Removed)...
> In the process of trying (simply as a volunteer) to help some newly
> arrived international students get their WiFi-equipped computers to access
> the campus network, I have discovered that the area has a ridiculous
> number of wireless networks, many of them on the same channel. Some have
> been established by this particular academic institution (one for the
> library, one for the student lounge, one for a popular campus gathering
> place, two for the housing complex, and perhaps others that I have not yet
> identified).
>
> Then there are networks established by the institution next door, plus
> other that are not identifiable by their SSID (e.g., simply "Router!") but
> perhaps are home systems belonging to nearby residents. And who knows how
> many more nearby networks are not broadcasting their SSIDs?
>
> According to the Netgear Web site, only Channels 1, 6 and 11 have no
> overlap. Other combinations may have overlaps and interfere with each
> other, resulting in low throughput if the systems work at all.
>
> So what will happen when wireless networking becomes even more popular?
> Will access become even more difficult?
>
> This is quite apart from the susceptibility of WiFi connections to
> interference from cordless phones: our own home WiFi connection dies
> whenever the 2.4GHz cordless phone is in use. And is anyone keeping in
> mind that Channels 1 through 6 overlap with a band allocated for use by
> the Amateur Radio Service, where operators may use vastly more power than
> wireless networking systems and may blot out WiFi communications over a
> wide area? Be thankful that this is not yet a highly popular Amateur Radio
> band and that highly directional antennas are normally used on that band.
>
> Perce

For my own home network I could of course use 802.11a if a lot of the
neighbors get WiFi -- at present I see just one (unsecured, of course)
Wireless-B network with a weak signal. And all our important networking
is over wired connections, anyway, with the wireless connection being
mainly for a notebook that may be used in various parts of the house.

But these students are trying -- not always successfully -- to connect
to an existing Wireless-G campus network that was perhaps not designed
as well as it could have been and is (one could almost say) "under
siege" by other nearby networks. Switching to 802.11a would be expensive
for the school if the WiFi cards in all the faculty notebooks have to be
replaced. And what about the students with their existing 802.11b or
802.11g cards?

IMO any wireless networking system using the 2.4GHz band is doomed to
failure as it becomes even more popular. And that surely includes the
802.11n standard that is just around the corner (with "Pre-N" products
on the market already).

Perce


On 09/01/06 05:17 am Ray Taylor wrote:

> May i suggest using 802.11a which i think is on the 5.4ghz frequency. That
> way you may only conflict with commercial isps if there are any in your area
> or upper priced cordless phones.

>> In the process of trying (simply as a volunteer) to help some newly
>> arrived international students get their WiFi-equipped computers to access
>> the campus network, I have discovered that the area has a ridiculous
>> number of wireless networks, many of them on the same channel. Some have
>> been established by this particular academic institution (one for the
>> library, one for the student lounge, one for a popular campus gathering
>> place, two for the housing complex, and perhaps others that I have not yet
>> identified).
>>
>> Then there are networks established by the institution next door, plus
>> other that are not identifiable by their SSID (e.g., simply "Router!") but
>> perhaps are home systems belonging to nearby residents. And who knows how
>> many more nearby networks are not broadcasting their SSIDs?
>>
>> According to the Netgear Web site, only Channels 1, 6 and 11 have no
>> overlap. Other combinations may have overlaps and interfere with each
>> other, resulting in low throughput if the systems work at all.
>>
>> So what will happen when wireless networking becomes even more popular?
>> Will access become even more difficult?
>>
>> This is quite apart from the susceptibility of WiFi connections to
>> interference from cordless phones: our own home WiFi connection dies
>> whenever the 2.4GHz cordless phone is in use. And is anyone keeping in
>> mind that Channels 1 through 6 overlap with a band allocated for use by
>> the Amateur Radio Service, where operators may use vastly more power than
>> wireless networking systems and may blot out WiFi communications over a
>> wide area? Be thankful that this is not yet a highly popular Amateur Radio
>> band and that highly directional antennas are normally used on that band.

> But these students are trying -- not always successfully -- to connect
> to an existing Wireless-G campus network that was perhaps not designed
> as well as it could have been and is (one could almost say) "under
> siege" by other nearby networks.

If it's a school you have leverage in dictating school policy. That's a lot
different than the real world. Make the operation of an unapproved device a
discipline problem. But at the same time work with them to build additional
coverage where it's needed. If you've got smart student that want to help
do this then work up some instructions and meetings that help them do it.

So I'd start by having a clear policy regarding adding new wifi routers.
And at the same time have a way for legitimate additions to be setup without
causing (too much) congestion. You'll have to put some teeth in the policy
so make sure your campus switches and routers have good per-port reporting.
You'll have to track down the routers when they appear and arp tables in the
routers are crucial to this process.

> IMO any wireless networking system using the 2.4GHz band is doomed to
> failure as it becomes even more popular. And that surely includes the
> 802.11n standard that is just around the corner (with "Pre-N" products
> on the market already).

Yeah, there's definitely a 'tragedy of the commons' problem with unlicensed
airwaves. With a bit of cooperation some of the hassles can be mitigated.