Multiple Wireless APs in Warehouse. B vs. G.

Well I just did the impossible and got a solid wireless network going
in a 136,000 square foot warehouse filled halfway up with 1 to 2 ton
size paper rolls. I used 5 Linksys WAP54G Access Points, and upgraded
them with the dual high gain antennas and a power over ethernet
converter. Each AP has the same SSID and WEP key and are on different
channels. It works great! You can roam through each AP without any
considerable packet loss. I haven't found any dead spots so far, but
I'm wondering if I run the APs on 802.11b-only if I will see a better
performance. I will be running Pocket PCs out there that use 802.11b
only, but I will have the occasional use for 802.11g in the offices.

My question is: can a device wirelessly roam throughout this network
while switching between the B and G bands without a problem? Anyone
have any suggestions for expanding the range easily?

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ps.com...
> Well I just did the impossible and got a solid wireless network going
> in a 136,000 square foot warehouse filled halfway up with 1 to 2 ton
> size paper rolls. I used 5 Linksys WAP54G Access Points, and upgraded
> them with the dual high gain antennas and a power over ethernet
> converter. Each AP has the same SSID and WEP key and are on different
> channels. It works great! You can roam through each AP without any
> considerable packet loss. I haven't found any dead spots so far, but
> I'm wondering if I run the APs on 802.11b-only if I will see a better
> performance. I will be running Pocket PCs out there that use 802.11b
> only, but I will have the occasional use for 802.11g in the offices.
>
> My question is: can a device wirelessly roam throughout this network
> while switching between the B and G bands without a problem? Anyone
> have any suggestions for expanding the range easily?


You can run both "b" and "g" but not simultaneously, the AP will slow
everyone down to "b" if even one "b" client connects.

Just for that AP though. So I could run mixed mode in the office and
"b-only" in the warehouse without any problems. Thanks!

>"Joseph Stewart" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


>
>You can run both "b" and "g" but not simultaneously, the AP will slow
>everyone down to "b" if even one "b" client connects.
>
>

It's not quite that bad. See http://tinyurl.com/9hye7

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message ...
> My question is: can a device wirelessly roam throughout this network
> while switching between the B and G bands without a problem? Anyone
> have any suggestions for expanding the range easily?

Hi,

There is currently an IEEE spec (802.11x?) underway that will standardize
handovers, but as of now it just comes down to how each specific client
hardware (and it's drivers) perform handovers. Each manufacturer is
different.

You'll probably have to experiment to see how your hardware handles
switchovers.

I have 802.11a, 802.11g, and 802.11b in the air -- plus a few repeaters.
(Each has a specific purpose. The 802.11a is completely seperate physical
network for my WLAN. 802.11g for game consoles and some media stuff.
802.11b for just an internet pipe.)

I'm using mainly DLink, so can only speak of DLink's behavior. Other
manufacturers could, and probably are, different.

Anyway, with my laptop (or PDA), I get the following behavior:

(Switching between repeaters)

- When moving into the range of a repeater, the handover is seamless. There
is no break in connectivity, nor do IPs have to be re-assigned. In fact,
there is no notification that a handover has occured unless I pull up the
ulitlity program and look at the MAC address of the AP I'm connected to.
There can be network traffic at the moment the handover occurs without any
problems occuring.

- When moving the range of a stronger SSID (with the utility set to
automatically connect to strongest SSID, which I normally don't have it set
to):

- (Switching to a stronger unique SSID on same network): There is a
slight break in connectivity as it switches over, but no re-assignment of
IP's. I can see the momentary disconnect and re-connect on the driver's
icon. If there is network traffic at the moment the handovers occurs, most
(90%?) of the time it continues without any problems.

- (Switching to a stronger SSID on a different network): Break in
connectivity and, obviously, new assignment of IP's. Loss any network
activity at the moment of handover, obviously, as it has connected to a
different network.

I'd imagine that Linksys should be similiar to that. Just experiment.

Cheers,
Eric