Wireless networks and large groups of laptops

[maniac]

[quote="eean"]

Also, I always have them on a timer plug (it's all POE, so its easy). This way they get a good hard reset every day. I think that helps most technological appliances!

Also that is the ultimate in securing your wireless network, physically turning it off when you're not using it, genius!

[eean]

The original reason was that water managed to get itself in the wire. It then seeped its way along the wicking, to the socket where it short circuted the POE and melting the socket and killing the poe adaptor and ap. The instillation company were very, very sorry, and replaced it all. Thought it may reduce the fire risk if they were off at night. But there are other benefits too!

[SimpleSi]

My experience is users * computers * wireless == large chance of problems :P

Used everything cheap Buffalo, Dlink, Dabs economy - I wouldn't rely on any of them to work more than about 90% of the time or 90% of a class of laptops (Max I have is 15 - 2 per pupil).

Just too many variables - XP/AP/wireless cards/chipsets.

Even matched manufacturers stuff AP/card behaves differently in different laptops (usually school buys 10 and then another 5 the next year).

I could believe that industrial strength kit works but I have none of that.

I know if I was running a business, I wouldn't entertain anything costing less than £100 because I wouldn't trust it to work reliably.

However, in my primaries we make do and they do work a lot of the time

regards

Simon

[kiran]

I have had experience with cheap designed for home Wireless Access Points and there are not a good solution in a large school or even a small one for that matter.

Although we haven't used industrial strength or blue socket or cisco WAP we have used Netgear PROSafe which I have found to be good value but also provide a decent amount of coverage and usability for many concurrent connections.