Booster advice.

[burnsyb0y]

A very good mornin' to you fellow geeks!

 

Hoping that someone can advise on the best option with the following issue:

We have had a new outdoor hut put in recently and we need to get a wifi signal over there. The company that installed our network is suggesting wiring over to the new hut and putting an AP in there or dangling a cable from the roof of an existing hut to the new one. All well and good but the school is pretty hard up on money at the moment so myself and the network manager are trying to push them to put a wifi booster in there as there will not be to many computers installed in there and it will be much cheaper. We currently have way too many Cisco air-lap1131ag-e-k9 AP's that were installed as part of building schools for the future and the new hut is no more than 20 meters from the closest AP's.

 

So what would you personally advise and if you agree that a booster would be best could you reccomend a make/model.

Thanks a tonne, eduhobnobs for you all haha.

[mac_shinobi]

Not sure if this is an option due to electrical wiring between any of the school building(s) and the hut but possibly powerline adaptors ( Devolo / TP Link or any other brand ) ?

 

Also if you try a laptop connected to the nearlest wireless AP - what is the connection like / does it keep dropping out or very weak and not very fast etc ?

[hallb15]

Can the Cisco APs be used in bridge mode? You said you had way too many so could you use two as a bridge from the nearest hardwired building to the hut you're trying to reach?

[burnsyb0y]

Just checked the signal and it is perfectly fine over there and though its a great shout, the cables will not allow for a powerline adapter.

And i will check the specs of our AP's. thans guys will get back to you.

[jinnantonnixx]

I'd try and avoid a repeater solution. They're find for home use, but the throughput is poor. But try it and see, nothing to lose - perhaps it will be OK for your application.

I've installed microwave repeaters many years ago, but I don't know if these are in vogue any more.

In theory, you could run ethernet cable to the building in a grounded metal conduit, but this is not the job for a cowboy. Don't run low voltage and high voltage runs in the same conduit.

The Ethernet spec is unshielded and balanced, with no coupling to DC transformer, so ground loops and grounding problems shouldn't happen.

[hallb15]

I just spotted this on Amazon. 30M of waterproof, direct burial CAT6 Ethernet cable for £12.99 - order it and get digging!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Multi-Cables-CAT6-20m-Outdoor-waterproof/dp/B00EOTHCAO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1416305458&sr=1-1&keywords=waterproof+ethernet+cable

[burnsyb0y]

Done a speed test in the IT room and Behind the hut in a way that it is blocking signal and only lost 1Mbps and added 2 ping.

We will only be installing about 3 computers in there as it will be a nursery hut.

 

And cheers for that Hallb, that is probably going to be the route we go down.

[hallb15]

Done a speed test in the IT room and Behind the hut in a way that it is blocking signal and only lost 1Mbps and added 2 ping.

We will only be installing about 3 computers in there as it will be a nursery hut.

 

And cheers for that Hallb, that is probably going to be the route we go down.

 

Make sure you dig deep enough so it is protected from small animals chewing through it (yes, they will chew anything!) and its good practice to put warning tape in the soil between the cable and the surface so in years to come, anyone digging up the ground will not cut through your network cable.

CAUTION ELECTRIC CABLE WARNING TAPE UNDERGROUND 10 MTRS: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

[difinity]

If you're burying cable, it might be worth burying it in a plastic pipe to give a little more protection. You could also lay some string inside in case you want to pull further cables in the future ?