WiFi Bridge

[m25man]

I've been playing with some new hardware today....

 

Check out the performance over .5 km and it's not even on half power!

 

It was doing a 5GB File transfer whilst watching IPlayer with CCTV going the other way and a Voip call

 

Wirespeed wireless... Now Im going to try and trunk 4 units to see if I can get 200 Mbps

[AOWireless]

What wireless devices where you using? Are you using two 802.11n AP's or a true wireless bridge?

[m25man]

Ubiquiti Nanostation M5's using 802.11A/N 5Ghz configured as a true bridge.

I forgot to say that was also running WPA2 as well.

These things are so cool.....

[Steven]

Do you think these would manage 6 miles non Line of Sight if mounted on top of both houses?

 

Steven.

[m25man]

I wouldn't think so at 5ghz these are being used in the states for last mile Internet delivery though.

[DMcCoy]

Oh, it's wimax. Does it need a license for that amount of power? Edited May 6, 2010 by DMcCoy

[torledo]

Oh, it's wimax. Does it need a license for that amount of power?

 

don't think it is.

 

i thought these products were a/g

[DMcCoy]

Hmm, it seems you are right, it's not wimax, they call it Airmax, but it's a bit vague about the transmission power.

[AOWireless]

Ubiquiti uses the same Atheros based 802.11n chipsets as most all the other point to multipoint manufactures. There is a lot of outdoor wireless bridge equipment in the same class (e.g. Proxim MP8100 series). They have taken advantage of the 802.11n standard and using OFDM and MIMO. The one thing about Ubiquiti is they use some proprietary parts (like cables and antennas).

[torledo]

Ubiquiti uses the same Atheros based 802.11n chipsets as most all the other point to multipoint manufactures. There is a lot of outdoor wireless bridge equipment in the same class (e.g. Proxim MP8100 series). They have taken advantage of the 802.11n standard and using OFDM and MIMO. The one thing about Ubiquiti is they use some proprietary parts (like cables and antennas).

 

thanks for the info. what are these products on the market like as far as nLOS applications ? they also seem quite diverse as far as usage applications, is it still mainly building to building bridges or mesh applications because of the LOS ? operating in the unlicensed frequencies seems to make them more convenient as far as deployment and cost.

[AOWireless]

It all depends on what your application is and throughput required (my disclaimer). Unlicensed radios take advantage of OFDM and MIMO (basically making multipath an advantage (see my blog on the topic and be sure to Digg it: "Non Line of Sight Point to Point Wireless Backhaul" - Non Line of Sight Point to Point Wireless Backhaul). The disadvantage is the risk of interference. The systems are cheap in costs because of the 802.11n chipsets they use. They work well and we deploy them for clients all the time. They work well for video backhaul. With nLOS you will end up with a lower modulation and lower throughput. I typically do not recommend them for an organizations primary backhaul. If you have LOS I always recommend licensed radios that do true full duplex and are immune to interference. The unlicensed radios use TDD and the throughput is aggregate. They also have a larger packet header due to the 802.11x standard. If you need a simple bridge they are great. If you need carrier grade connectivity go licensed.

[m25man]

Well, 24 Hrs uptime and I have been pushing 100mbps + through it continuously.

The default power output is set by default to 11db "Obey Regulatory Power " but what the heck if you turn this off it'll go to 27db and the signal strenght goes end stop!

Nothing overheating and no aircraft have landed in my back garden yet!

Interestingly the cat has decided to park itself directly in the beam path! I will see if has two heads in the morning.....

These units are 802.11A/N License free 5Ghz but are available in 2.4

 

I have now got a 1 Watt High Power 2.4Ghz unit from the same manufacturer to test this will be fed into 100 Meters of Leaky Feeder to provide Wifi access in a corridor that is lined in re-enforced concrete and steel where RF just can get in or out that will be interesting.