OverWorked Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 Hello, I need to replace a couple of APs here, and having been cought out with unsuitable kit before, don't want to get burned again. I need wireless access points that will:- 1) Play nicely with their neighbours. I've got APs now that cause probs by communicating with each other (at least I think that's what's happening) and causing the managed switches to cut their connections. Disabling STP on the switches has reduced the frequency of this problem, but it's still happening sometimes. 2) Forward DHCP. I thought they would all do this, but I bought a 3com model recently which will only act as a DHCP server, and won't forward DHCP requests. It causes all sorts of problems - if the 'real' DHCP server is down temporarily, it starts issuing IP addresses for the whole network. Has anyone got a good reliable 802.11g network? Especially if it's been installed professionally. I'd like to know what hardware you've got. Thanks.
plexer Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 Hehe you mean you have self aware access points, taking over the world muahahaha. Seriously though if they can be configured you must be able to disable this? or are they just frequency scanning to pick the least crowded channel to use? We use HP 420's here. Ben
cheesypete Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 Just bought a couple of Cisco APs and these (so far) seem to be excellent - but costly!
OverWorked Posted June 20, 2007 Author Posted June 20, 2007 Seriously though if they can be configured you must be able to disable this? or are they just frequency scanning to pick the least crowded channel to use? We use HP 420's here. Ben What I meant is:- One part of our network is handled by 3com managed switches. Access points connected to these were frequently (every hour or so) getting cut off from the network. I'm not sure what was happening, but I think the switches were detecting a loop between the APs and preventing any more traffic to them. They were on different channels (so I suppose traffic couldn't be going between them hmmm...). Disabling STP on the ports connected to the APs greatly reduced the problem, but didn't eliminate it completely. I'll look into the HP 420's, though. Thanks.
Nij.UK Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 i would go with Cisco, but as already mentioned they can be a bit costly, but i think they are worth the little bit extra as from past experience ive never had any issues with them and they are really straight forward to setup aswell. I use to use them at my previous place and we have just rolled out a wireless network where i am now to cover the whole of the campus. It might be worth if possible to try and get a demo of the AP that you decide to go for and test it out for a week. This will give u confidence in what u buy N
OverWorked Posted June 20, 2007 Author Posted June 20, 2007 Just bought a couple of Cisco APs and these (so far) seem to be excellent - but costly! What model was it? Presumably that's an Aironet 1240AG Series, not the seriously meaty-looking 1500. EDIT- I was looking at the Cisco UK site, which only lists two models. The worldwide site has more.
OverWorked Posted June 20, 2007 Author Posted June 20, 2007 Just looked at Misco. The cheapest Cisco is the Aironet 1130AG. It looks like it'll meet my needs. Is this the one you mean?
Nij.UK Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 At my previous work we used the 1100 range and it was capable of doing all that we needed. Cisco 1100 At present we use the one that you mentioned Cisco 1130AG
Nij.UK Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 You should also get education discount as being a school, but im not quite sure how that works with Cisco, but i know that u will be able to get them cheaper then whats on the site. You will just have to give them a call and see what they can do for you
bjones Posted June 20, 2007 Posted June 20, 2007 We are using the Aironet 1200 and we love them. We have them installed in the cellings, so if you are in a classroom that has a access point, you do not even know it. We have 20 of them and they give wireless access no matter where you are in the school. They also are PoE (power over ethernet) so you do not have to worry about hanging extension cords from the cellings (Not that any of us have done that LOL).
OverWorked Posted June 20, 2007 Author Posted June 20, 2007 Thanks everyone. I'll order a 1130AG and see how we go. If it's good ( and I think it will be) I'll have to persuade the Head to part with money for some more. I didn't know Cisco did discount for schools. I'll look into that too.
Tom_ONI Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 To get cisco discount for schools you need a cisco partner who is authorised by cisco as a "Schools Specialist" Partner. A Gold partner with School specilisation should be able to give you the best price. you can find a list on cisco.com ONI are both and I am happy to help you out with a price if you want just drop me a mail The 1240's are a bit more ruggid for school installs and its what we would usually recomend, however the 1130s should also be fine. Both can also be upgraded to lightwieght at a later stage if you decided to put a management system in cheers, Tom
OverWorked Posted November 15, 2007 Author Posted November 15, 2007 Update just for the record: I've just bought and installed 3 Cisco Aironet 1131s from ONI and after three weeks there's been no trouble with them. They're rock solid. Not like the stuff we had in before.
Oops_my_bad Posted November 15, 2007 Posted November 15, 2007 Good stuff that's nice to hear - I'm looking at either using cisco stuff in our new 6th form or just expand the current 3com system (which has been faultless) :?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now