This is my first post on here and its really interesting to see all the different opinions on Wireless and the various solutions. I have been in IT for 12 years and a specialist in Wireless for around 10 of those. I am currently consulting for various organisations but here are some things you might find useful questions to ask when looking at wireless:
What is the total cost? Remember to look at installation time, cable runs, switch ports and disruption to the school!
Architecture - Is the system reliant on a centralised controller (which you may need buy another one for true redundancy) or is it like a true switching environment with the intelligence at the edge (i.e. controller built in to each device for fast processing and high bandwidth with central control software)?
Will the vendor go in a real head to head test against competitors? Try it out!
What is the upgrade path to 802.11n?
Has the vendor done a real life site survey? Its unbelievable to think that anyone would purchase any wireless system without having a real life survey of their environment done. Predictive means nothing. No predictive tool in the world will know exactly what the propagation of your RF environment will be. A real life site survey will give you accurate results. It may be time consuming but if the vendor is serious about their claims they will do this. And then give a 100% coverage guarantee. This will allow a much lower risk deployment.
What do the reseller/vendor charge for services?
For my opinion centralised architectures are old hat, last generation. Just like switches you need your intelligence at the edge. You need directional antennas - this increases throughput, bandwidth and coverage. Seriously, who in their right mind deploys a solution which requires a controller, and for redundancy another one and all the cost. You need 100% coverage guarantee and a real life survey. Anything is selling yourself short.
I am a big fan of the Xirrus architecture and the surveying methodology they have and its always done exactly what it said it would. For multiple laotops logging on, I have never found anything to come near it and I have been testing various wireless solutions from most major vendors for years. Recently heard of a direct head to head against 3 other vendors where Xirrus was head and shoulders above the rest. Any thoughts/feedback?
