Jaco45er

Hi there I am after any feedback on Netgear's WC7520 controller. We have installed many a Netgear WLAN over the years, and apart from some noisy old b/g AP's (that were swapped out by Netgear, no hassle) we have not really had any major issues. However, we are being asked to quote for more managed N times 2.4 & 5 GHz concurrently systems (seems the future is, no matter what the kids bring to school, the WLAN will support it !!!, the days of the autonomous AP are dead) and looking at the cost of the WC7520, it's no longer the "cheap" alternative. But is it in the same class as Ruckus? Aruba etc? Yes yes I could ask the manufacturers but I like feedback from the horses mouth. Also I would loved to hear from anyone that has experience of Netgear and Ruckus, and anyone that uses the WC7520 with CC4. many thanks Jaco45er

Hi Sven FTP should be terminated to create a Faraday cage, that's the idea, to leak unwanted noise to earth. Mind you, if your comms cab isn't earthed (most don't get earthed), then FTP is useless. As others have mentioned, was FTP specified for a reason? I.E. does the cable route through an area that has a high risk of electromagnetic interference (EMI)? Like a boiler room where data cables run close to with KVA cables? If so,then FTP is needed to protect the cable. However, I have lost count of how many schools we have cabled since 2000, and not once have we used FTP (well, unless its Cat6a links). We do use it a lot though in Factories where 440V machines are used, its perfect for that environment. Also, as mentioned before, FTP is more expensive That said, I have come across many a network with an un-terminated earth FTP cables, and never seen an issue. Hope this helps

This surprises me, I have a few schools out there using the WMS5316/WNDAP350 and the earlier WFS709TP without any issues (typcally 30 users a classroom). You can't compare the WMS5316 Wireless Managment System (note: not controller) to the controllers by Meru, Aruba etc, it's only around £400 but I must say, for a compromise when you need load balancing and channel allocation management, then for the money, it fits the slot. I think someone mentioned getting Netgear UK involved, that would have been my suggestion too. I would be interested in the outcome. Jaco45er

The power, the talent, the wealth, the looks, the style. Ole Tiger had it all, apart from the brains

Hi Bezwick You have me very nervous now. You saying it will never be a stable machine?

do you mean WPA2 personal or enterprise? If you are not using an 802.1X authentication server, Radius then WPA2 (AES not TKIP or mixed mode) is about as strong as you will get. TKIP has been compromised, not as bad as WEP was (Airsnort lads have made WEP next to useless) but TKIP can leave ARP compromised, and clever cookies can use this to infiltrate a network. If WLAN security is vital to you, then authenticate externally I would suggest. Hope this helps.

Hi Little Miss Some D-link AP's (like the DWL-3200AP's for example) can be configured to accept a limited number of clients and perform load balancing (does it work? no comment ), so might be worth checking the settings. You could check the AP logs to see if the mac addresses of the clients not logging on are actually being rejected by the AP (if it's the AP that's causing the problem). Ironically there is no "IEEE 802.11 standard", to my knowledge for load balancing (if that is the issue) and in the past I have divided laptops over multiple SSID's to guarantee load balancing, but this has to be replicated across the site so that each wireless cell is present in all required areas (or laptops working in one area won't work in another area). I totally agree with MN though, throw in a managed "controller" based solution and if your current problems are down to load balancing (could be, could be not ) then the managed wireless solution will take that particular issue out of the equation. I need to look into Meru, everyone seems to rate it highly. Jaco

Hey thanks chaps Glad I posted now, was just about to give Prevx a go. I will have a look at that tomorrow Michael. I can actually get it to boot up, but it takes like 4 or 5 attempts Thanks again Jaco

Help, I need a desktop guru's advice. I have only had this new Packard Bell machine loaded with Windows 7 home premium since Thursday and already I have the infamous black screen with the cursor. I have managed to get the thing back up and running again but I dare not turn it off. It has updated with one of the "suspect" updates, but I see no point in undoing the update because surely with updates on it will just update again? I have found this: According to a Microsoft email that's making the rounds, the company is "investigating reports that its latest release of security updates is resulting in system issues for some customers." Until that time, what's a poor PC user to do? Prevx, a UK developer of anti-malware software, has surmised that a recent Windows security patch changed Access Control List (ACL) entries in the registry, preventing some software from running properly and prompting Engadget to whip up a Bergman-inspired graphic Now apparantly Prevx has put together a fix, has anyone tried it? did it work? or has someone out there resolved this issue? Many thanks, Jaco

Very good point (A fellow Kettriner I see ) I know a couple of Senior schools who only use their assigned network for the connection between the routers Ethernet interface and the external ethernet of their firewall, only using 2 addresses on a 255.255.252.0 network, then internally they do what they like.

Hi tmcd35 If your switches are managed, one way to trace which port is serving what, and without pulling the network apart, would be to find the MAC address of the device, then check the MAC address table of each switch to see where that MAC address was seen. A little long winded I know, but using this method you should see exactly which path the device in question takes throughout your network topology. Also worth mentioning make sure the client is active to stop the address ageing out of the switch MAC tables. As for VLAN's, in the past I have used VLAN's to segregate the LAN between Curriculum and Admin networks, it free's up IP addresses (by creating a new subnet) and offers another level of security, and other benefits like scalability and better performance (more control over broadcast domains etc) Typically, a decent level 3 core switch is best (IP lite is ok, but usually the hardware is not as good performance wise than a true layer 3 switch) that is designed to switch at layer 3 for best perfomance. The key to managing a VLAN network is good documentation, knowing exactly how your network is bolted together is paramount, especially if you are using "port-based" VLANs. I wouldn't go VLAN mad though , ask yourself why you want/need to VLAN (ie, running out of addresses, security or performance issues) and in the good ole tradition of (if it ain't broke ) do I need to VLAN? As for NAS, well that's out my comfort zone Jaco

Hi all My name is Steve, and I am a co-director of a small education specialist network cabling/wireless (and associated bits n bobs) company based out of Kettering Northants, but we spend most of our time working in Schools in Hertfordshire (funny enough). Here really to keep up with the prefered IT trends in education. Terrific site btw Steve

We installed 2 of these Netgear systems over the summer. I would say they are about one of the best managed solutions I have come across, if money is a key factor. Only downside at the moment though is that they don't support 802.11n thin AP's (yet!) Jaco45er