> On Tue, 24 Dec 2002, at 1:06pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >>> You hang a wok on your wall. >> >> Been there, done that.. > > I didn't mean a *real* Wok -- although your link is very amusing! :-) > > http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/wok-on-the-wall.html > >> Wireless (802.11b/a/g) isn't very good for a primary internet >> connection based on 3 things
I wonder if that complies with the part 15 rules. :-) Really though, with the BAII gear, the FCC certfies antennas for use with radio systems and your suppoused to use only those antennas to be in full compliance. (Which we do and are). It costs a little more for the antenna but it's worth the bragging rights. 802.11b/a/g isn't designed for WLAN (Wide area LAN). Anyone using it for that purpose is crazy. Either they like giving away bandwidth or they like or they don't care about thier business. BAII dosen't follow the 802.11b specs. Don't know what they use, if anyone is really interested in more information mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] (I think that's his address. I don't have my address book on this box so I'm trying to remember what it is). > > Well, as I said, we have a few customers using fixed wireless services > from a local ISP with pretty good results. Keep in mind that the > equipment the ISP uses is not the off-the-shell stuff you can buy at > Staples. It is designed specifically for this kind of thing, including > the antennas. (It is also a fair bit more expensive.) I believe the > owner said that it was based on 802.11<something>, but I don't remember > what. > > The CPE[1] says "BreezeACCESS" on the label. The manufacturer of that > brand appears to be a company called Alvarion. They have a website at > <http://www.alvarion.com>, if you want to check the stuff out. We use BAII to deliver bandwidth to our business level customers. It's carrier level gear, orginally designed for Israel armed forces about 10 years ago. > >> 1. Security.. WEP is okay for short term stuff ... > > The ISP claims the equipment uses a proprietary security system that > doesn't suck like WEP does. Whether that means it is a completely > proprietary solution, or WEP with proprietary extensions, or the ISP is > just full of sh*t, I don't know. :) > Yes and no. Yes the radios have a prop login system to control access to the radio features. As far as I know WEP is your standard WEP, however I hear that there is a new WEP method in the new 4.1 firmware. Maybe the ISP is referring to the ESSID. It's not a method for securing the network, but again it provides one more step for ppl to get onto your network. Your ISP should only should hand out IP's to authorized MAC addresses, makes it a bit harder for john.q.public to buy a BAII and hop onto you network. >> 2. Speed.. In the case of 802.11* you get the bandwidth shared.. > > The ISP claims the equipment does bandwidth reservation. Our > customers > certainly have SLAs[2] guaranteeing a CIR[3]. If the ISP's equipment > does not do what they say it does, they are going to end up in some > serious legal trouble. The BAII radios have MIR and CIR settings per radio. Dosen't work as well as a Alvarion Traffic Shaper :-). > >> 3. Reliability.. Wireless is flakey at best. > > We have one customer who has been up for six months or so on this > service > without trouble, including tonight's nasty weather. One site for six > months doesn't amount to much, of course, but so far, so good. :-) > netSaint reports uptime of 99.99% uptime for our wireless network in Charlestown. We're running test beds in several other markets which have up time of three nines, we don't want to "let the cat out of the bag" as to which markets we are turning up. Our clients see ping times of 5ms average, and throughputs of about 2.3 meg. >> 2.4ghz stuff is flooded with cordless phones, micorwaves, ham radio >> and god knows what else.. > > The ISP said that the equipment can operate in a licensed band if need > be, > and they have contingencies in place to switch everyone over if needed. > Right now, they are operating unlicensed because it's cheaper. Or so > they claim. > the closest frenq that will support those speeds is a MMDS band of 2.7 (I think). All the MMDS frenq are sold off..no more for sale. :-( It's great to see ISP's modify equip. If and when the FCC pays you a visit I wonder how much the fines and fees would be for modifing a radio so that it operates outside of FCC allocated frenq. the BAII and any DSSS (Direct Senquence Spread Spectrum) radio can "hop" around interference as need be. >> You better have line of sight ... > > As I said in my post, it is strict line-of-sight. One of our > customers > two miles down the road from our building had no problem getting a feed. > But there is a slight rise between us and the cell tower -- enough so > that the trees get in the way. No wireless service for us. :-( > We're experimenting with NLOS gear. 900Mhz gear that will give around 200k/sec. > Feel free to contact the ISP and quiz them all you want: > http://www.mvawireless.com > > Footnotes > --------- > [1] CPU = Customer Premises Equipment. In this case, a radio with an > Ethernet jack. > [2] SLA = Service Level Agreement. A legal contract. > [3] CIR = Committed Information Rate. Reserved bandwidth. > > -- > Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > | The opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do > not | | necessarily represent the views or policy of any other person, > entity or | | organization. All information is provided without > warranty of any kind. | > > > _______________________________________________ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss ------------------------------------------------- This message was sent via USAExpress.net's Webmail System Find out how you can get online with USAExpress.net at http://www.USAExpress.net _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
