Reliable wireless?

[Ben Scott]

On 11/30/06, hewitt_tech <hewitt_tech at comcast.net> wrote:
> I have a client who has a computer mounted on a roll around cart and who
> wants to connect using a wireless connection to their LAN. Unfortunately
> there are  8 strong wireless networks nearby with at least 3 being
> unsecured.

  If you're getting interference of that sort, you might need to look
into specialized equipment that operates in different frequency bands,
where each site has to get an FCC license.  That keeps this kind of
problem from happening.  But it's expensive.

> Their application uses a client/server model and when they get
> disconnected from their own LAN, they lose any data that they have typed
> into the application.

  Fix the application.

> I'd like to improve the reliability of their wireless connection.

  I'm afraid "wireless" and "reliability" often do not go together.

> I'm considering setting up a bluetooth connection to a nearby computer.

  Bluetooth generally has a shorter range than 802.11, so I don't
think that would help.

> Other things I've thought of using are Irda, 802.11a (5 ghz range) or 900 mhz wireless.

  IRDA is really slow, and line-of-sight only, and limited distance,
and unreliable.  So I doubt you want that.

  An 802.11 variant that operates in a different frequency range might
well work better (at least until all the neighbors get that gear,
too).

> I suspect part of the reason their wireless connection drops out frequently
> is that they are experiencing interference from the other wireless access
> points.

  Yup.  You can also try channel hunting; maybe you'll luck out and
find all the neighbors are on channel 7 and you can operate on 1.

> In any case the system wants to connect to unsecured access points
> before connecting to their own secured access point despite my attempts to
> make their access point the preferred connection.

  Fix that.  Seriously.  You're going to be hosed as long as that's a
problem.  I know it's possible to make sure an 802.11 client only
connects to a preferred AP, so address that issue.

  Better APs and wireless cards can make a big difference, too.  The
difference between a $50 D-Link AP and a $500 Cisco AP is dramatic.

-- Ben