[geeks] Re: 802.11

[Ido Dubrawsky]

On Thu, Feb 27, 2003 at 05:38:56PM -0600, geeks-request at sunhelp.org wrote:
> On Thu, 2003-02-27 at 15:05, Michael A. Turner wrote:
> > distance info. I have found lots of things stating what the standard is, but
> > nothing listing what the common distance is for it to broadcast (without
> > heroic modification) anyone got a site they can point me to? Just need some
> > facts. I want to get my full points today for Dave baiting so any help would
> > be appreciated.
> 
> This depends quite a bit on your equipment, but i'll provide a few data
> points.  All recent unmodified wireless networking i've done has been
> with the mini-pci orinoco card in my inspiron 8200, which runs windows,
> so i judge signal quality by how many of the little green bars i have.
> 
> Short version: You can get a LOT more than 50 feet.
> 
I can tell you that my Cisco AP350 goes way beyond 50 feet.  I've got it in the
basement (sandwiched in between the 2924 switch and the PIX), but I've got 
a hell of a signal on the second floor in the bedroom.  And it goes much 
further beyond that if I run the AP at 100mw signal strength (which I normally
don't). 
When we developed our wireless network assessment tools we tested them on the
Cisco wireless network in Austin.  We got up to 250 feet or more beyond the 
building and were still able to receive a clean signal that we could access
the network with (and that's just using the Cisco 350 PCMCIA card).  When we
used a Yagi antenna (an external, directional antennae that looks like a 
Pringles can...and yes, you can make one of your own by using a Pringles can)
we got up to 1/4 mile away and still accessed the network.  
The first customer we did a wireless assessment for we got up to 1/2 mile away
before the signal died down too much to get anything useful out of it.  If we
had used a parabolic antenna we probably could have gone even further.
To sum it up...the distance your signal travels is determined by the placement
of the AP as well as the material between you and the AP.  The 802.11 spec
says nothing about how far the signal should travel.

Ido
-- 
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Ido Dubrawsky               			E-mail:  ido at dubrawsky.org
Network Security Architect				idubraws at cisco.com
dubrawsky.org
500 Hermleigh Rd
Silver Spring, MD. 20902
(512) 689-5312 (cell)
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