questions

Questions and Answers

- Terminology - Some basic definitions
- How far will my coverage extend?
- I have a large area to supply wireless coverage to, or dead spots in my coverage.
- How do I set up the system? I am not at all technical.
- What is the difference between wired and wireless clients?
- Can I have both wired and wireless clients? Why would I want to?
- What is Bluetooth, and what about this 802.11a, and 802.11b and 802.11g stuff?


Terminology - Some basic definitions


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How far will my coverage extend?

The normal range of a wireless access point is highly variable depending on environmental radio noise, intervening walls and structures, and the placement and orientation of your antennas. As a general rule, place the access point at reasonably high elevation with respect to your end user laptops to get the best coverage. Ceilings or high on the walls are best. The general ballpark for normal wireless coverage can be estimated at 100 meters (325 ft), although your coverage could be as small as 20 meters (65 ft) in extremely poor environments or as much as 300 meters (980 ft) in extremely good environments.
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I have a large area to supply wireless coverage to, or dead spots in my coverage.

The units can be used to extend wireless range through a "daisy chain" arrangement. This allows you to extend the wireless coverage in your site. Each unit will service the wireless clients in it's area of coverage, and pass that signal on to the next unit in the "chain" to reach the internet. They all remain part of the same controlled network, so the same access code can be used no matter which unit they are in range of. Users can enable access when in range of one unit, and seamlessly wander to within range of other units, without losing connectivity at any time. Each of the units can "mesh" with one or more other nodes while simultaneously handling wireless clients. The units all have wired ports as well, which can be used to attach wired systems into the network or extend the "wired" network without running additional wires. Power for the meshed units is all that is required.
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How do I set up the system? I am not at all technical.

The system was designed to be very simple to set up. Default configuration will be done by us before we ship the unit to you, although you can make changes to all settings yourself if you wish. For most locations users will do the following to set up the system: In most cases you do not need to hire someone to set up your system. If you wish to have it done professionally, any computer service technician (or most neighborhood high school kids) should be able to have it up and running in just a few minutes.
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What is the difference between wired and wireless clients?

A client is any device that can connect to the internet, a PC (desktop, laptop or tablet) a personal digital assistant or any other device. Wireless clients connect using one of several wireless standards, sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi. Wired clients plug into a wired connection, called ethernet, with a connector that looks like a fat telephone plug.

Can I have both wired and wireless clients? Why would I want to?

You can use a mix of wired and wireless clients. Most locations will generally have at least one wired PC to create tickets, usually the existing office PC. In most cases this will not interfere with the PC's regular duties. You may also choose to have one or more wired PC's in a public area where guests who do not have laptops can access the internet and their email, using the same ticketing control method as is used for wireless clients.
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What is Bluetooth, and what about this 802.11a, and 802.11b and 802.11g stuff?


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