Expanding wireless range

Best answers you get if you provide answers to these questions...

1) Do you got free wireless line of site between one building and the two others? Preferably from the building you got xDSL. (Are you sure you know what "free WIRELESS line of sight" is?) 2) Is this a low budget project? 3) Are you past average when it comes to knowledge about wireless and computers? 4) Does this project got a potential growing into something bigger? (meaning more than 50 users and 5 basestations)

Is there already an existing wired network between the buildings?

1. I believe the answer to this question is no. The accuracy of that response is probably relevant to the second part of your question =93Are you sure you know what "free WIRELESS line of sight" is?". I believe it is delivers connectivity without requiring the use of the service provided by local telephone or cable companies.

1. Yes, it is a low budget project.

2. I work in IT but am new to wireless beyond setting up a wireless router off a copper network here and there.

1. There is no anticipation for the project expanding to cover more users or geography.

2. The short answer to =93Is there already an existing wired network between the buildings?=94 is no. Technically there is, but the whole reason for us having the ISP provided wireless is to keep open access completely secure and totally independent of our business network.

The downside to inter-building wireless links are setup, reliability and bandwidth. If you use regular 802.11 gear you have to use at least one channel for the point-to-point link. This also requires two radios, one on each end. Then you use a different channel to provide the local wifi coverage. As for open access being totally secure, are you talking about not using any wifi security? And none of the wifi devices make any connections into the business network (like to print, vpn or otherwise)?

Just how many wifi devices are going to be involved here? How many people?

1. I work in IT but am new to wireless beyond setting up a wireless router off a copper network here and there.

1. There is no anticipation for the project expanding to cover more users or geography.

2. The short answer to ?Is there already an existing wired network between the buildings?? is no. Technically there is, but the whole reason for us having the ISP provided wireless is to keep open access completely secure and totally independent of our business network.

OK - so the real question - is that you already have an internal wired network that you don't want to use/connect for wireless (?) and you have acquired another ISP connection for an "open" wifi network and now want to extend that "open" wifi overlay into the other buildings....

If you have a real internal network - whey not (if possible) think about carving a VLAN out and using that to drop some WAPs around the area ?

or - take the incoming ISP (wifi) Ethernet LAN and extend that into the other buildings via wired solutions, and again drop a WAP into the other buildings as needed.

Your REAL question is how to have your internal network and the public/open wifi co-exist without security issues, or potentially bandwidth hogging issues...

I would try to find a way to do it wired.

But if not, and you can manage antenna placement to get line of sight, then you could set up a backhaul route on the roof or side of the buildings. An appropriate AP/antenna at the gateway building and then a client bridge at each building with it's appropriate antenna. From there, run APs off of the client bridges (w/switch) to cover their respective areas. \\

The backhaul would ideally be on a different band (A?) and be secured. The local APs in each building would likely be G and, as you say.... open.

Steve

Actually that isn't me real question. I shouldn't have even mentioned the wired network as it is moot to this discussion. The wireless is from an ISP and completely independent and it will remain so for a variety of reasons. The REAL question was how I can expand the range of this wireless network. I am not concerned about security on this wireless network. It is open access as would be available in a coffee shop, etc. I doubt there would be anymore than twenty users at one time, probably less, but I'd like them to have access farther from the access point and I=92m trying to find the best and simplest method. I am looking to some of the suggestions given here and I appreciate the input from all who took the time to respond.