setting up a wireless network

[mcovey]

my dad wants me to put up a wireless network for our hotel so that guests can use the internet.

The building is pretty long, so no matter where the router is placed, the signal won't reach every room, so we will probably need some sort of extension. Is this what a wireless AP/Bridge is for?

there is a back storage room and I am thinking of hooking up a small server to the router out there, on a seperate modem so that the guests do not interfere with our traffic. I could telnet/ssh into this computer to admin the router remotely, change the encryption, block users, etc, or have the computer actaully running Linux and go out and boot it up to admin, either way.

So I need to know: will a router in the center of the stip and 2 APs to amplify the signal work? Is something more needed? It's 14 rooms and looks like ... *taking a shot now*

http://imageupload.org//images/cTd3mZ.jpg
that.

I'm thinking a router in the middle and APs about halfway down each end to keep the signal strong. Ideas? Thanks.

[zaphodiv]

You can plug two access points into the same LAN and it will work fine if they are just acting as access points. Just run cat5 cable to where you want the access points. Put the access points on different channels eg one on channel one, one on channel eleven.

If you are using an access point that is also a NAT router (eg one intended to be plugged into a cable modem or adsl line) it's slightly more complicated as you need to have one of the access points downstream of the other or turn off NAT.

You don't need to worry about wireless bridges unles you want to extened the network without running a cable to the second access point.

it would be worth spending a bit of time considering secuirty as well.
If you set it up as one big NATed subnet then users will be able to see each others shared drives, viruses can spread from one machine to another if they arn't patched etc.

[mcovey]

You can plug two access points into the same LAN and it will work fine if they are just acting as access points. Just run cat5 cable to where you want the access points. Put the access points on different channels eg one on channel one, one on channel eleven.

If you are using an access point that is also a NAT router (eg one intended to be plugged into a cable modem or adsl line) it's slightly more complicated as you need to have one of the access points downstream of the other or turn off NAT.

You don't need to worry about wireless bridges unles you want to extened the network without running a cable to the second access point.

it would be worth spending a bit of time considering secuirty as well.
If you set it up as one big NATed subnet then users will be able to see each others shared drives, viruses can spread from one machine to another if they arn't patched etc. For security I'll probably tell people to be aware that they are on a shared network and if they are insecure, it is their responsibility, and if they cause problems they will be removed. I will see about making different subnets .. right now I've only done that on a cisco switch in school and I don't even remember how...

Encryption is no problem ...

I remember last year at school someone came in with a virus on their laptop and everyone got it except me, because I was running Linux at the time. I believe the computer teacher had a mac, as well.

I have the computers in my house set up so that each is invisible to the other, but that was my doing, by disabling file sharing and networking individually on each of them. My crummy Microsoft router offers no such luxuries.

[Ogi]

You can boost the signal of the wireless by using a directional antenna (building instructions can be found on the net, and ive used them to span wireless networks between buildings about 2km from each other).

the problem is that the wireless is only in a particular direction (i.e. not radial).

Other options include adding extra AP's

My preferred way is to use linux and a PCI network card as an access point, with a cat5e (or coaxial cable (old sattellite installations work well for this) ) connection to the rest of the network. Place this in the area you want wireless access.

Linux gives a huge degree of flexibility, with firewall, port-blocking, Hardware address filtering (apprantly you can control who associates to your linux access point), DHCP server, etc.. .

I found it very good for managing the network as a whole, particulry the security aspect of it and it helps protect the rest of your network from potential threats from the wireless.

[Ogi]

For your situation, I think having the AP in the middle, with two PCI cards and one linux box (running host-AP) and two 180 degree directional antennas facing away from each other towards each end will do well,

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Nice location. Like the hills in the background. Looks a bit rainy.

[mcovey]

Nice location. Like the hills in the background. Looks a bit rainy.
yeah, in the white mountains of new hampshire, not so white right now. since I took the shot it's snowed just a bit and gotten icy, but this year there will be NO snowmobiling at all, very bad for business.