» LINE OF SIGHT. A few of you suggested a line-of-sight wireless link rather than the metro fiber connection. Several IT managers talked about their experiences with setups that provide 1.25 Gbps for short distances, and other products that can go 20 miles with some obstructions at up to 300 Mbps. An account executive at a networking equipment supplier told me that these solutions offer up to five nines of uptime. He said, "Many people don't realize you can legitimately replace or back up fiber via wireless these days" with point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet wireless. However, this option was a no-go for ACME because we don't have line-of-sight between the satellite office and headquarters.
Overall, there were a few dissenting opinions about our approach for a totally wireless office, but most of you agreed with our business case. In the end, our network planners decided to move ahead with about six to eight APs at the satellite site, using a well-known set of vendor gear, a centralized controller-based architecture, 802.11a, and a site-to-site VPN using appliances. We may also bring in consultants from one of several local firms that install wireless networks so we can avoid common pitfalls and ensure a smooth deployment. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send insights and suggestions.
Hunter Metatek is an enterprise IT director with 15 years' experience in network engineering and management.
The events chronicled in this column are based in fact--only the names are fiction. Write to the author at [email protected].
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