Connect Home to Business

[wireless_newbie]

My home is located about 2,000 feet from my business. It’s an open, rural setting and I have unobstructed line of site between the two buildings.

Both home and office are small 2 PC networks.

I want to connect the two networks together using wireless access points.

Home: Siemens Speedstream DSL modem & Siemens SS2604 Ethernet router. (2 PCs Ethernet are currently connected through the router.)

Office: Siemens Speedstream DSL modem & Linksys BEFSR41 Ethernet router. (2 PCs Ethernet are currently connected through the router.)

I am thinking a Linksys WAP11 at each home & office might work.

Questions:

Will I need external antenna? (Office is a metal building) If so would something like a ‘Cantenna’ be appropriate? If so can the ‘pigtail’ be 15 to 20 feet without excessive loss?

From what I read I assume the second antenna on the WAP11 will transmit to future PCs I might want to add within each of the buildings?

Most of the applications I see discussed relate to 11b (longer range).. Is 11g possible for my situation and is any speed gain worth the additional hardware cost?

Is there a better solution than what I’m thinking?

Thanks for help!!

[M/Q]

Welcome to the forum. The link you are considering is relatively easy to accomplish. I need to ask some questions first. I have to determine the seriousness and willingness to setup a solid system. As you probably know that will cost more money than just a consumer answer that may or may not work all the time. You have a business, so I would assume that your time is money and that getting a system setup and being able to forget about it would be a good thing. The reason I mention this as I would like to propose a enterprise device that will accomplish your goals in the simplest fashion and work very well. First you need to understand that this link is doable, but is is a long distance connection. The first link describes what is called the System Operating Margin. Using the device I describe will allow a 30dB margin which is acceptable for a good solid link under all conditions and will give you the maximum amount of bandwidth. The transmitting power is 17dBm the antenna gain for receiving and transmitting is 14dBi each the distance is .4 mile and with this device the antenna lead loss is minimal.

http://www.ydi.com/calculation/som.php

The next link is the device, it is called the airBridge Total. It has the antenna and device in one outdoor container. It will work and work well. It is also powered by POE (power over Ethernet) so all you have to do is run a CAT6 Ethernet cable up to the device. That cable will then connect to the wired switch portion of your router at each location. You just place these devices somewhere outside so that they can see each other and the link should be made no problem. If there is a signal strength problem these devices have the ability to add an external antenna and get an increased amount of gain.

http://www.smartbridges.com/web/products/abt.asp

The next two links are existing threads that talk about the very same thing that you are trying to do. Your case is a little different because of the added distance. That and being a business is why I would recommend the airBridge.

http://forums.wi-fiplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2808

http://forums.wi-fiplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2855

The airBridge is not cheap but if you go this route you maybe able to discontinue one of the DSL lines that you are subscribed to. That would pay for the device in short order. As for using WAP11 and trying to get them to do two things at the same time is IMHO a bad thing to try. If you want wireless inside of each location add a WAP54 and connect it to the router along with the airBridge. Just make sure that you are on different non-interfering channels. If you do not want to go this way then you need to consider using what I have described in the two threads that I linked previously. I just would really like to caution you to consider going with the better setup as it is designed to do what you want, the other methods are mainly indoor and short distance setups. Also 11b would be the best band as it has more output power and will create a stronger link.

[wireless_newbie]

Thanks mpkn3rd

It looks like the Airbridge Total IS my best option!
Your links and expertise were VERY helpful!

Thanks again!!!

wireless_newbie

[M/Q]

It should be a very simple and stable sysem. If you do not mind, I would really appreciate hearing back from you as to how the system performs. I always like to keep a running log of distances and throughput bandwidth. Also if you have any other questions please feel free to ask.