Wireless for large house

[cheweric]

I want to set up a wireless network for a friend's house. His house is quite large (3 floors, approx 5000 sq ft. total) He would like to be able to carry his laptop around the house without a network cable attached. Is it possible to get mutliple AP's all around the house? If so, is this solution feasible? Thanks in advance for your help!

[ua549]

Yes, it can be done depending on the construction of the house.

The best bet is to get an access point and a card for the notebook and do a survery of the house.

I tried that in my house - 3300 sq. feet - that is all on one floor. I couldn't get from one room to the next because the plaster lath makes each room like a Farraday (sp?) cage. I can't use my cell phone inside my house either. :(

[ktwebb]

Does the guy have drops in each room? 802.11b allows for 3 non-overlapping channels, so even if the cells bled into each other they wouldn't interfere with each other. A site survey is the only way to tell for sure what coverage you can expect at the house. You can do that yourself but each job is different.

[wifirogue]

How would you do a site survey? I am new to the subject and would like to know. Thanks!

[Sumaryo]

Well..., site survey is really a mock up of what we actually want to deploy/install .... at a lesser scale ...
We still need to purchase (or hire one if possible) a complete set (Access Points + wireless NIC f/ laptop).
Install the Access Points at intended hotspot (or wherever maximum coverage it may be, at the ceiling, middle of the house, .. etc). Install the PCMCIA wireless NIC on the laptop. Carry arround the house and note if the connection is still available. If you got a Cable Modem or ADSL connection ready, you can browse the net while moving arround. This will tell you how far the AP range is, or if there are any blankspots ...
You might be interested to try to move the AP to different places and repeat the surevy.