Re: Looking for Tech Info on (wireless) Routers

["Lukas Beeler" <lukas.beeler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 8:03 PM, Jon Paris <Jon.Paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I seem to recall being told a while back that most of the commercial
> (i.e. D-Link, LinkSys, etc.) routers have limits on the number of
> active connections they can support  at any one time.  I have
> experienced problems with LinkSys in the past that suggested that a
> number as low as 16 might be the number for that piece of hardware.

There's the hardware of the AP in and itself, but also the bandwidth.
802.11g offers 54mbit of bandwidth, and you can get an enduser
throughput of 50-60% of that, in optimum conditions.

If you decide that by 16, you get 1.8 Megabit/s. Or less than a 3G connection.

What do you intend to use it for? If for users with laptops or
similar, 5-10 users per AP is the maximum. Might be better with
802.11n, but there are no professional 11n APs out either.

In general, if you plan to deploy more than 1-2 access points, get
someone with the proper equipment to do it. Measuring wireless lan
performance, optimal AP placement etc. requires experience and
equipment. Also, central management of wireless and especially
wireless authentication and encryption come into play.

There are low end systems (e.G. the SonicWALL appliances can also do
very limited LWAPP scenarios), Symbol and Cisco offer much more
sophisticated LWAPP systems with redundant WLAN switches, etc.