al_qwertyuiop@yahoo.co.uk hath wroth:
>New to WLAN and wondering about setting up a low cost WLAN between 8
>villages (not more than 100 clients) in a rectangle area of 3.5 miles x
>2 miles, LOS with threes.
Trees are bad. 2 mile radius will work, but only with high gain
antennas on all the clients. BreezeNet DS.11 is limited to 128 client
connections.
>Is it possible to use few, not more than 3, properly positioned
>Alvarion BreezeNET DS.11 Outdoor Point to Multi Point repeaters and
>some AP in the villages, I mean less than 1 AP per house?
To the best of my limited knowledge, there's no such thing as a
BreezeNet DS.11 point to multipoint repeater.
http://www.alvarion.com/products/breezenetds11outdoor/
Since the Breezenet DS.11 is 802.11b, you could use any commercial
repeater for the purpose, but there's no guarantee that it will work.
I would also advise against repeaters, especially with a large number
of connections, as it really slows things down.
>Do you know about other WLAN repeater that best fit our needs?
No. I have a very bad attitude about repeaters (and mesh networks).
You'll need to ask someone that has actually used repeaters
successfully. I haven't.
>The
>gool is to keep a low entry cost for clients avoiding if possible one
>AP per client.
Alvarion is excellent high quality hardware, but rather expensive. It
has the advantage of reliable operation, but at somewhat higher
initial cost. I suggest you look into something more up to date
(possibly WiMax) and a central tower that will offer line of sight.
This will reduce (but not eliminate) the need for a big directional
antenna at all the clients, and eliminate any repeaters. Lacking line
of sight, I suggest you bury cable or fiber between multiple access
points with sector antennas. Also note that wireless regulations are
different in foreign countries and will need to be accommodated.
Since you're a beginner, I strongly suggest you contact someone that
has had experience in installing rural wireless systems. There are
many pitfalls, all of which have a price tag attached.
You will also find that you cannot just deploy a 100 user system and
let it free-run. One file sharing user will bring the entire system
to a grinding halt. You need some sort of bandwidth management, abuse
detection, abuser disconnects, and traffic monitoring system. Also,
don't forget about tech support. In other words, you need everything
that a wire line ISP requires, with the added enjoyment of an
unreliable wireless delivery mechanism. Are you sure you want to do
this?
Some light reading and a WISP mailing list:
http://www.isp-planet.com/fixed_wireless/
There are people on this list that have done isolated village systems.
Some How-to articles:
http://www.isp-planet.com/resources/how_to/fw.html
Also, look into hardware from Motorola:
http://motorola.canopywireless.com
If terrain is a problem, try 900Mhz (if legally available whever your
village is located from:
http://www.waverider.com
--
Jeff Liebermann
jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
low cost WLAN for Villages 
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