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INDOOR & OUTDOOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

Robust wireless networks

Wireless is often the preferred method of connectivity in office buildings, as wireless solutions reduce the need for the costly installation of cabling in a building. However, simply having one router in an office building is completely unsuitable. You and your employees require a wireless setup that allows you to stay connected while mobile in your building.

Through the use of business-grade technology and expert network design, Optionbox can create the perfect indoor and outdoor wireless networks for you. We have experience planning and installing wireless networks for businesses in a wide range of industries. We have the expertise to create a network that works for your business and helps you to excel.

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Contact us today to speak to one of the Optionbox team about your wireless network requirements. As part of your FREE consultation, we’ll discuss your requirements and advise you on how you can make a network that meets your needs.

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Enhancing, expending and improving networks

Wireless connectivity is improving constantly, with more reliable products and increasing speeds the norm. As standards evolve and increase, indoor and outdoor wireless networks are becoming viable solutions for businesses as an alternative to installing expensive wiring.

A wireless network indoors and outdoors can span more than a couple of offices. Wireless access points can allow a wireless network to expand over a distance of miles, both indoors and outdoors. This is perfect for locations where installing cabling simply isn’t an option, such as rural areas or businesses such as farms.

Indoor and Outdoor Wireless Networks for rural areas

If your business is based in an area where cabling isn’t available and installing it would cost a fortune, such as a farm in a rural area, robust wireless solutions could offer you superfast connectivity.

Businesses such as farms typically miss out on superfast solutions and interconnectivity due to their location. No pre-existing cabling is in place, meaning cabling would need to be installed over a lengthy period. Not only does this mean a lot of waiting for network setup, it means massive expense. With the latest technology, creating indoor and outdoor wireless networks for businesses in rural areas is more cost-effective than ever.

FREE Indoor and Outdoor Wireless Network review

If there are a lot of places where you can’t connect to your network in your building or you own a farm where seamless connectivity is just a distant dream, we can help you. We can perform a FREE indoor and outdoor wireless network review in which we will assess your current network setup and offer advice on how you could improve it.

If you are interested in discussing your indoor and outdoor wireless network options further, contact us today or fill in the contact form below and one of our team will be in touch.

Components that make up a wireless network

Creating a wireless network requires more than just a few access points. Here is everything that you’ll need for a wireless network, depending on your requirements.

Network controller

Your network controller can be used to manage and monitor your entire indoor and outdoor wireless network.

A network controller allows you to see and control every element of your network from one dashboard. The controller allows for both macro and micromanagement of your network.

Access points

Access points are devices that create a WLAN. Usually, they are utilised in offices or on the exterior of buildings to enable connectivity.

Typically, an access point will connect to a wired router, switch or hub via an ethernet cable. This access point then allows users in the area to connect to a network wirelessly.

Access points are used to create total network coverage in a building. For example, if you want Wi-Fi access in your office but there is no router within range, an access point can be installed to allow connection to the internet.

Wi-Fi repeater

A Wi-Fi repeater is similar to an access point, because it allows access to wi-fi a further distance from the router than normally possible. However, Wi-Fi repeaters simply act as extenders rather than an additional access point.

Wi-Fi repeaters are normally wireless. Ultimately, this means that installation is quick, easy and cheap.

A repeater picks up the signal distributed wirelessly by your router, amplifying it to allow the wireless data to extend over a greater distance.

While repeaters are useful in small offices or homes, they aren’t ideal for big installations. When the signal is carried from router to repeater, bandwidth is essentially halved due to the process of receiving and retransmitting data doubling the amount of data frames used. If you used multiple repeaters, you are having the bandwidth from extender to extender. If you start with 100Mbps, your first extender will only allow speeds of 50Mbps at most. With additional extenders (which would be needed for a larger setup), the data transmission speeds keep halving.

Wireless bridges

Wireless bridges are used to connect divided wired network segments together, allowing for rapid data sharing. A wireless bridge removes the need for long lengths or cable to connect two wired elements, resulting in a cost-effective solution.

While repeaters and access points exist to enable devices to connect to the internet wirelessly and extend a network, wireless bridges exist to connect two separate wired networks together without any wiring.

Wireless bridges can connect two networks that are miles apart to establish a powerful link between both using point-to-point technology and transmission. This would be useful on a farm where buildings all need to be connected on one network but could be hundreds of meters from each other. Find out more about how wireless bridges are utilised on farms.

Firewall

A firewall is an essential part of a wireless network as it acts as security.

Firewalls can be either hardware or software that protects your network. A firewall protects your network primarily by preventing unauthorised access to a network.

Whether you are creating a wireless network inside your office or in a wide-open space, a firewall is necessary. Without a firewall in place, your network is open to both local and remote threats.

Wireless Network Types

Infrastructure Wireless LAN

The majority of wireless networks are deployed in infrastructure mode. This means that a base station operates as a wireless access point hub, with all nodes communicating through the hub.

Usually, a wireless access point hub has a fibre network connection. Unlike other popular wireless network solutions, wireless access points are typically fixed. Access points can be connected together to create a mesh system, ensuring service is provided for wireless clients within range of each access point.

Over a big site, a network will usually have a range of access points rather than just one. These access points typically have the same SSID and security in place, meaning that connecting to the network whilst moving around a site should be seamless and uninterrupted. Usually, the client device will connect to the access point offering the best service, which means you’ll always be enjoying the best possible connection no matter where you are.

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Wireless Distribution System

A wireless distribution system, also known as WDS, allows for the interconnection of any amount of access points. This means that a wireless network can be expanded along multiple access points, removing the need for wired connections. Traditionally, wires would need to connect access points to extend the reach of a network around a building, but this is no longer necessary.

With a wireless distribution system, one device is normally used as the main base station. This primary base station will normally be connected to a fibre cable. To extend the initial connection to the rest of the building, relays and remote base stations are used. The use of additional base stations alongside relays reduces attenuation of signal.

Across a site, all base stations in this type of system must be configured to use the same radio channel and share the same security information. This allows for seamless switching between relays and base stations around a building or outdoor site. It also means that things such as CCTV cameras can all be contained in the same network, even when they are miles apart.

Features of Indoor and Outdoor Wireless Network

Indoor and outdoor wireless networks share some important features.

Robust

The products that we use to make up both indoor and outdoor wireless networks are robust, ensuring cost-effectiveness. Products are long-lasting and don’t require regular maintenance. Your wireless network is built to last.

Cost-effective

Both indoor and outdoor wireless networks are cost-effective. The primary reason for this is the lack of expensive wiring required to carry signal from access point to access point. This allows interconnectivity without great expense.

Time-conserving

Installing wired solutions around a large site can take weeks if not months, which is expensive and time-consuming. As wiring is completely avoided with wireless solutions, installation takes significantly less time.

Full management control

With a properly designed wireless network you have the ability to manage multiple wireless networks across the same access points, control what information can be viewed online and also pinpoint which devices are being used at any time and what they’re downloading.
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