Basically I'm setting up a network that will have around 40 computers on it. The building is already wired with cat6 cable and all the desktops have gigabit ethernet adapters so I was thinking of going with a gigabit capable switch if it isn't too expensive. They also want to have wireless access throughout the office portion of the building which is approximately 10,000 square feet so that's about 100x100 obviously. Now, what would you guys suggest for a reasonably priced gigabit capable Cisco switch for the desktops and some Cisco wireless access point(s) for a few laptops. Also a lot of the walls are concrete block. Not sure if that will do a good job of blocking the wireless signals but hopefully some of you guys will. At most times there really won't be a whole lot of laptops on the network... like 10 at a time at most for now.

I was considering the Cisco Aironet 1200 but I'm really not sure how many I will need or if there's something better for the job. I know about any of the Cisco switch's will do the job but anything in particular I should be looking for? As far as cost is concerned, they've got plenty of money to spend so I'm not penny pinching here but of course they want to keep it as reasonable as possible.

Any help here is appreciated.

Thanks guys,
Carson

3/21/2007 3:01:06 PM

I'm a big fan of the 3560 switches...

3/21/2007 5:08:05 PM

WRT54G

BROADCOM 200MHZ OF GLORY

3/21/2007 5:26:47 PM

WRT54GL v1.1 + Tomato = Win! (for me at least)

3/21/2007 5:31:32 PM

The 3560 suggested is looking like a very good choice for our needs. Does anybody have anything good/bad to say about the 1200 series AP's by cisco? I'm not all that interested in the WRT54G.

[Edited on March 21, 2007 at 6:05 PM. Reason : after having a hell of a time with the last linksys product we purchased I'll never use them again]

3/21/2007 6:03:01 PM

Is there any need to have a managed switch? Seems like overkill with only 40 machines. If wireless is suffcient, 10/100 ought to be more than sufficient (read: no need for gigabit). A couple linksys EF2s24 24 port switches and just about any 802.11g AP should suit you. I would get amplified, high gain, omnidirectional antennas to improve performance though.

[Edited on March 21, 2007 at 6:21 PM. Reason : we're talking a few thousand dollars difference, is the performance gain reflective of it?]

3/21/2007 6:21:09 PM

are you a dell shop?

3/21/2007 6:50:38 PM

Well...the wireless is only for a few ppl that really aren't going to be at this new office very often. The speed of wireless I know is slow and it would be a problem if everyone were using it and only it, but since it isn't being used too terribly often then it's not a major issue right now. As far as gigabit being required, it's not really 100% necessary. I mean we move around a lot of video files and other stuff that is pretty large so it'd probably be noticeably faster but I need to do more research before I buy anything anyways. So, I'll look into the other suggestion here with a 10/100 solution and go from there.

Also, the CEO/Owner of the company is a huge cisco fan and even though he doesn't know shit about computers he'll pretty much make me buy their products because it sounds good to his potential customers when he says we have all cisco networking shit.

And he has too much money.

[Edited on March 21, 2007 at 7:13 PM. Reason : asdf]

3/21/2007 7:08:06 PM

Quote :

"are you a dell shop?"

not sure if that was to me or not..but no if it was

3/21/2007 7:18:50 PM

http://comtech.ncsu.edu/files/networking/wireless-lan-admin.ppt

Maybe that will give you an idea of where to start with the wireless planning.

3/22/2007 8:39:19 AM