100Mbit Optical Wireless Network

Sven writes: "Victor will be releasing an optical wireless LAN system for indoor use that achieves 100Mbit/s speed. Being an optical system, a line of sight between stations is required. It will be released in Japan on July 27th. The hub costs 148,000 yen (US$1190), one node costs 49,800 yen ($400). Get more details from their website and from Pricewatch Japan. If you don't grok japanese (gasp!), Cafeglobe.com's babelfish is your friend." We have an older story about building-to-building optical networks, but I think this is first inter-office optical LAN I've seen. Seems like this could be a secure way to do wireless LANs without the leakage of 802.11 - as long as you keep your blinds drawn.

Comments

Not speaking Japanese...

[tbo]

...I can only go by what Cafeglobe's translation says, but here's the summary:

It looks like they have a system with a 5 metre (16 ft) range. You mount a "base" unit on the ceiling, and then attach little satellite units to your computers. Communication is line of sight, and utilizes LEDs. The system can apparently find new or relocated nodes in an average of 5 seconds.

Am I the only one who sees no freaking point? Here's a comparison between this and 802.11b (aka AirPort):

Range
802.11b: 45 metres (150 ft)
Optical: 5 metres (16 ft)
Winner: 802.11b by a mile (at least, if you get a crazy antenna).

Reliability
802.11b: Bandwidth drops slightly when somebody uses the office microwave
Optical: You're booted from your Quake game every time that tall guy with big hair walks by your desk
Winner: 802.11b, by two frags

Cost
802.11b: Base station - $299. Satellite - $99.
Optical: Base station - $1190. Satellite - $400.
Winner: 802.11b, by about the cost of a new PC (and some long EtherNet cables).

Mobility
802.11b: Still works even if you run with your laptop.
Optical: Drops the connection every time your annoying office-mate bumps the cubicle wall.
Winner: 802.11b can handle any move you make.

Security
802.11b: Shitty, unless you live in a Faraday Cage.
Optical: Shitty, unless you live in a windowless hole.
Winner: Tie. Use IPSec and/or SSH, and it won't matter if you're using RFC 1149 or any other wireless network.

Bandwidth
802.11b: 11Mbps
Optical: 100 Mbps
Winner: Optical, until somebody stands in your line-of-sight.

Overall Score
802.11b, 4. Optical, 1.

In short, forget about optical unless you need 100 Mbps, can't string EtherNet cable, and don't mind if it goes down every time somebody walks by your desk. I'd say it would be good for LAN parties, except it's too expensive. I'd say it's good for trade shows and other temporary large gatherings of computers, except you just know the Microsoft guys would be throwing paper airplanes at the RedHat booth optical transmitter. I have no clue who would actually want this, other than a rich gadget freak.

If I were going to design my own optical networking gadget, it would be peer-to-peer, with each peer having multiple line-of-sight connections to neighbours. That way, if one is interrupted, packets are instantly rerouted through the other links. Unless a crowd of people is standing around your desk, you're fine. It would probably cost way too much, though. Until that gets cheaper, 100BaseT cables duct-taped to the floor, ceiling, and walls are the way to go for quick, cheap connectivity.

We have an older story about building-to-building optical networks, but I think this is first inter-office optical LAN I've seen.

First of all, I think you mean intra-office optical LAN. Second, sometimes, when you get an idea, and nobody else has done it, it means you're a genius. Sometimes, it means you're a moron.

Lan parties + optical network = bad

[CAIMLAS]

That's just insane. There's no way that this technology would be good for a lan party/lanfest. I'm not sure about your lanfests, but none that I've seen have ever been civil. Here's a somewhat basic idea of how things go:

8PM people start arriving at one of several locations, depending on who is the host (read: parasitic geeks) is for this paticular event. Generally the largest place is picked, if possible, but it's not always possible. Sometimes up to 8 people get crammed into a room the size of a medium bedroom. Card tables and whatever else can be found are set up to place monitors/keyboards on.
10PM about half the people have connected to the network and have their computers completely hooked up. The other half are running about eating food, talking, and goofing around, pulling antics. Those who have their systems up are assisting those less technically endowed.
12AM everyone is now connected, and the hubs are going crazy with activity. People are walking about, over wires, past chairs, squeezing through areas just barely big enough for two guys to get through and still keep their dignity. various foods, such as Dorritos, Dew, and pretty much anything else that can be spilled, are being eaten, while the containers are placed inches from their keyboard or mouse, since there is minimal space to be had. one or two people are streaming MP3's from other's computers and playing them, about a third of the people are conversing, while the rest are yelling at each other and joking about as they play various games. The lights are off in the room, so as to minimize monitor glare and heat. The general atmosphere is one of activity - maybe even confusion.
7AM about half of the attendees start to grow tired and find places on furniture or on the floor where they can sleep. The remaining half stay up and continue to play games.
9AM those still up decide it's time for breakfast, and head for a local diner
11AM those that went to the diner return, and the people that fell asleep are just waking up. The 'diner attendees' take the sleepinig positions that were recently vacated, and fall asleep, while the vacating sleepers pack up their systems and leave, possibly grabbing some files over the network quickly before the other computer is disconnected

I seriously doubt this type of environment would be conductive of optical networking, especially for the price. :) 802.11b would probably work, but it's by far cheaper to use cat5 and a normal hub, which nearly every self respecting geek has ownership of already.

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Caimlas

but...

[chompz]

line of sight restrictions on my TV remote piss me off, just think how pissed I'll be when I can't take my laptop to the bathroom with me.

Top 10 things you hear in the optical LAN office.

[ZanshinWedge]

10. I had to quit smoking, it dropped my throughput by 5%
9. The mail server is in my office so I can't take naps with the door closed now
8. Ya know, I heard that at night they hook up the security alarm to a dropped packet detector
7. Ahhhhhhg, I'm blinded by the bandwidth!
6. Is this air plenum or non-plenum?
5. No more naked web surfing
4. Hey hot stuff, your packets are falling on my crotch, ya wanna go out later?
3. Every time I sneeze the DHCP server assigns my nose an IP
2. Cool, I can build a router with a mirror, some gum, and 3 rubber bands.
1. Hey, would you move, you're blocking my bandwidth!

Priorities

[qslack]

I really wish that instead of building better wireless LANs, companies would work harder to bring fast Internet access to homes.

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Re:Damm, that's expensive

[GreyPoopon]

I was going to ask the same question myself, but instead I drank a cup of coffee and waited for the caffeine to take effect. Then, I realized that in addition to the 100Mbps throughput, the REALLY good thing about LOS-based LAN's is: security. If you keep your windows covered, you can pretty much be assured that nobody can use the "bleeding" from your network to sniff your packets.

The first time I ever set up Wireless LAN, I didn't turn on encryption. I left the thing running in my office, and was about the walk out the door when I realized that I was basically broadcasting sensitive data to whoever might want to listen. I promptly went back to my office and unplugged the thing, vowing to turn the encryption on the next day.

So, if you want the speed and security without running the wires, I can see where this product would be attractive. The price is a little stiff, but compare it to wire drops plus the cost of what could happen if somebody tapped into your network....

GreyPoopon
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