Slashdot Mirror
Deploying License-Free Wireless Wide-Area Networks
This information packed publication is designed to assist you with the planning, installation, and maintenance of wireless WANs. You'll receive help with many commonly faced deployment challenges including site surveying, antenna evaluation and selection, overcoming real-world obstacles, solving noise and interference problems, maximizing available bandwidth, and working safely with tower structures and wireless gear. And, if you're presently pursuing a wireless technology certification such as Planet3's CWNA, CWNI, CWSP, etc, this book isn't written as a study guide, but it does provide vitally important information to help you earn these respected certifications.
Whether you're an experienced LAN/WAN professional or are new to the field and looking to "get your feet wet," this book will enrich your knowledge and possibly open new doors of opportunity for you. Being an experienced LAN/WAN professional with 19 years of experience and dozens of certifications, I thank the author for not filling the book with dry-humored jokes, useless "real life" experiences, and confusing diagrams/ illustrations. This book is grammatically correct, technically accurate, focused, and very helpful whether you're pursuing wireless certification or not. Beginner and experienced networking professionals will appreciate the "vendor neutral" content of the book. The book is published by Cisco Press, but contains no specific references to CISCO brand hardware/software. I believe this makes the information even more useful to technicians and installers who work with varying vendor equipment. While many concepts and methodologies are the same, this book is true to its name and offers little help in the way of assisting you with indoor WLAN deployments. The wealth of useful information contained in Appendix B, "Wireless Hardware, Software, and Service Provider Organizations" is absolutely priceless and much appreciated.
Here's how the book is organized: Chapters 1 and 2 are an introduction to wireless WANs and explain wireless technology fundamentals. Chapters 3-5 dive into network architecture, conducting site surveys, and selecting appropriate antennae. Chapters 6-9 discuss actual equipment selection, installation, interference resolution, and the provision of broadband wireless Internet access. Chapter review questions are located at the end of each chapter and serve as a "pop quiz" to reinforce key concepts and technologies covered.
Comparing this book to others is relatively easy. I haven't found any other publications dedicated to the planning, installation, and maintenance of wireless WANs! While there are a plethora of theoretical RF and wireless technology books already in print, no single publication dedicates its content to explaining the technologies like this book does. In addition, I appreciate the author's strong emphasis on installation and technician safety -- an area not many authors seem to write about. This book will not bog you down in theoretical RF discussions, but rather allows you to learn through the introduction of real-life examples, explanations, and suggestions based on the author's actual installation experiences.
The book contains no CD-ROM or marketing material. Published in March 2003 (prior to the now finalized 802.11g standard), the book primarily covers 802.11a and 802.11b technologies. Both Mr. Unger and Cisco Press deserve a round of applause!
You can purchase Deploying License-Free Wireless Wide-Area Networks from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Pringle's cans.
Whether you're an experienced LAN/WAN professional or are new to the field and looking to "get your feet wet,"
.02
I really don't care if he has 19 years experience, I still think that statement makes the book look terrible. In my experience, nearly ALL books that shoot to the entire spectrum of readers fail miserably.
Comparing this book to others is relatively easy. I haven't found any other publications dedicated to the planning, installation, and maintenance of wireless WANs!
Great, so we are going to read a book that tries to cover everyone from Joe to Expert *and* this guy (with 19 years experience) hasn't seen another book like this?
Just my worthless
Before you deploy any license-free wireless wide-area network I have one word: Do not do it. A friend of mine has been busted for doing exactly that.
Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
This book is grammatically correct, technically accurate, focused, and very helpful ...
I read Slashdot. I'm not sure I'm familiar with what this sentence (fragment) means.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I thank the author for not filling the book with dry-humored jokes, useless "real life" experiences...
...but rather allows you to learn through the introduction of real-life examples, explanations, and suggestions based on the author's actual installation experiences.
So you thank the author for not filling the book with "real life" experiences, then you applaud him for including real life examples. Let me make sure I'm reading correctly... real life experiences-bad. Real life examples-good. What is the difference between the two?
Enigma
Buyer Beware! This book is GREAT...!,
"Reviewer: Grant Willey from Laurel, Delaware
Whether you're an experienced LAN/WAN professional or are new to the field and looking to "get your feet wet", this book will enrich your knowledgebase and possibly open new doors of opportunity for you. Being an experienced LAN/WAN professional with 19 years of experience and dozens of certifications, I thank the author for not filling the book with dry-humored jokes, useless "real life" experiences, and confusing diagrams/ illustrations. This book is grammatically correct (except for 2 spelling errors), technically accurate, focused, and very helpful whether you're pursuing wireless certification or not. Beginner and experienced networking professionals will appreciate the "vendor neutral" content of the book. The book is published by Cisco Press, but contains no specific references to CISCO brand hardware/software. I believe this makes the information even more useful to technicians and installers who work with varying vendor equipment. While many concepts and methodologies are the same, this book is true to its name and offers little help in the way of assisting you with indoor WLAN deployments. The wealth of useful information contained in Appendix B, "Wireless Hardware, Software, and Service Provider Organizations" is absolutely priceless and much appreciated. The book contains no CD-ROM or marketing material (kudos!). Published prior to the finalized 802.11g standard, the book primarily covers 802.11a and 802.11b technologies. Both Mr. Unger and Cisco Press deserve a round of applause!
Disclaimer: This is an honest review - I do not benefit from it in any manner."
Sound Familiar!!??!!
Why is he posting this all over the internet... HE WORKS FOR THE F'ing PUBLISHER!!!
The more interesting part of the problem is the backhaul. Great, you set up a couple of access points and provide access to your entire apartment building or neighborhood. What's the backhaul connection? DSL? T3? Unless you're talking about provisioning something on ther order of OC3 or a DS3 you have the potential of bottle-necking pretty quickly. The bandwidth has got to come from somewhere. That's why I believe the 802.16 spec is the last-mile answer, not WLAN. We've addressed that problem, has anyone else?
there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
I am surprised that the book does not cover this technology because the spectrum is license free (at least in Canada and the USA) and it has a lot of potential for Wider Area Lans in hilly, forested, wooded areas like my own.
http://www.booksmags.com/books/shop/pd1587050692/
It appears to be identical to this slashdot article.
"Do not do it" is four words, and to be picky, a period.
Karnal
This is a new low for Slashdot. The Amazon repost issue aside, this "review" reads like the copy from the book jacket. It barely even touches on what's actually in the book, instead rambling on about how great it is. Do the editors actually read this stuff?
Until there is a reliable method of securing a wireless network, I would recommend that nobody set up any more detailed of a network than a couple of access points. You're just inviting people to pirate your bandwidth.
For the best wisp related training, i highly recommend ydi's course.
http://www.ydi.com/support/training.php
Comment removed based on user account deletion
No shit. -1 pedantic to anyone who replied to that.
Oh, wait.
this book will enrich your knowledge and possibly open new doors of opportunity for you
Don't waste you time working for someone else! For only $99 I will send you a kit that will bring you tens of thousands of dollars every week.
Being an experienced LAN/WAN professional with 19 years of experience and dozens of certifications
I did the hard work so you don't have to. Guaranteed wealth!
Comparing this book to others is relatively easy. I haven't found any other publications dedicated to the planning, installation, and maintenance of wireless WANs!
Do not trust imitators. This is the only real original Get Rich Quick plan.
This book will not bog you down in theoretical RF discussions, but rather allows you to learn through the introduction of real-life examples,
No previous experience necessary. Just follow the examples and you can soon could be living a big house, driving a big car, and hiring 3 big hookers every night to play on your bed while you sit impotently on the couch watching.
The book contains no CD-ROM or marketing material. Published in March 2003 (prior to the now finalized 802.11g standard), the book primarily covers 802.11a and 802.11b technologies. Both Mr. Unger and Cisco Press deserve a round of applause!
You know you can trust us because we know complicated industry acronyms.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Amazon has it with free shipping or you can get it cheaper from the Amazon.com Marketplace sellers.
Business Plan.
--
one word: Do not do it.
That's just funny
Maybe MensaBabe was just testing us
I got this book a few months ago, and it was one of the best books I've purchased. For a book from Cisco Press, there is almost no mention of specific Cisco products, which was surprising...but freshing in a way.
Granted, it's weaker in the areas of security and such, but it is pretty heavy on RF theory and all those things you need to make any license-free WWAN work.
Security and stuff is important as anyone here will likely agree to, but that is really better covered in dedicated books on the topic. In short, this is not a general book about wireless networking. It is techincal and there's a lot of useful information for people who are above the noob level of wireless looking to install outdoor wireless link.
The best part of the book, IMHO, was the antenna theory portions, math, and formulas that were included. The author is a ham radio operator (as am I) and he defintely know what he's talking about.
A very good job, and worth every cent paid.
// Agent Green (Ian / IU7 / KB1JQO)
// IEEE 802.3: All 10base Are Belong To Us
A DS3 and a T3 are the same thing genius.
In most corp. networks the local access layer is Fast-E, connected to a T1 Interenet pipe, so what's the difference?
Regardless of access speeds, the connection to the Internet will most likely always be a bottleneck. Wi-Max only increases the speed of the local access, not the "backhaul".
Get your facts straight and stop trying to sell your crap here.
sig? No thanks, I don't smoke.
Busted? By whom? For what?
The laws surrounding it are rather simple if you just know a few things about how to calculate the signal strength between points (or point to multipoint).
Was your friend busted by:
The FCC?
His ISP he was sharing bandwidth from against his AUP?
His employer for sharing bandwidth without their knowledge?
Given a decent population density, a WISP can certainly be a viable solution, especially in moderately dense rural areas - like old town centers with decent business districts - where the DSL companies and cable modems have not yet tread. And to save money for point to point links - nothing beats paying once for hardware and never paying monthly fees forever.
-- There is no sig line, only Zuul.
How high do you have to be able to count to join mensa?
I know that you're supposed to be a genius to become a member of Mensa, but the members I've met/read certainly haven't impressed me.
What do you want me to explain? I have a friend. He has built a wireless wide-area network. He has done it without a license. He got busted. End of the story. What else could I possibly explain?
Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
Maybe MensaBabe was just testing us
no way man! you mean that she has a better sense of humor than you have? and that now SHE is the one who laughs at YOU? unpossible! no way!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's a myth that the free space path loss increases with frequency. The free space path loss is independent of frequency. Think about it: If the path loss of electromagnetic radiation increased with frequency, we'd never see any light from the sun--at 500,000,000 MHz, it'd be severely attenuated!
The effect often seen is due to the antennas used, not the frequency of operation. WLANs often use resonant dipole antennas. Such antennas have constant gain with frequency; a 900 MHz resonant dipole has the same gain as a 2.4 GHz resonant dipole. However, the 900 MHz resonant dipole is physically larger than the 2.4 GHz resonant dipole. The 900 MHz resonant dipole can therefore collect more of the incident electromagnetic energy than the 2.4 GHz resonant dipole. Said a different way, the effective area of the 900 MHz resonant dipole is greater than the 2.4 GHz resonant dipole. The sunlight thought experiment works here, too: A larger solar cell collects more of the incident electromagnetic energy (sunlight) than does a smaller cell. In fact, the effective area of dipole falls inversely with the square of the frequency of operation.
There are antennas that have a constant aperture with frequency. The parabolic dish is one example. Its effective aperture remains constant (a function of the physical size of the dish), but its gain increases with the square of the operating frequency. Two radios using parabolic dishes would find that the apparent "path loss" actually decreased with increasing frequency. If they then switched to resonant dipole antennas, they would find the apparent "path loss" increased with increasing frequency. If one used a dipole and the other used a parabolic dish, they would find the apparent "path loss" independent of frequency.
Yeah, I've been doing this stuff for not quite 19 years but enough to tell BS from the real thing. Will somone post a link to a bittorrent of this thing, so I can download it, read it, and review?
Mensa must have lowered it's standards.
in terminus illic est tantum opes
If we had the article moderation feature that so many people are after, this would be modded as a troll in seconds flat : )
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
As soon as you're not in free space, though, high frequencies tend to get aborbed faster.
For example, one brand of high-quality coaxial cable loses 3.7 db per 100 feet at 900 MHz. At 2500 MHz, it's up to 6.5 db per 100 feet.
Similar things happen when there are buildings, trees, people, and other obstructions. It's analogous to what happens when you're a few hundred feet from a stereo and you mostly hear the bass.
It's the difference between propagating through free space, like the vacuum between the earth and the sun, versus propagating through an absorbing medium (trees, coax, whatnot).
Again, the parent post is quite correct, and properly qualifies the analysis by saying "free space path loss".
the original post is 0:troll and this shit is what? score:2? that's just great! jeez...