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WiMax Operator's Manual: Building 802.16 Wireless
WiMax Operator's Manual: Building 802.16 Wireless Networks is primarily a utilitarian book rather than conceptual. It provides a background in broadband wireless fundamentals, packet data, and overall network operation and management to enable a network operator to set up a network with standards-based equipment and to run it profitably thereafter. Sweeney notes early in the book : "Nothing is particularly admirable about purism in terms of wireless technology, and if wire line technologies serve the same purpose better over some portion of the network footprint, then wise network operators will avail themselves of them." This theme of realism in relation to the application of a wireless network is prevalent though out the book.
Wired networks in the same footprint will almost always beat a wireless network in speed, reliability, and cost. This is primarily due to the previously created infrastructure available to Internet carriers. The goal that Sweeney promotes is to find an ideal region that has not yet been exploited by a wired service provider. These regions are ideal due to the low-cost setup for a wireless network compared to the cost of a wired network. Sweeney describes and informs the user of ways to find and establish these networks in an efficient manner to maximize profitability.
Sweeney also discusses network security in the later chapters of his book. He acknowledges the increasing need to secure the network's own infrastructure, the safety of its customers, and a nation itself. In relation to wireless networks, Sweeney notes "[Security] is becoming increasingly important in network operations today and cannot be considered optional at this point." To this end, the network security section is devoted to security policies, secure electrical systems, cyber warfare, and other information on safeguarding your network. Another concern also addressed is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. CALEA is a complex piece of federal legislation that expands law enforcement's authority to conduct electronic surveillance, including surveillance over public networks. Sadly, as of yet there is no real way to combat this intrusive act.
WiMax Operator's Manual: Building 802.16 Wireless Networks is a great resource for businesses and individuals looking to establish their own 802.16 network. I enjoyed the foresight provided in this book for potential problems faced by network operators. The honesty in the practicality of an 802.16 network as a realistic network solution also made the book a great resource. There was no fantasy scenario or white lies to convince a user of the merit of a 802.16 network beyond what it can do.
The gripe I do have with this book is its complete utilitarian nature. A little more theory and insight into the standard itself would have been great. This book stands purely as an Operator's Manual, and not an exploration of WiMax as a standard, but rather a tool. Otherwise, this book was highly enjoyable and well written. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to establish a network beyond the standards commonly available (e.g. 802.11a - 802.11g). This book is unique in its topic and sheer honesty, and is one of the few references available on the specific subject.
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We can only hope that the future of wireless networks will include encrypted or otherwise protected routers/access points. The number of open networks around my apartment is somewhat disturbing (in a good way, when I'm bored).
-- Reality is for people who lack imagination.
Chances are WiMax and Wifi will end up coexisting together, the new WiMax is pretty cool as it has about a 30 mile radius range, and the ability to go through walls and barriers better then wifi.
My sig would have been a lot cooler if
Can anyone with experience with this give me a cost estimate on what it would take to setup a point-to-point 802.16 connection? I'm looking at about 7 miles (well with in the supposed 30 mile limit).
Is line-of-sight necessary?
In a nutshell, it looks like the max transmission is 268 mbps, but I couldn't find a quote for the range. It depends on implementation and frequency, whether it's single-to-multipoint or point-to-point.
..I find this interesting as well, small copy/paste:
" No one in the world has yet built an operational WiMax network that is available for public use."
Hmmm
wonder how much the gear costs, and is it really standarized yet? The potential in theory sounds really slick, but is this ready for deployment yet? As joe rural broadband user wannabe, I welcome our new wimax overlords, but only if they really show up. Is this stuff really there, or vaporware? The book is 30 clams for a paperback, sorta steep if it's really just vapor.
Sounds like something my university's crazy technology program would just jump on, along with the $400 Cisco IP phones and their vision of the future where incoming students get a university-issue cell phone that does voice over IP on the campus network... so that they can later grab parts of the fees for long distance use...
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
The bandwidth is shared; 268Mbps for 1,000 customers sounds about right.
No, it doesn't.
There is something about an "Operator's Manual" for an incomplete standard that doesn't make me want to spend money on it.
And fact that any hardware will be at least a year away from them finishing 802.16
Waking Up - There must be a better way to start the day.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65297, 00.html/
That link there is a great article more about it, its also in the latest Wired.com magazine.
Yes, really. Navini is about as close to WiMAX as you can get right now but it's not WiMAX.
NOTHING is WiMAX because WiMAX hasn't been finished yet.
Waking Up - There must be a better way to start the day.
They didn't skip any numbers (except for the unlucky 802.13).
802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group
802.12 Demand Priority Working Group
802.14 Cable Modem Working Group
802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) Working Group
802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Working Group
802.17 Resilient Packet Ring Working Group
802.18 Radio Regulatory TAG
802.19 Coexistence TAG
802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) Working Group
802.21 Media Independent Handoff Working Group
It's probably the 802nd group created within IEEE. "The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee develops Local Area Network standards and Metropolitan Area Network standards."
This book is not only for the business minded, but for a consumer looking to establish a quality long-distance wireless network of their own.
The jacket of the book explicitely states:
The WiMax Operator's Manual will prove useful and accessable to any executive or manager interested in becoming a service provider and exploring the wireless options. The emphasis is on building the business case for wireless and achieving a positive cash flow.
Nowhere does it talk about consumers setting up their own WiMax network. This is obviously because WiMax is not intended for consumer use. Again, as stated on the jacket:
Designing and implementing 802.16 service networks is far from a trivial undertaking.
Inside the book it explains the byzantine issues facing WiMax, not the least of which are the various problems with spectrum such as licensing, multipath interference and a host of niggling issues well beyond the scope of an individual consumer.
As an analogy, if Wi-Fi is a walkie talkie, then WiMax is a radio station. WiMax was clearly envisioned by its creators as a tool for internet service providers with thousands of customers, not for individual people.
WiMAX has the *potential* to be important. But that's it for now. That's why so many posters ask 'what's the range?' and 'what's the throughput?' Nobody knows, because there aren't any chipsets yet. First mature chipsets -- from Fujitsu and Intel and others -- are in 1Q05. ... in this area, with trees, or in this other area, with rain, or ... ...) key, perhaps, for getting the extra few dB of receiver performance.
... at least to within a factor where the model makes some sense. OK, you can write the book, but it wouldn't be worth reading.
This is important because nature is analog. There's no simulation tool, because nobody has any real relevant experience on how OFDM + all the other 802.16 subtechnologies work
And it's important because nobody knows how good the receivers will be. For example: will we have anemic receivers built into devices, 'centrino-style'? Or will we have window-mounted antennae? Or antennae aligned by skilled craftspeople?
And it's important because the antennae are still being cooked: MIMO? MISO? SIMO? Difficult all of them. (MIMO = multiple input, multiple output
Given these, I wonder why the book exists. You can't write a book on business cases for wireless unless you know what the ranges, throughputs, device costs (and availability) are
Actually, your post seems to show interference effects. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.