Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Best WAP For Dense Crowds?

Posted by timothy on from the well-phrased-and-specific dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A local community organization has asked me to help them set up Wi-Fi access for an upcoming event, with some unusual (to me) requirements. All users (up to 500 people) will occupy a relatively small area and more-or-less have line-of-sight to the WAP, so issues like signal strength and wall penetration don't matter. Security also does not matter, as we plan to open this to anyone wanting to connect. Cost always matters, but we realize a $50 Linksys or three won't cut it here. In the past, I have used Cisco AP1200s for a few dozen users to great satisfaction, but they only handle 50 connections at a time, and practically count as antiques at this point anyway. My research on the matter tells me that 802.11n performs far better in this regard, but I want to support 802.11g as well. I have no objection to using two APs to split those apart (with n limited to 5.8GHz, as per the suggestion of several comments in a recent Ask Slashdot), but physical constraints make it preferable to minimize the total number of APs needed — Ten WRT54s might cost about the same as one Aironet, but I only have three good places to mount these. I welcome any suggestions and real-world experiences with similar situations, including the ever-popular Ask Slashdot refrain of 'What kind of idiot would do it like that, when you can just do this?' Ideally, I would like to know model numbers and how well they held up under real-world loads comparable to my situation."

1 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Re:you will need more than 2 APs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    it's not like folks are going to physically locate themselves for optimum WiFi distribution.

    What is Optimum WiFi?
    Optimum WiFi is a collection of thousands of Internet access points in public locations that allow you to connect to the Internet at super fast speeds just as easily as you can connect with your wireless router at home. Our Optimum WiFi community zones are available in shopping centers, on main streets and train platforms, in parks, marinas, and at sports fields - the places you go everyday. We are growing quickly and adding more locations everyday so check here often to stay up to speed. And best of all, its FREE for Optimum Online customers.