Ask Slashdot: Overcoming Convention Hall Wi-Fi Interference?

bbowman writes "One of my job responsibilities is to set up the small network for our company's exhibit at the trade shows we attend. The mobile demo devices we use depend upon a reliable Wi-Fi connection to a router I have in the exhibit. In the days leading up to the opening of the trade show, W-iFi connections are reliable and work as expected. However, as soon as the show opens none of our devices can reliable maintain a Wi-Fi connection to the router. The devices we use at the trade shows are Windows-based laptops, iPods/iPads, Android tablets, and a variety of Wi-Fi enabled cell phones. I have tried using channels 1, 6, and 11 (as well as the others) and used different routers (Linksys, D-Link, Netgear) without success. I'm sure it is likely that there are poorly insulated electrical cabling, fluorescent lighting, and other issues that would contribute to Wi-Fi interference in the convention hall. A quick scan shows dozens and dozens of discoverable Wi-Fi networks nearby. If I take the router back to my hotel room, I have zero connection problems. How can I overcome this so that Wi-Fi works reliably in the convention hall?"

Comments

Wait -you want to do WHAT with wifi?! Where!?

[RubberDogBone]

Wifi is inherently unregulated. It will have interference and lots of traffic from all the users and devices using the same ISM band. Everything from phones to toys to microwave ovens running in the green room of the booth next door which has a set dressing budget larger than your annual revenue.

You are all unlicensed users and get to accept whatever QoS or lack thereof that you get. There's nobody to whine to, or whine about. It is what it is. On the other hand, there are scary licensed users on that band who have actual priority over the unlicensed users and can use tremendously bigger output power which could obliterate the signal for everybody else. They aren't supposed to do that but they can. And if they do, good luck to you. Your typical wifi router will be useless.

The real question you need to ask is why you are apparently running mission-critical or at least very important business stuff on an inherently congested and unregulated radio band that has no QoS and no promises? What the hell are you thinking? To do what you are doing is naive at best and stupid at worst and makes me wonder why I should trust whatever it is you sell to perform when such poor planning went into the tools you use to sell whatever it is to make.

It's the same when a company selling high-end items chooses to print their marketing collateral on the cheapest paper they can find and use morons to do the production thus ensuring that every book has an upside down cover, or the company name spelled wrong. Gee what a great impression.

You know what impresses? When the people working a tradeshow booth know their stuff, and the demos work, and they have their act together and do not whine about how everybody's iPhone or iPad is using up all the bandwidth.

Now, please excuse me as I use the microwave in my booth to reheat last night's pizza. It will only take a minute or so but your wifi will crumble during this time. Meh. No need to apologize. My dinner has as much right to the ISM band as your apps do.