How to bridge two buildings ~20ft apart? Networking newbie needs advice

[bryho]

All,

I stumbled upon this site while looking for an answer to this very question...while I haven't found the answer quite yet, I have learned quite a bit and really appreciate all of the work you all put into the site!

(I will be referencing the diagram posted here: http://bit.ly/9OSpqQ )

We have a freestanding office that sits across a narrow driveway from our house. We just signed up for ATT U-Verse in los angeles, and a high speed line was just installed into the office. The office has a wired backbone regulated by a router that sits next to the modem (point 1). Currently, the internet in the office is working very well.

The house has a wired backbone as well. Previously, we had an independent DSL line for the house with a router in a closet at the front door. This switch connected the ~dozen ethernet jacks throughout the house, several of which have had wireless-G access points (old linksys wrt54g x2). In the interest of saving an internet bill, we have disconnected this line and now would like to have the house connected to the office's internet.

My question is this: What is the best way to get the house on the internet? That is, how can I connect point 1 to point 2?
-Wired: I am not sure how I can wire it outdoors without it being an eyesore
-Wireless: Could sufficient bandwidth be maintained in the house if all connections depend on a wireless bridge? What about laptops in the house...if they connect to APs in the house (points 3), they would then have two wireless connections between them and the ISP...is that an issue?

Any suggestions on methods or even types/models of hardware would be *greatly* appreciated. If anyone needs clarification, please do not hesitate to ask! Thank you!!

Bryan

 

[thiggins]

Try this thread
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=1505

A couple of outdoor AP/bridges is nice clean way to handle this.

 

[crashnburn]

Just curious. What s/w / app did you use to draw the diagram? I like it?

 

[bryho]

- Used powerpoint to make the diagram =)

- So a nice high power engenius outdoor AP connected at the internet source (point 1), and an identical unit acting as a wireless bridge wired to the house switch (point 2)? Would I expect a >50% drop in throughput in the house? Also, if I am distributing via 11g APs in the house, would it be best to use N on the bridge so as to reduce interference?

 

[joeybaker]

You'd certainly be better off using a .11n AP wherever you can to reduce interference. The concern isn't interference with your .11g APs, but with other hardware that operates on the 2.4Ghz band: microwaves, cordless phones, etc…

If you're doing a .11n bridge, you shouldn't notice a bandwidth problem either: .11g is good enough for just about all internet browsing, and .11n is good enough for streaming HD video. The only thing that you may notice a bandwidth problem on are file transfers within the LAN.

 

[bryho]

Thank you very much for everyones advice - if anyone else has an opinion, I would really appreciate it!

In terms of what has been discussed so far, I've come up with a few options. It would be nice to have the AP / CB indoors if possible (if the signal would be strong @ approx 25ft through only two exterior walls), and I havent decided on G vs N. So the matrix is as follows:

Indoor G: ECB 3500 (http://www.wirelessnetworkproducts....r2000mw2watteirpapclientbridgerepeaterro.aspx)

Indoor N: ECB 9550 (http://www.wirelessnetworkproducts....butordiscountshippinglowestpriceallowedh.aspx)

Outdoor G: EOC 2610 (http://www.wirelessnetworkproducts.com/hd26912.aspx)

Outdoor N: EOR 7550 (http://www.wirelessnetworkproducts.com/hd27009.aspx)

2x of each, one in AP mode and one in client bridge mode

Does anyone have any recommendations on which of these options I should go with?

Thank you again! I am just about ready to order this and get it set up. I appreciate everyones help!

Bryan

 

[thiggins]

You'll get better / more reliable performance with outdoor units. All these units are PoE capable and come with injectors. So you have only one small cable to deal with.

The EOC-2610 looks more weatherproof than the EOR-7550. But check out the manuals:
EOR-7550 http://www.engeniustech.com/datacom/products/resources.aspx?cat=2&ID=264
EOC-2610 http://www.engeniustech.com/datacom/products/resources.aspx?cat=2&ID=246

Since you are operating as AP / client and not WDS, you don't get the 50%+ bandwidth reduction. That happens with WDS repeating only when on radio has to receive, then retransmit, i.e. support wireless clients.

 

[Aluminum]

How is the driveway set up? Is it raised, on a slope? What is the layout of the yard in general? Drainage etc?

You might be surprised how easy it could be to run a small conduit underneath that could handle at least a pair of ethernet cables. (never run just 1)

You don't have to go in a direct line across either, just keep the building link under 100m total.

Wireless is nice, but I'm reading between the lines (dozen eth jacks, multiple APs, 2 internet lines) that you might be a lot happier in the long run with a single wired network paired with APs placed only to best serve laptops etc.