Office equipment in northern ireland,northern ireland office equipment

Your Office is upstairs but your phone line for internet access is on the floor below..

You can walk into the office with your laptop and connect to the network without fiddling with cables..

A presentation in the boardroom means you can connect to the network without wires and so can anyone else who wants to connect to the network/Internet...

You're only in the new office temporarily and all this cabling work you need to have is going to go to waste...

The interior of your premises is a listed building and unsightly cables and trunking cannot be fitted without drilling, hammers and alterations...

Want to work in more privacy, now you can, take your laptop anywhere and stay on the network...

When you move premises the network hardware comes with you..

You want to put that noisy printer at one end of the room and you at the other but how do you communicate?

You want a network up and running FAST.Moving people around the office may not mean a call to get cabling...

Want to add another user to the network but waiting for a network point to be installed.. simple just add a wireless network card and its sorted!

Your mobile does not need wires, so why should your PC?

PCs are getting more discreet, hidden, nicer designs except for the cables...

You have two premises next to each other but you want to connect them without waiting for the separating road to be dug up..

You have a group of premises campus-style and you want to network them up, without the use of JCB digging up the ground....

Wireless networks work. They work through partitions, walls, glass etc. You don't have to need to know where the network hub is, it works within building or between buildings. Its safe to use, secure (if its set up correctly). It works like your mobile phone, letting you jump from one zone to another without your intervention. It works on PCs, Servers, Laptops and most printers. Its ideal for those who are using laptops as the freedom to connect and reconnect is increased without the common hazard of network cables becoming damaged due to frequent plugging and unplugging.

How does it work?

It's called Wi-Fi (802.11/Airport) and its a wireless standard like ethernet (but without the cabling). You have a wireless card in your computer and it communicates ,by microwave, with a wireless hub which is connected to the network and/or a telephone line for Internet access.

Adding another user is just a matter of adding another wireless card and configuring it to the network (as you would anyway). Once you are connected wirelessly to the hub, then you are on a standard network like anyone else. You could connect to printers, the internet, e-mail- anything the network normally provides. WiFi equipment uses radio frequencies set aside by the FCC to transmit data from one WiFi device to another. These radio signals are strong enough to penetrate walls and cover most homes for service, but not so strong that the neighbours would be able to connect to your network.

There ARE some devices that can interfere with WiFi networking products, namely cordless phones that operate at 2.4Ghz, normally though, even these devices can co-exist happily with WiFi networks.
Your computers; desktops, laptops even PDA's; can all connect to each other and can share your Internet connection using WiFi networking.

It's secure, in that you can encrypt the information transmitted over the airwaves and make sure the network knows who is allowed to connect and in which area (if there are more than one zone). It will even extend outside in the open but only within a certain range.

It's safe, its licenced for use in hospitals and has been accepted by the major standards bodies in Europe and worldwide.

There are some limitations. There is a limit at this point how fast the network speed. At the moment its generally 54Mbit/Sec. Conventional wired networks operate at 10, 100 or 1000Mbit/s. Unless you access large files frequently or do alot of graphics/design work then you'll barely notice (if at all). The Wi-Fi standard is a common one, so you are not locked into a particular supplier of the hardware. Its not going to work well or at all if the walls are thick or metal lined. For many reasons due to the way the building is constructed, you may need a booster aerial or second hub to get a good connection. In theory there is a 200+ capacity to connect to the wireless Hubs, however in practice, they can generally handle up to 16 users without difficulty (depending on how busy the client PCs are accessing the network). So its a 16user hub.

What does it cost?

The convenience of wireless does come at a premium. The hardware is more expensive than conventional wired hardware like hubs, LAN cards and wired hardware. This is somewhat offset with the lack of physical cabling costs and future freedom to flexibly change the layout of the office and where you choose to connect to. Its also portable and much quicker to set up. Currently hardware costs will be 70-80% more expensive than conventional wired. However the prices are dropping as more suppliers offer the hardware (most of the laptop suppliers are offering the WIFI cards as a standard feature) and it becomes more popular. There are hotels, coffee shops, airport lounges that are installing this, in addition to offices, homes and even local neighbourhoods. Its support is being expanded to PDAs so the melding of mobile phones and PDAs will bring internet and e-mail access to a new wireless phase.

How secure is WiFi??
The data packets that travel from one wireless device to another are encrypted, only other devices on YOUR network know how to decrypt the packet. This provides a level of security that even wired networking doesn't possess. There is a chance that someone could sit outside your home and "sniff packets" using a compatible WiFi network device. The data that they would be able to see, however, would be encrypted and therefore useless to the intruder.

What is the range on WiFi?
300ft indoors is typical, although range varies by equipment manufacturer. There are low cost ways to extend your range if necessary too, for example, add-on antennas. Also, if you plan to use your wireless gear outdoors, expect up to 3 times the range.

Can I have computers on different floors and in different rooms?
That's the point of wireless networking! Unless your house has lead walls, or you live in a 50 room mansion, you're going to be able to set up your computers wherever you want as long as you have a power outlet! With a laptop, you can roam about your house and even go outdoors and still remain connected to your network and the Internet.