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WLAN upgrades

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by debate

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Are you planning to upgrade your wireless LANs in the near future, as discussed in this week's Wireless e-newsletter? If you are, what WLAN technology are you considering: 802.11a, 802.11g, or something else altogether?

5 replies

by gfv

Well written article were someone that doesn't have a highly technical background such as my self can now begin to understand about 802.11b; g; and a. Thx, George F. Valle

by sreesam

I am starting a small paperless medical practice consisting of 3 Family Practice doctors.

We are on a tight budget. We will all have wireless laptops on a WLAN.

We were considering buying the Linksys 802.11b with the 802.11b built into the Dell laptops we purchase.

Is that a good idea?

We will be the using Alteer EMR system (www.Alteer.com)

Or should we the 802.11a system?

Also, does Dell make laptops with built in 802.11a?

Is it better to buy laptops with built in 802.11?

Feel free to call me anytime if it is easier to help me via phone.

Thanks!
Steve Samudrala, MD
cell 601-291-4526
home 601-856-8592

by puneetg

If you are on a tight budget and the coverage and capacity desired is not very high, 802.11b is certainly a better choice given the low costs associated with 802.11b. 802.11a right now is new to the market and as a result is associated with a price premium. But even at the current costs, 802.11a may be suitable for large businesses looking for higher capacity and speeds.

Whether to buy a standalone 802.11b card or an integrated solution is a separate issue altogether. Both will serve your wireless connectivity purpose. You need to do the cost comparisons and decide. It might be a good idea to ask your vendor about upgradability (to 802.11a for example) in case of laptops with integrated NIC.

by tharmon

Dr, Samudrala
If you want a budget frendly solution you should look into the Sharp Zarus is a very stable java based handheld and it can use a wireless cf Card from Simbol. it is 802.11b but that will work well for what you are trying to accomplesh.

Also, I would warn you about displying your contact information on a post list.

Tim Harmon MCSE, MCDBA

by arthurp

As I understand it there are several ISO standards applying to WLAN at the moment, (802.11, 802.11b, & 802.15). It has also been mentioned that Wireless will be moving from 2.42Gb to 5.2Gb by the end of 2003 in order to reduce MUTINT with BlueTooth,

With the curent situation, it will mean the implementation of any advanced ISO standard will require retro fitting to all previous standards.

My personal recommendation is to hold off any upgrades until the Wireless network migrates to 5.2Gb -at least early next year.

Arthur

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