Internet advice needed

[Koolpc]

What would i need to get internet access to 3 floors in a small hotel so that each room (3 on each floor) has access to the internet? What would be the best way of doing it and what items would i need? My mate has a new property that he wants help on.

[herulach]

Best way would be wired since more people will have wired than wireless, in which case you need a decent router a switch with enough ports (10base will do) and lots of cable. If you want wired id prob go for 2 access points, and a router.

[Koolpc]

Thing is, most of the people staying have laptops with Wireless access.

[schmunk]

Ideally, you would provide both wired and wireless access.

[Koolpc]

Where is the best place to get good info on this?

[Moby-Dick]

There isn't that I know off.

are you looking to just be able to distribute access or have some form of control over it.
what you may want is to be able to create a walled garden , so that machines on the network ( if it is to be a semi public type system cannot see each other , only the internet ) which would be a good idea from a security point of view.

are you wanting to be able to restrict access to the network ( think of some form of content control / or charging model ? )

[Koolpc]

Just internet only.

[Moby-Dick]

I still think you might want to restrict wireless client to wireless client traffic , but fortunatly some wirelss access points / routers will do this for you.

while they are pretty convenient to deploy , wireless networks are not always the most stable in the world and you may need a 2 or 3 access points to get good coverage.

I think the buffalo kit will allow you to restrict peer level communications so that a client can only talk to the access point / router.

dont forget to set a level of encryption high enough to stop casual surfers form hijacking the connection.

[Koolpc]

Thanks mate. Just need more info now on what i actually need to get.

[Moby-Dick]

Rough Shopping List:

Internet Connection ( bigger the better )
Router with traffic shaping capabilities
Access points
Cable to go between them.

If you have a router with traffic shaping then it means that 1 person trying to download the entire internet wont slow the others down.

Are you sure you might not be biting of more than you can Chew ? setting up a quick little network might not take much time at first , but sorting out problems down the line might be a little trickier ( especially if your client is of the 'pay once , phone many times' mentality.

[Koolpc]

Not a client. Just a mate who asked me for help!! He is tight!!

[Moby-Dick]

well in that case you want somethign thats going to be low maintenance.

several companies offer a hotspot in a box solution that might be of use.

http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop...&ProductID=724

http://www.howtoforge.com/wireless_hotspot_howto

[Moby-Dick]

or if he is really tight and wants to earn money from it...
http://www.europc.co.uk/home.aspx?Pr...roductID=35395

[Kumagoro]

I think a MIMO router would be more useful as they are supposed to have a much better
range. Ive never had one so dont know how much better they are in practice.

Does it def have to be wireless? another alternative other than ethernet cable is homeplug.
Basically it uses the houses/hotels mains supply network as wires. for example.

http://www.shopmagenta.com/product/HP85.aspx

or the cheaper but slower though still good for broadband speeds,
http://www.shopmagenta.com/product/SPLETHB2.aspx

There is also a mains plug socket version (as in it is part of the socket) though i dont
remember where i saw those or how much they are.

[peterb]

Don't underestimate the task! While wireless offers initial ease of set up, wired offers greater security and most laptops have ethernet ports. All your mate needs to do then is provide a patch cable so that the guests can connect to the wall socket. The wiring will be more difficult initially, but easier to manage. If he wants to go wirelss, then he would be better going for a commercial solution that gives access control, perhaps on a pay-as-you-go basis.

[IBM]

Thing is, most of the people staying have laptops with Wireless access.

Most people may have wireless access, but you can pretty much guarentee that if they've got a laptop, then they have almost DEFINATELY got a network card. It's a bit more work to install a wired network, but it's a lot easier to maintain. And faster too.