Wireless network for many business users: 2 questions

g0dM@n said:

Plenum is the expensive stuff. Why would I have to use that?

Solid 5e isn't as durable... stranded is more durable IIRC.

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[Q] What is Plenum rated cable, and do I need it?

[A] Plenum rated cable generally has the same data transmission performance specifications as regular CAT5e, but there are some differences in the wire pair coating, and the outer jacket of the cable itself.

Plenum rated CAT5e cable has a jacket that meets specific ANSI requirements for flame retardance and low smoke production. The idea being that if the building is involved in a fire, the Cat5e Plenum cable will not burn as easy as a standard PVC jacket, and will produce less smoke than a typical Cat5e cable if it does catch fire. The only drawback to this theory has to do with the fact that if Plenum rated CAT5e cable actually does catch fire, it has been reported that it can actually burn at hotter temperatures than a PVC jacketed Cat5e cable.

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gangaskan said:

plenum is required by building code for the most part. check with your building department to make sure.


plenum has less burning chemicals that are less hazardous than normal cable.

here is a good article on plenum needs / requirements.

http://www.phonicear.com/learnplenum.asp

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gangaskan said:

at any event, i'd double check and make sure i dont think you want your dad to be fined or anything like that.

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gangaskan said:

your unlce haha, sorry about that i was close!


we normally get solid i think at work, or atleast that's what i want to say its whatever CDW gives us. we have no brand loyalty in terms of cable, but we seem to have problems with belkin cable at times. kind of fussy when it comes to its cable specs.

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SuperMiguel said:

why u dont get a good router and few AP??? that will get u what u want... Also u can get a smart switch and kind of separate one ap from the other (VLAN) so u can balance bandwith

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g0dM@n said:

I'm just gonna get the solid then.


I'd have to read up and spend a lot of time on figuring out the bandwidth balancing. I'm not feeling so nice to spend a whole day doing that. He'll offer to pay me, but it's not easy taking money from family... sometimes I feel nice, but when I have an enormous family as it is and being the ONLY person that does I.T. in my family... you get the drift.

My father's side, my mother's side, my girlfriend's family, my brothers' girlfriend's families, my cousin's sig others and families, etc... I'm the only one that "does computers"...

I HATE IT SOMETIMES!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, on top of that I'm only a pro at desktop support. I'm intermediate at best when it comes to a bunch of other things, especially networking.

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bLack0ut said:

If you really want to roll out a real network, why not a pfsense box with wireless repeaters? Either way, with that many users you're gonna have to figure out QoS, which is quite complicated (assuming you use HFSC and not ALTQ). You'll also have to write a bunch of firewall rules depending on what the users want to use the connection for.

Even if you're going wired, you're gonna want a internet-facing hardware firewall that can do at least some bandwidth management (or quota system).

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