Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
We've got a wireless LAN at work.
We have 7 Senao wireless access points which all have the same SSID (HCWireless)
It’s secured with WPA2 but not MAC filtering because it would be more trouble then its worth.
Question is
When a member of staff moves around the school with their laptop, I was under the impression they would jump from access point to access point to maintain the best connection. This is what I wanted it to do.
However this doesn’t seem to be working, they only seem to want to stay connected to the access point for which they were originally joined to.
Has anyone got any idea I can try to achieve what I want?
EDIT - I will be google'ing my self BTW 
[Edited on 01-11-2007 by Aj.]
|
Demo
Member
Registered: 27th Sep 01
Location: south wales Drives: astra sri ecoflex
User status: Offline
|
im pretty sure you can only set 1 access point as the default access point which it sounds like is happening
im pretty sure you can only manually connect to more than 1 network so they will have to connect to access points every time they move room/building etc
surely there must be a piece of software out that can make it switch automatically between a number of selected access points
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
So what you're saying is i'd be able to name each access point with a unique SSID (i.e the building name they're in)
Then connect the laptop to each SSID manually?
|
Demo
Member
Registered: 27th Sep 01
Location: south wales Drives: astra sri ecoflex
User status: Offline
|
i think so
ive done it with my laptop and WLAN here and down my missus house.
actually, come to think of it, my laptop automatically connects to the network here and down my missus without any fuss.
what i had to do was register it on both WLANs with the WEP to authenticate the machine on the network and it seems to work fine now
im not really up on all this technical shit but if i can get it to work at home im sure you can at your place of work
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
Yeah i've got the same setup at home.
I go home it connects, i come to work and it connects.
I've jsut got off the phone with the local networking company who sold me the hardware and he suggested the same thing.
|
Cosmo
Member
Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
User status: Offline
|
will it automatically connect to the stongest signal though? As it may still pickup the one it had previously connected to but with a weak signal.
|
Demo
Member
Registered: 27th Sep 01
Location: south wales Drives: astra sri ecoflex
User status: Offline
|
good point
im guessing with points that are so close to each other you will have to do it manualy as i dont think the system will be able to disinguish between what points are closest
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
will it automatically connect to the stongest signal though? As it may still pickup the one it had previously connected to but with a weak signal.
Exactly, this is what's happening
|
Cosmo
Member
Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
User status: Offline
|
surely should be some setting that makes it connect to the stongest signal? Or be some programme out there that can do this?
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
I've been told that it’s possible to set up roaming if you have certain nic's and access points. I'm pretty sure we won’t have the nics but the access points we have a fairly advanced.
I'm playing around with the SSID's to make them different to see what happens.
|
Demo
Member
Registered: 27th Sep 01
Location: south wales Drives: astra sri ecoflex
User status: Offline
|
let us know how you get on aj cos im curious now as to if it can be done or not
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
|
Daniel_Corsa
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Apr 04
Location: Wigton, Cumbria
User status: Offline
|
Have you got the option to bridge them?!
That will allow you to walk between them and connect to the strongest signal.
Worked with last one I set up for a company but that was £900+ AP's over a 100m + range
April '06' Corsasport Feature Car  | Aug '08' Total Vauxhall Feature Car | Spring '09' Fast Car Feature Car
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
i'm able to set it up as a brigde, but this is just to join two wired systems together therefore not what i want.
good idea tho, i see where you're coming from.
|
Daniel_Corsa
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Apr 04
Location: Wigton, Cumbria
User status: Offline
|
My work (also a school) has out AP's named
SolAP1, SolAP2, SolAP3 and so on, same WEP/WPA key for every AP.
Manually enter each AP key on each laptop, and then as the teachers / staff walk through the school it automatically connects to the strongest signal.
Pain in the arse going round them all with everyones laptop but works a treat!
April '06' Corsasport Feature Car | Aug '08' Total Vauxhall Feature Car | Spring '09' Fast Car Feature Car
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
Sweets, i'll give it a go
|
pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
Ive got the same system as you Aj., and it works flawlessly - strange yours doesnt.
Try changing the channel on the AP's - one channel for each one 
|
Aaron
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 04
Location: Cottingham, East Riding
User status: Offline
|
You mean all have different channels? if so, thats what we already have it set at.
|
simon179
Member
Registered: 6th Aug 07
Location: southport
User status: Offline
|
with the system u already have in place you would have to connect each laptop to each acesspoint and tell them to disconnect their laptop when moving about!
if all access points are set as connecrtions on each laptop it will automaticly connect to the connection with the strongest signal strength or atleast prompt the user to connect where they can chooses strongest connection! depending on how it had been set up on the laptops
i know this works as i set one up simlar today
hope this helps mate!
[Edited on 01-11-2007 by simon179]
|
simon179
Member
Registered: 6th Aug 07
Location: southport
User status: Offline
|
forgot to mention all acess points would have to have a differnet ssid! like you said the name of each building etc something along them lines so the user knows what they are connected to!
|
James_DT
Member
Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
User status: Offline
|
I had it working at Uni last year. We had the router at one end of the house and an AP at the other end (as the signal didn't reach that far). They both had the same SSID and WPA key but were on different channels and it worked more or less seamlessly.
|
