Re: Wireless (was Re: dummy terminal addresses)

> The only thing worse than (or at least equal to) twinax is wireless.
> Our wireless drops in our warehouse if someone sneezes.

Certain materials absorb RF others reflect it.  There are also things such
florescent lights that cause interference.  The quantity and placement of
access points is critical to provide good coverage.  One thing that gave me
headaches for a long time was intermittant coverage at a plant in areas
that didn't have a lot to get in the way.  I ultimately found that it was a
power issue for the access points.  The access point had enough power that
it appeared to be working but the voltage varried from one end of the
building to the other.  The problem was solved by plugging each access
point into a UPS.  At the time power over ethernet wasn't an option for us.

> Do you use any special tools to  troubleshooting?  I need to
> find a better approach to user complaints than the reactive method of
> walking around with a handheld LXE, Symbol or PSC and measuring signal
and
> strength.

Sometimes there is no substitute for walking around.  Plants tend to change
their layouts without notifying the I.T. department.  I also spent a bit of
time trying to troubleshoot why a person was having a problem with their
wireless barcode scanner.  It was summertime and I drove out and found that
somebody had unplugged the access point to plug their fan in.  It wasn't so
much that they just unplugged it but they took off all of the electrical
tape that was going around the I-beam that "secured" the plug to the
outlet.  The fan was unplugged an a new inaccessable outlet was added.


Dave Parnin
--
Nishikawa Standard Company
Topeka, IN  46571
daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx