[MLB-WIRELESS] Tracking usage when sharing broadband?

[Toliman]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Paterson" <paterson at tassie.net.au>
To: "melbourne wireless" <melbwireless at www.wireless.org.au>
Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 10:48 AM
Subject: [MLB-WIRELESS] Tracking usage when sharing broadband?


> Hi,
>
> I'm thinking of using a wireless router (probably airport basestation
> connected to my mac) to share a broadband connection with friends in
> the adjacent apartments.
>
> Is there a way to track usage so if we know who's responsible for
> blowing the download cap :-)

> And which router is recommended for this purpose (ie. which has the
> greatest range in the apartment block context)?

yes. the internal firmware used in standalone NAT routers (adsl/modem
routers with wireless capability) will show you how much usage is recorded
against the MAC address detected (the ID number of each wireless card), look
for ones with internal webservers, so you can administer it locally...

f you use the mac to share the broadband connection, i don't know the
details of the software the lets you control access and usage, but there
might be a solution with an ACL.

some routers will have whats called an ACL or Access Control List, so you
can manage users with username/passwords, and lock out offenders/abusers on
your own time. however, the process is not automatic, and requires you have
the MAC addresses of each person on the network linked up to their
usernames, to avoid people trading wireless adaptors for a different usage
limit. once a user is logged in, they can access the internet, until they
manually log out.

for coverage, you will need an antenna in a position between the least
amount of concrete and glass of all the people involved. wether that's near
the outside of the bulding or closer to the centre, depends on the apartment
block & interference in the apartment block. in theory, you could cover a
few floors with omni-directional antennae on each side of the apartment,
performance will vary. just pick the worst possible spot, and measure the
signal and see how it can be improved at that one spot, repeat for the other
corner of the apartment block. if you get a lot of money, you could even use
two access points to extend coverage to the other side of the apartment
block

> And is it so that the greatest possible one-way data speed between
> the wireless router and the client will be 5.5Mbps?

in the apartment situation, it is more likely that it will be 2mbps than
5.5mbps due to physical obstructions. You will also find that the more
likely speed range will be closer to 4.5mbps in testing, because of
overheads in transmission and protocols used. however, you can link up a lot
of people without the need to leech at 500kb/sec from each other. your
performance will vary, as will your signal/noise ratio.

as far as i know, 5mbps when connected to an AP is average, dropping to
2mbps and 1mbps when the signal/noise ratio is higher. consider it a small
sacrifice for having more people attached at once.

> Look forward to feedback.
>
> Cheers,
> Bruce



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