One stormy day …

The Real Estate Department of one of our HOA clients is housed in an irregularly shaped building with lots of glass walls. Some of the real estate agents offices are not reachable with network wire in a clean manner; there would be wire moldings on some walls, which the Broker wanted to avoid.

Wireless networking allows you to quickly set up a computer in a spot where there is no wired connection, or where wires are not easily run. This can be a quick fix or a semi-permanent setup. You need a wireless access point device connected by wire to a network switch. Then a wireless-capable PC can access the network as long as it is within range.

We setup a wireless access point as close to the center point as we could get a wire. We used wireless network cards, USB connected wireless devices and in some cases wireless bridges to connect PC’s to the network. We had some intermittent connectivity issues until we added a wireless signal booster to the access point. Now we can easily accommodate changes as desks are moved and offices are reassigned.

The wireless access point is secured to prevent drive-by or neighborhood connections to the office network. Is your wireless network secure? Take four steps to safety.

Have you used wireless connections, and if so, where?