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Pretty easy to setup and it is exactly what I needed to extend the range on my wireless network.
Several different firmware images have not improved this condition.Experience lately with several Linksys products has made me skittish on purchasing any Linksys products in the future. Experience with this product for a month or so leaves me sorry I bought it. Frequently drops connections to clients (2-3 times daily). Have a new AP from a different manufacturer on order now - am looking forward to abandoning this product.Update:Purchased a TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB (Version V1.0R) to replace this. Consider this before purchasing the Linksys device - much better AP for the buck than this product.
This Access point worked like it was suposed to and it is nice to see.
No power had to be run to each access Point because they are all power over ethernet - we simply had to get a power over ethernet switch and run a standard ethernet drop to each access point.I've gone back to the warehouse two months later and all access points had an uptime of 61 days - not a single one had crashed. Remember there are really only 3 distinct channels, 1, 6, and 11, so try to space your access points apart so that you get the least amount of conflict. I've configured 7 of these to cover a 100,000 square foot warehouse with the AP's suspended from the ceiling. I'm not sure why other people are having problems with this access point. Each access point is able to supply a medium but stable signal at a 120ft radius so placing the AP's 200 ft allows for a little bit of overlap to ensure good coverage everywhere. I did have to plan the wireless channel configuration ahead of time and I tried to minimize the interference with each other.
I figured 2 months of being stbale in a hot warehouse over the summer for all 7 access points is an excellent test of stability.The best thing is that all the AP's share the same SSID and password and I can roam from one end of the warehouse to the other while downloading a file and without dropping a single ping.
I decided to reboot each of them, just in case, but they were all up and running, responding, and supplying a wireless signal, after 2 months.
Short story - use only 1, 6 and 11 for your wireless channels.In any case, with proper configuration and the latest firmware, everything runs stable and has tremendous range.
With the the latest firmware (as of 06/2008) the access points are stable and run for many months without crashing.
There is a serious problem with the 802.11G specification where each channel overlaps with channels +-3 channels from it - so an access point on channel 3 conflicts with both channel 1 and channel 6.
I was actually a little shocked, I figured at least one would have crashed.
The nice thing is since they are power over ethernet I just had to unplug each one by one from our power over ethernet switch - no running around anywhere.
I'm getting a good signal with every access point spaced 200 ft apart.
This was tested with all the racks in place in the warehouse, metal racks with wooden shelves.In short, a tremendous access point for the price, great for businesses that require long term stability.
Using it, however, isn't such a pleasure.Absolutely horrified--I got better performance from 10 year old 802.11FH, which you can pick up for about $10 on ebay.Sucks balls. Range is good, but even at 10 feet, I reliably get 5% of my internet connection bandwidth.
I manage, design, and install networks for a living. This thing blows big-time.
Drops connections pretty frequently only to reconnect a few minutes later. I installed this in my house to compliment my new Dell laptop with wireless-N and I can say that my dvd rewinder was a better investment.
PoE is pretty cool, which is why I bought it, but it's the only feature that works reliably. If you're really good at setting these things up (which, again, I do for a living), the setup is pretty easy.
big time.
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