Wireless Community Networks

Wireless Community Networks A Guide for Library Boards, Educators, and Community Leaders by Robert L. Williams Texas State Library and Archives Commission Library Development Division 1999 This guide may be duplicated (in print or electronic form) freely for non-profit or educational purposes. The guide is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF) and HTML formats. The latest revisions will be available at the following location: http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/LD/Publications/Wireless/ TSLAC Cataloging in Publication Data: Williams, Robert L. Wireless community networks : a guide for library boards, educators, and community leaders / by Robert L. Williams. – [Austin, Tex.] : Library Development Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 1999 129 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. 1. Wireless communication systems 2. Computer networks 3. Wide area networks (Computer networks) I. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Library Development Division. II. Title. Comments or complaints regarding the programs and services of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission can be addressed to the Director and Librarian, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, Texas 78711-2927, 512-463-5460 or 512-463-5435 fax. Wireless Community Networking A Guide for Library Boards, Educators, and Community Leaders Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................... v Introduction................................................................ 1 Part I. Putting the Pieces Together 1. The Need for Community Networks ................ 9 2. Where Wireless Connectivity Fits In................ 21 3. Budgeting for Wireless Connectivity ............... 33 4. Where to Go Next .......................................... 53 Part II. Understanding the Concepts 5. Data Transfer Rates: A Primer........................ 57 6. Building a Local Area Network ....................... 63 7. WANs, MANs, and the Internet....................... 73 8. How RF Wireless Connections Work ............... 89 9. Sharing Without Sacrificing: Securing Wireless Networks ...................................... 105 Part III. Appendix A. Glossary ....................................................... 113 B. RF Wireless Equipment Manufacturers .......... 119 C. Other Resources ........................................... 123 D. Comment Form............................................. 127 Colophon .................................................................. 129 Texas State Library and Archives Commission iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank several people without whom this guide would not have been created. First, a big thanks to Bob Gaines, Automation Consultant at the Central Texas Library System, who was the catalyst in getting the project started. Without Bob, my interest for wireless connectivity would have remained indefinitely in a-conversation-over- lunch mode. Biggest thanks go to my family, who sacrificed a great deal during a period of about four weeks while I hammered out the more difficult parts of the guide. My wife and children had to deal with a husband and a father who was home but not really present. To Nancy, Nic, and Tessa I say thanks for the time. I also greatly appreciate the time of several individuals who contributed answers to questions and product pricing at crunch time. Kenna Nevill, at National Business Group in Dallas, provided detailed information which helped me in pricing the budget items presented in Chapter 3. (I’m sure she’d be glad to talk to you as well. You can reach her at 972-490-6249 or [email protected]) Three other vendor representatives also contributed pricing information: Kelley Spitzer, sales contact at C-SPEC Corporation (800-462- 7732 x212, [email protected]); Terry Lafferty, Territory Sales Manager for Solectek (630-980-6144, [email protected]); and Jim Bowie, Account Manager at BreezeCom (760-431-9880 x136, [email protected]). A special thanks goes to Jeanette Larson and Christine Peterson at the Library Development Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, who agreed to publish this work if I could get it done. Thanks for the opportunity to write it. Last, thanks to the production staff who worked diligently to get it out the door. Texas State Library and Archives Commission v Introduction Welcome to the world of computer networking! For many of us, the need to know about computer networks has come about very quickly. In 1995, legislation passed in Texas provided for great savings on high-speed data circuits for public schools, libraries, and telemedicine centers. In 1996, federal legislation was passed creating a “universal service fund” to assist rural, impoverished school districts and libraries defray the cost of connecting to the Internet. Technology Integration in Education (TIE) grants have been issued from federal funds, and Telecommunication Infra- structure Fund (TIF) grants have been issued from state funds. New legislation is being passed and implemented almost too quickly to keep up. Technology is being deployed at an unprecedented rate. Whew! I’m tired already just thinking about it! The driving force behind almost all of this frenzy? The Internet. Or at least the perceived potential the Internet provides. Potential of the Internet Since 1992, President William Clinton and Vice President Al Gore have proposed a vision for our educational system: information resources available to all students, poor as well as rich, communication to points around the world and Internet connectivity throughout the country. To some degree the hype regarding the Internet has been difficult to keep pace with since the world wide web’s graphical introduction to the world in 1994. But the potential is great. Such connectivity may well represent a fundamental shift in how our society provides many services in the fields of libraries and education. In addition, it may also alter how we provide community Texas State Library and Archives Commission 1 Wireless Community Networks services. It may alter how we as public entities communi- cate with our constituents. It will certainly accelerate our shift from a cash-based society to one based on “electronic cash.” Many interesting services and opportunities will be possible. Pitfalls But using the Internet to provide services is not a bed of roses. Along with the promise and potential of network connectivity come serious pitfalls as well. A continued, perhaps accelerated shift to private education, or at least distributed education, is likely. What problems and additional burdens will that place on our already strained education system? The need to provide up-to-date, acceptable levels of library service will increase. It will be The push to provide problematic to serve those without Internet access at home. A greater divide between the technologically rich and the Internet access as a technologically poor may occur. Some privacy will be lost. core element of school Chief among all the pitfalls, however, is the simple cost of maintaining a technological infrastructure. In the future, and library services even more computers will be required. More personnel with technical expertise will be required to maintain equipment has come extremely and software, either as paid staff or contracted services. More and more frequent technical training for staff will be quickly for policy required. Equipment, which in many cases is acquired makers. through grants, must be repaired and eventually replaced. All of this technological advancement comes at a time, of course, when taxpayers are becoming more and more reluctant to increase their tax burdens. With costs rising, and sources of funding becoming more constrained, how will we walk the fine line of providing access to the best technology to all Americans without creating fiscal chaos in other areas of our budgets? Need for This Manual The push to provide Internet access as a core element of school and library services has come extremely quickly for policy makers. Before 1994, almost no one knew about the Internet. Only a highly visionary few thought about it as a matter of public policy. But when its text-based face gave way to graphical interfaces in 1994, and its government- 2 Library Development Division Introduction sponsored nature gave way to commercialized access in 1995, enterprising companies began molding their visions into real software products. Suddenly, everyone was having visions of Internet grandeur. The Internet is seen as a boon to education and information provision. Regardless of how real its usefulness is at the moment (and in some cases it usefulness is very high), the political pressure is on to get connected. Get connected or be left behind seems to be the attitude of the day. But at what cost and to what end? Planners and decision-makers in libraries and schools have hardly had time to catch their breath. They’ve had even less time to analyze current connectivity options and make Planners and choices regarding the best connectivity for their communities. And many vendor sales representatives and volunteer decision-makers in consultants, though well intentioned, have provided incomplete or inaccurate advice regarding best methods of libraries and schools connectivity. As a result, in many cases grant writers have specified equipment and Internet connectivity that is either have had even less under-powered or costs too much. time to analyze So, what are the options? Are there ways to maximize infrastructure development and minimize the fiscal burden current connectivity

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