Wireless Internet Access & Networking FAQ
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Are there any special hardware/software considerations? Additional costs?
Will have to do a site survey to ascertain any other costs other than the costs of the tower/mast for the antenna mount. In
most situations, the above usually gets your high-speed connection and bandwidth installed and running.
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Are you planning to use VPN?
No. You may continue to use Windows Terminal Server as before. You will notice some speed increase on the remote side. VPN can
be setup at an extra charge due to the amount of setup and configuration involved.
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Does the wireless unit have a firewall?
While it is not specifically a firewall the very nature of Network Address Translation makes for a built in firewall. Only the
public address is exposed while all of the internal addresses (10.0.0.x) are protected. Also note when TCP/IP was being
developed, the makers formulated all 10.0.0.x addresses to not route via the Internet. Also our wireless system is secure via
encryption and two layers of passwords. Without the passwords or encryption keys, no one can access the wireless unit. Our
gateway to the Internet is a Cisco router and does have a firewall.
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Does the wireless unit support NAT?
Our wireless unit supports incoming and/or outgoing Network Address Translation as well as the static or DHCP addressing
schemes. In addition, there are many security feature utilized to keep your internal network secure.
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How Does It Work?
Well to put it simply without all the high tech talk it works like this. A signal that is called FREQUENCY HOPPING is sent from
your wireless setup to ours through the air. It works just like a network but without the wires. Can't really describe it any
simpler.
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How quickly can I get setup?
Since we are the only company you need to deal with to get this working, we can set you up in less than a week. Compare that to
ISDN, which can take a month or more to install. We can provide an internet connection for people to be envious of, in less than
a week. Bypassing the monopolies allows us to participate in a fast rate of change needed to provide new and special services,
such as this.
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How reliable is it?
This equipment is very reliable. Broken poles, car crashes, floods, or utility workers won’t affect your connection. This
wireless networking equipment was developed and used as a low power, high security, high frequency, military communications,
and has been commercialized and legalized by Silicon Valley companies. The technology has its own standards just like your
modem.
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How reliable is the wireless service? Is it affected by weather?
The frequency transmits and receives on the ISM (2.4 GHz) band and our experience thus far has shown no negative effects from
any type of weather.
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How secure is the wireless connection?
We use several levels of password protection and encryption. No Outside source can access our wireless network without
encryption keys, our proprietary hardware, and two layers of password protection.
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Is It Expensive?
No. Yes. Maybe. The biggest cost is the initial setup. For someone only doing email or very little surfing it probably is not
cost effective. For a business that is dependent upon reliable fast access NO it’s not expensive. Wireless offers many other
possibilities also. Like VOIP (voice over IP), audio or video streaming, wireless security, the possibilities are limited only
to the imagination!
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Is It Fast?
It will put dialup, DSL, and cable to shame. Unlike cable, which is a shared access, wireless is not. With cable you DO NOT get
10mbs. There is network overhead that brings the speed down to about 4-4.5mbs. Then that is shared with everyone else. It is a
fact that at prime times that cable modems can be slower than DIAL UP!
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Is this a real true 24-hour access?
YES! This connection works around the clock. You don't have to dial, redial, or connect or shut off or hang up or anything.
This is an excellent time saving convenience.
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No dialing?
Since we are bypassing the Telco, it does not tie up your phone line. This alone can save $40+/month if you had a business line
installed for your modem. (which you won't need anymore) Since you won't use your modem anymore, it doesn't use one of ours, so
we won't keep track of your time usage. No busy signals and no more disconnects due to noisy phone lines.
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Our office has more than one computer. Can one wireless radio support more than one computer?
Yes! Very easily. The wireless radio is setup on a computer running proxy software and then the rest of the computers are
pointed to the proxy machine. Simple, fast and easy setup.
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What does the installation cost include?
- Site Survey and Recommendation
- All Wireless Hardware
- Installation of Hardware
- Network Planning of IP Addresses (DHCP, Static, Outgoing NAT, Incoming NAT, Security Issues)
- Configuration of Client Workstations and Server
- Lightning Protection and Grounding
- Normal Labor for Tower & Mast with Guying Unless Existing Appropriate Mount is in Place
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Who will maintain the wireless unit?
Netlink IP Communications will be responsible for maintaining configuration and/or changes you may need on an ongoing basis. As
for the physical unit itself, you should place it on your insurance coverage. While we will heavily ground the unit, the very
nature of the antenna having to be placed above the tree line causes it to be susceptible to lightening damage.
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Why Choose Netlink IP Communications?
Netlink IP Communications is also the leading provider and most established (6 years and counting!) in the Glynn County area for
v.90/56K and ISDN Dial-Up Internet Access. Netlink IP Communications also offers
web hosting on its own dedicated LINUX servers and custom
web design services.
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Will each workstation be assigned static IP address? Is it one IP address?
Normally each wireless customer is assigned one static IP address, then Network Address Translation occurs allowing the inside
network to use either static or dynamically assigned IP's. If your needs require more than one IP, we can supply as many as you
wish.
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Will it allow an internal e-mail server?
Yes. We can configure our unit to receive a specific port address.
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Will the speed vary?
We are now running three separate T-1's from different vendors. This gives us a total of 4.5 Mbps of redundant Internet access;
you should always be able to run at the bandwidth that you select.
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