I need to get network access into my garage which is about 40m from the house. I've tried wireless but the signal is terrible in the garage and typically only 2mb/s at best. So CAT 5 it is. Does anyone know of an outdoor grade cable, or should I use "normal" cable sheathed in garden hose or something? Any other soultions people have used with success?
I like that idea, however I'm already sending X10 signals across the mains to/from the garage as well, I don't know if the two systems would get along, and 14mb/s is a bit on the slow side as I plan to use the PC in the garage for "offsite" file storage amongst other things. If I run CAT5 / CAT6 I can use gigabit network which is far better for moving lots of data over!
Some small external antennas for the access points?
You can configure the access points as point to point mode and create a separate wired network in the garage, or if for one device just add the external antenna to the card.
Ah well, in that case, you want an OrthogonSystems Spectra unit. 300Mb/sec aggregate bandwidth over a non line of sight radio link :)
However, since you probably can't afford a pair of those, (~$20K) personally, I'd run cat5(e) down a bit of garden hose...
Actually, I'd just run ordinary cat5e.. It'll last 2 years underground. When you take it up at each end, hang a loop down and file off the underside of the insulation - that way, any moisture that does get into the cable can escape before going up to the connector (in theory). You're probably OK without it though - I've been dealing with some outdoor units that pump 50 volts on top of the signal to power the remote radio units and those corrode quickly when damp!
You might also want to look at how you are doing the backups - I use rsync which only copies differences, and keep gigabytes offline and updated overnight over relatively slow links,, but you might not have the luxury of a nice *nix server set ...
You can run lots of these together - just like a big old Ethernet Hub. Point to point you get the full bandwidth, but when 2 or more stations try to use it, you get colisions (a natural part of the Ethernet CSMA-CD protocol) and performance suffers a little.
I don't have too many details - I've just used a pair which just plugged in and worked - there is some Windoze management software avalable though. There are also faster speed units by the looks of it, but I've absolutely no idea how well they work!
I have a large DLT tape autochanger to be attached to the PC in the garage, coz it's too big to go into the house :-) I have *lots* of data to keep backed up, and just don't trust disk enough to keep it online only.
....But I work in the data backup / storage industry so getting hold of hardware / software is easy enough!
Theres been a bit of CAT5 cable outside here exposed to the elements for some 5 years now and it's still working fine, and another lump carries the phone down to the shed and that was buried some 10 odd years ago and is still fine;)
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