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5 What to do and what not to do·How to be Perceived as a Good, Reliable WISP
·How to ground an antenna and spark arrestor
·Wireless ISP and interference from cordless phones
·How do I upgrade the Linksys WET11 to the latest firmware?
·How do I install a mast on a roof with guy wires???
| | | Here are some thoughts on how we have "migrated" to a more reliable network.
The difference is in the following in no particular order of importance: redundancy, provider, wireless equipment, policy, tech support, network management and reporting.
I'm going to leave out standard business stuff and focus on the above categories.
REDUNDANCY:
Back in the day we had one of everything and if it failed we had to drive/climb to the point of failure and fix it or lose customers.
Now we have almost two of everything. It's not as expensive as it sounds and takes a huge load off of us in terms of response times. It also appears to the customer that no downtime ever happens.
We do this by having two boarder routers configured in tandem (ours is VRRP, your may be hot fail, or BGPed). We use Mikrotik on pentium servers so the costs is hundreds, not thousands of dollars.
Our backhauls are configured in a wireless ring in case one fails (we use RSTP in bridged networks, OSPF in routed). The third or more leg in the ring can just be a low cost low bandwidth link if necessary as long as it can keep the customers going while a repair is done.
Our sectors are doubled/overlapped so that CPE's can see more than just one AP. Capacity is kept under maximum so if one fails the other AP can temporarily handle the load. Having overlap and keeping sector count low does use a bit more frequency, but generally allow for greater speeds per customer.
Network layout in general has a dual/split path for every client from CPE to the internet is the idea. So if you have two AP's facing a section for redundancy plug each one into a different router/switch in case of router/switch/cable failure.
IP space directly from ARIN split among two or more providers assures that your public IPs will not be unreachable in an outage of one provider. This is usually done with a BGP protocol at the ISP. Or simple hot failover to another provider creates better uptime.
PROVIDER:
This one is critical as it's what you are selling in the end. In the beginning we had a DSL line with a few public IPs. Now we have access to a 2.5Gbps fiber line and upgrades to a BGP address space.
Your provider has to be able to handle the capacity it is selling you AND have the same features you are selling your customers. If they can't uphold their end of the bargain then you won't be able to either for your customers.
Upgrade your provider sooner rather than later and get the best you can afford.
WIRELESS EQUIPMENT:
We started with 802.11b and have had to migrate to Canopy for various reasons. Take careful stock of your service area and use the right equipment for the topology and environment from the beginning. Whether that is 802.11, mesh or proprietary stuff.
This is a hard one to figure out, but lots of reading, planning and some testing before deployment will give you a head start. Even then a curveball will probably come your way in the form of a manufacturer suddenly leaving their platform in the dust or spitting out crappy PCB's etc.
If possible use a blend of two topologies and manufacturers. Then if something really goes wrong you still have something to work with instead of starting completely over.
Make sure your chosen distributor and manufacturer has a good track history, company record and RMA policy.
POLICY:
No matter what we do, you can't please everyone all the time. But setting the proper expectations up front will help down the road. Your customer's perceptions are set by the industry, marketing (yours and competitors) and whether they woke up on the right side of the bed etc.
Get a written policy SLA/Terms of Service together to define WHAT it is you are selling and NOT selling. And then treat that like your company bible with few exceptions.
Eventually the disgruntled customers will come to respect it and your company.
Some examples are pricing, speeds, installation procedures, equipment ownership, TECH SUPPORT, disconnect policies etc. etc.
Make sure your policy is reflected in your web site, written documentation, sales call, tech support visits, the whole enchilada. Consistency is key.
TECH SUPPORT:
This deserves a whole separate thread, but the important point is to commit to it. Even if your policy says the customer can take a flying leap off a tall cliff, go the extra mile and earn their appreciation.
A few minutes more on the phone or an on site visit will usually be greatly appreciated. Even if the customer wants you to come re-configure their router after hours for no extra charge (why DOES everyone expect this for $24.95 a month?), bite your tongue until it bleeds and politely schedule a time and price according to your policy (you have that in your policy, RIGHT?).
The bottom line with tech support is to give a little more than expected or per policy to create the proper perception. Tell them your hourly rate for non customers is $150 an hour, but for them it's $55 or $90 if they want emergency service (as per your rate policy).
If someone returns the phone calls or answers the phone within reasonable times (again, whatever expectation has been set) then they will feel good about it.
Good tech support leads to referrals in our experience.
NETWORK MANAGEMENT MONITORING AND REPORTING:
In the beginning we didn't even have an idea of how much bandwidth was being used and no real time or historical charting. What can you tell your customer without having this information? "Uh, you're down again? Since when?" is not a good response.
Even most of the inexpensive CPE/AP/Router/Switches today have SNMP or can be pinged using some monitoring program like MRTG.
The customer will actually listen and respect your expertise if you can tell them more information than they already know. "Your radio has been up for 21 days, 2 hours and 32 seconds and is running at 100 percent" stuns them to silence (sometimes).
Monitoring is the dividing line between what's your responsibility and theirs. What's free support to fix your end or paid support to fix theirs.
Get equipment and software that allows you to control your network. Nothing like watching your network get crushed by that one user running 1000 simultaneous connections on their Azereus BitTorrent client. Or that collection of customer Netgear routers that suddenly decide to ICMP blast the entire broadcast domain for days on end.
Usually this means proper traffic shaping and routers/managed switches at key points in your network. I can't speak enough of how Mikrotik shaping has improved our network capacity and reliability (or any similar product).
Traffic shaping, managed switches and proper use of routing/vlan techniques keep the nastyness of virus/icmp/arp storms at bay. P2P is allowed on our network and keeps the power users happy along with the business and casual residential users.
Live packet reporting like Wireshark and Mikrotik Torch allow complete investigation of what is happening NOW in the network. Historical graphing of SNMP and programs like NTOP/MRTG data gives us the complete picture over time.
SUMMARY:
To sum it up we wouldn't be where we are today without adhering to these principals. I hope the information can help someone else improve their operations!
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by IntraLink 
last modified: 2007-07-20 21:26:39 | | | You will never believe this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did an install yesterday and when I was done running the LMR400 in the house(I pull a small gauge wire into the house with it to ground the spark arrestor)and the USB adapter was up and running I went outside and grabbed the large #6 copper coming off the roof and attached it to the grounding rod that I had just pounded in and everything was great.I then reached over and grabbed the smaller wire(#14)and stuck it down to the rod and MY HAIR STOOD STRAIGHT UP and I got ZAPPED!!!!.I wont post my exact words here but it went something like this"WHAT THE!!*%",after I regained my composure I went and got my multimeter and to my suprise there was 110 volts coming thru this wire!!!!(it was already attached to the spark arrestor).We turned the computer off and I STILL had 110v!!!.It only went away after we un-plugged every device hooked to the computer(this guy had like 20 things attached),as it turns out the ground in the house was not right and every item in that room was plugged into a circuit that only had a neutral(white) and a hot(black)coming to the outlet with no ground!!!!.The moral of the story is to be damn careful when doing installs so that You dont get a free perm!!!.If You do not see a grounding rod already being used outside where the service comes in-DO not ground the spark arrestor outside!!!,Use the COLD water pipe and the problem should be solved!,Tim
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by superdog edited by korym | | | Be aware that some wireless ISP's use the same frequency range as the newer 2.4GHz cordless phones. If you are having problems getting a decent signal and/or upload/download rate, and especially intermittent problems on the customer end, make sure nobody is using 2.4GHz cordless phones.
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by MacGyver edited by seagreen
last modified: 2006-06-16 13:43:49 | | | First thing I do is upgrade the firmware on the WET11 board to 1.43 here: »www.linksys.com/
Next I open up the WET11 and take out the bromax pcmcia card that is inside, and install it in my laptop. I got the windows drivers from here: »www.bromax.com/
Next I go to demarctech and get updated station/primary firmware.
»www.demarctech.com/
That zip file from demarctech should come with station firmware 1.1.0 and primary firmware 1.4.9. It should also come with a program with winupdate that you use to load those firmwares to the bromax card.
After you do all that just throw it back in the WET11 and it should work.
 Please keep in mind that changing the WET11 in any way may not be FCC approved
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by superdog edited by seagreen
last modified: 2006-06-16 14:07:51 | | | When installing guys on a roof or any wood covered surface, you MUST catch a rafter!!! If you don't, you will be fixing it and using your insurance to fix a ceiling!
Guy Wire Class 101
•When installing any eye hook in ANY roof, it MUST be in a rafter! If you can not hook a rafter then you have to cut a 2x4 and nail (screw is better) it in place between the 2 rafters so you have a solid place to screw the eye hook into! (if you are in a high wind zone, make sure the rafter you are hooked to has a "hurricane strap" attaching it to the top plate on the structure).•Make a small pilot hole into the roof and then turn the eye hook into the hole. Then un-screw it and squirt a large amount of silicone into it (Not the cheap stuff! Geosill 2000 works great for this - it doesn't get hard). Turn the eye hook into the roof - as you do this, you will pull the sealant down into the threads•Crawl underneath and make darn sure that the hook has caught the rafter or the piece of wood that you have screwed in place between the 2 rafters!•If you are using a hinge, make sure that at least half of the screws that you have used are in a rafter! (I say this because sometimes the center of the roof has no rafters, hence the piece of wood between the rafters). UPDATE: DO NOT use a hinge! It has come to my attention that hinges are NOT covered by ANY of the mast manufacturer's warranties! If you try and expand the mast all the way and then "swing" it up it won't work and will bend in half!!!!!•If you are using a mast that is 30' or over, I would drill a hole for every eye hook and use an eye bolt. This allows you to push the eye bolt thru and attach it with a washer and a nut on the bottom. This is a much more stable system.•Do NOT screw an eye hook into the roof decking alone and expect it to hold! On a lot of the newer buildings, they use Aspenite (flake board or OSB) and this stuff is JUNK! It can barely hold up the roof, much less an eye hook trying to hold up a 20' mast with 60 mph winds blowing against it! Even if the roof is decked with 5/8" marine grade tongue and groove plywood it will not work!•All of your guys must be centered with the mast. On most 20' masts, you will have 2 sets of rings that will allow you to use 4 wires at every ten foot level. Do NOT think that you can put up a 20' mast and only guy it at the top! (you WILL be putting this back up with the first strong wind!)•When setting up the mast, make sure that it is plumb (straight up and down) before tightening the guys.•After you have set everything up and it looks really good, go back and check it again! (With a 40' mast, you will have at LEAST 64 U-clamps holding the wires in place - 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom of every wire minimum! Make sure that all the clamps are tight!)•Only use the stranded wire (Airplane wire) to erect your mast. The cheaper stuff stretches and will become slack after 30 minutes.•Always use the heaviest turnbuckles that you can find to adjust the tension (without overkill of course!)•After you are done adjusting the tension you MUST lock the turnbuckles in place so that the wind can not wiggle them and loosen the tension. This can be done buy using a small piece of wire and looping it thru the top and bottom eye hole of the turnbuckle and twisting it together so that no movement is allowed.
I guess the moral of the story is this: Do it right the first time or you WILL be back up there at 2AM on the coldest night of the year fixing it!
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by superdog edited by seagreen
last modified: 2006-06-16 18:55:40 |
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