[Tfug] Cabling between buildings

[Harry McGregor]

Hi,

Well, you have you options basically figured out.  Here are some things
to think about

Bexley Hall wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've a friend who has several buildings on his property
> (many acres) between which he would like to run network 
> cabling.  Wireless is out of the question (paranoia
> as well as distances).

Distance can be handled with Wireless, think directional antennas, and
poles.   PoE powered equipment makes it even better.

Paranoia can be taken care of with a goo OpenVPN (or similar) VPN run
over top of the WiFi.  Think of the WiFi as an "open" internet
connection, and the private networking being inside the VPN.

Point to Point, and Point to MultiPoint are both options

This unit is rather cheap, 48V PoE, and has an integrated 9dBi panel

http://www.thenerds.net/ENGENIUS_TECHNOLOGIES.EnGenius_EOC_3220_Wireless_Access_Point_Wi_Fi_54Mbps_Wireless_Access_Point.EOC3220.html?affid=8&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=EOC3220^~^ENGENIUS%20TECHNOLOGIES

And another unit supports an omni antenna as well as a built in panel:

http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=260

Then you can either re-use PC equipment, or get some small embedded
equipment to run OpenVPN on top:

http://www.netgate.com/product_info.php?cPath=60_84&products_id=503

>
> I imagine you can purchase CAT5 cable suitable for
> direct burial.  But, I am not sure that even that would
> handle the distances involved (think:  many acre ranch).
I would use conduit (PVC) if doing Cat5 or Fiber, as the cost of direct
burial usually exceeds the cost of cheap PVC.  Put in a pull box every
300 ft if possible, or at least every 950 feet.

Distances up to 1 mile are quite doable with DSL/LineDriver based equipment:

(not the cheapest source to be sure)

http://www.blackbox.com/Store/Detail.aspx/Ethernet-Extender-Data-Voice/ME0010A-VDSL-R2

>
> Optical fibre comes to mind as a solution (especially
> to tolerate any large common mode voltages that you
> could encounter in such an installation -- think:
> lightning).

Fiber is the best option here for something non-wireless.

100Mbit and even Gigabit Fiber Ethernet equipment is WAY down in price
on the secondary market.

If installing fiber, use  conduit, below the frost level if possible,
and put a cheap concrete mix about 1ft above the conduit (like 3:1 sand
to concrete), enough that someone digging will hit it and question what
they are doing.
>   But, are there any better options?  He's
> not keen on spending a lot of money to do so (e.g., he
> could always purchase multiple cell phones with "data
> service" and route packets through TPC to get from location
> A to location B  :-/ )

If he is willing to do that, then WiFi with OpenVPN would be sufficient
security wise.

Why is it that people (and government orgs) are so afraid of WiFi yet
they are perfectly willing to let the packets run on the wide open
internet...

                         Harry
> Thx,
> --don
>
>
>       
>
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