I want to start WAN (Wide Area Network) in my apartment....?

Question

I want to start WAN (Wide Area Network) in my apartment, i need help on it about what equipments i need to have, first i will start it in my apartments maximum of 80 apartments and then i will make it vast.

Answer 1

It seems like you are actually starting a LAN (Local Area Network) in your apartment. WAN's span across multiple locations. In esssence, a WAN is similar to two or more LANs that are connected. While I reccomend taking the advice of the others and getting professional help, I will give you an idea of what you need to get started. First thing you mostl likely will need is a data closet or somewhere to house all this equipment. Since you will have up to 80 apartments connecting, I think your best bet would be to get a patch panel hooked up in this closet. The patch panel will have wires that run from every room all the way to the closet. Next you will need a switch and a router. The router is the equipment that actually manages the network routing (data flow). You will connect the switch to the router. This activates the switch. (side note: Make sure the switch is autosensing, you dont want to have to deal with crossover cables and other such headaches, but most are now anyway) With 80 rooms connecting, you will probably need multiple switches. You will need enough to have 1 port per room, or at least 80 ports. A good idea here is to make sure the patch panel is numbered according to the apartment numbers. It will make the job alot easier. Now, whenever you want to make an apartment room active, simple plug a patch cord into the patch panel port with the corresponding room number and connect it to the switch. This should make the port live. Finally, you will need a broadband modem from your ISP (internet service provider). Hook the modem up to the router in the internet port (labled as such). This will give your network internet access.



Now, this is a simple overview of what needs to be done. There is so much more involved than this, as the others were trying to let you know. Cable will need to be run to every apartment back to the panel. If your using standard internet methods, your network is going to instantly eat up its bandwidth and no one will be able to enjoy the internet. If your serious about supplying your tenants with internet access then you will want to purchase a T1 line. This will most likely go through your phone company. Once you get this apartment done you can move on to the next. There is an easier and more efficient route, and that is wireless. You can setup a wireless network and need much less equipment. You will need the modem and a wireless router along with some wireless access points installed (several on every floor of the apartment) Then each of your tenants will need to buy a Wireless Network Adapter. There are different types and they vary with laptops and desktops.



I must ask what your purpose is. If it is simply to provide your tenants with internet access, then you will not need a WAN, just a LAN at each location. If you are wanting to network your apartment complexes for business aspects, then you really need to seek professional help. Eitherway, it woul dbe a good idea to get a professional to handel the work.



Good Luck]

Hope this helps

Answer 2

As a network engineer that has done WAN administration, and designed and maintained several MAN networks, you will be doing yourself and your clients a favor to hire a professional networking firm to assist you with this.

You also don't state your experience with this type of work, so I can only assume that you are limited in your exposure.

This is not a small undertaking, and the equipment to effectively handle even one apartment building will be very expensive.

Answer 3

Youll need a star topology, my recommendation would be two routers with two links to eachother so if one goes down the other still works, and connected to these youll have some switches. Youll also want fiber links between the routers as it goes further and doesnt suffer from signal loss, obviously the links from your routers to your switches should be cat 5 or 6 if you want a gig network. You should also have each building on a seperate VLAN to segregate traffic a bit - this will also prevent collision/broadcast domains on the switches and speed up bandwidth! I have no idea what you mean by math bandwidth calculations, but on if you want a quick overview you want the following: two cisco routers joined by fiber using STP (spanning tree protocol) operating at 1gbps full duplex, connected to these two ethernet links to a standard cisco switch which has full VLAN support operating at 100mbps full duplex. If you need more connections you may need a layer three switch or you can just daisy chain the switches. This topology will not take into concideration the internet but if it did you'd need a 3rd connection on each of your routers for that.

Answer 4

This is a hard question to answer because I do not know what your needs and specifications are for the network you would like to install.



There are alot of things to take in account for such a project. I recommend you buy a CCNA book or something that will help you understand networking better.

Answer 5

Hey Dude,



I have been doing this computer thing for a lotta years. When I hear things like what you are about to undertake, I cringe.



Doing WAN's and LAN's is not like tying your shoes or breathing. There has to be a bunch of planning and thought put into it to make it right.



My suggestion to you is to hire a pro and spend the money upfront.



There are A LOT of "Do-it-Yourself" kits out there that will only frustrate most people.



Good luck.



Tom

Answer 6

It really is not that hard to do as long as you have the resources. Starting one from scratch will cost a good amount and then you will need to have the owners permission to install cable/ports or access points through out the complex. You also have to consider the ISP. An entire complex sharing a DSL or cable line will be bogged down like crazy. You would have to have access to multiple gateways connected to individual ISP accounts to even out the traffic.



Good luck.....

Answer 7

its always beter to put in wireless network but since you wont know who exactly has a a wireless card then you have to go the hard way and have network connections installed into each aparment. it would be a lot essier on your part just to put a wireless network in and i would sugest 2wire from sbc but since it will be alot of people connected you will need a t1 line and thats a hole nother story so i would try experimenting with acouple of apartments at a time. wireless is good.

Answer 8

i can walk u thru, but i gotta charge u.