stds-802-16: new 802.16 wireless network

["Roger B. Marks" <marks@boulder.nist.gov>]

>Hi Roger,
>At the last meeting there was some discussion of a wireless network being
>implemented for the exchange of documents rather than the CD ROM or RAM card.
>
>Has any progress been made on this?
>
>Thanks
>
>Mike Hamilton

Mike,

Yes. Let me tell you about it.

First, though, I'd like to thank Yunsang Park and Hughes Network 
Systems. Hughes Network Systems was the corporate sponsor of Session 
#5 and worked diligently with the hotel to ensure a complete and 
accurate cost accounting. The result was some surplus, which HNS has 
used (and will continue to use) to create a transportable 802.16 
network. The remainding funds will be transferred in the name of 
802.16 the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, which has 
agreed to hold our meeting surpluses for our future needs.

As of today, 802.16 is the proud owner of a Cobalt Qube2 Internet 
Server <http://www.cobalt.com/products/qube> with a 10.2 GB drive. It 
includes:

* HTTP Server
* FTP server
* DHCP Server
* Windows 95/98/NT File Sharing (SMB)
* Appleshare & Appleshare/IP
* NFS
* CGI support
* PERL 5.0 support
* Text and HTML searching and automatic indexing
* Email Server (SMTP, POP3, IMAP4)
* DNS server
* Firewall
* Discussion Groups

At the moment, we won't be needing all of this, but it may come in 
handy. For instance, it would be nice if we could find a way to track 
attendance through the server instead of with a book. Perhaps the 
email server could be useful? I don't know.

The Qube has two 802.3 100BaseT ports, a serial port, and a PCI slot. 
The whole package fits inside a 20 cm cube and weighs 2.8 kg. All 
this for under $900. I did a lot of shopping around (and consulted 
with Brian Petry) and I feel like this what we need.

We will be adding some 100BaseT hubs and cabling.

In a day or two, I expect us to receive an Apple AirPort Base Station 
<http://www.apple.com/airport>, which supports the 11 Mbit/s 802.11b 
standard (and lower-speed 802.11 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum 
cards). Brian was concerned about the Linux system's support for a 
wireless LAN card in the PCI slot and thought an Ethernet-connected 
access point would be more reliable.

In future meetings, we will have the 802.16 web site on the Qube. New 
documents can readily be uploaded, and participants should be able to 
easily access documents using various protocols with both 10/100BaseT 
and 802.11b interfaces. You might start shopping for an 802.11b card 
if you don't have one yet. I don't think we'll be able to run 
Ethernet to every tabletop,  but we could have a bunch of cables 
available near the server, and, in some cases, in additional meeting 
rooms.

I am planning to buy a shipping case with wheels so that we can 
easily transport the equipment from site to site.

I am going to try and set up this system later this week. I would 
like to find a volunteer to manage it at Session #9. Anyone willing?

Cheers,

Roger

P.S.  I'll also bring a 128 MB flash card, but that seems so passé!