Introduction:
the 'FIRST' questions is probably "What IS a "WetLAN"? - well
that's an excellent question - read-on and you'll learn, and you might
learn, even more, if you're lucky.
the key about this web-site is to 'make you think' - the 'WetLANs'
concept is not new - it's just a new application (marinas) of an old
concept (Wireless LANs).
I would "hope" that I can answer 90% of your questions here in this
web-site, and if I can't then you can always write me an e-mail
(bill@vikingasia.org) and/or telephone me at: 1 772 341 1543 (or leave
voice-mail) to ask me a question.
so - Here goes - FIRSTLY, lets define some 'terms and vocabulary' to
make sure we're both speaking the same language:
Gateway: a 'box' (typically
called a 'router' through which many computers (in our case the
computers within the marina premisis / docks) connect to the Internet
ISP: (Internet Service Provider):
- a business entity enabled to provide 'connectivity' from a group of
computer-users into the Internet (notice the 'capital "I"' - meaning
the global Internet), not an 'IntrAnet' (within a company or within a
campus network).
LAN (Local Area Network):
is a (localized) typically a building or a campus network-connected
computers; however, in the "WetLANs" concept it is a group of
'network-connected computers in a 'marina setting' - very 'localized'
and using a 'gateway' to access the Internet (notice the 'capital "I"'
- meaning the global Internet), not an 'IntrAnet' (within a company or
within a campus network).
Marina: (typically) a place
where people moor their boats either between uses and/or while / where
they 'live-aboard'. Many marinas provide a multitude of services
(including Wireless LAN access to the Internet)
cable TV, laundry facilities, showers, and marine repairs. Some
marinas offer only a dock, and little more.
Though I use the term 'Marina' here - there are other terms that both I
will use here, interchangeably, and many other people do the same.
Some 'synonyms' are: Yacht Club, Municipal Pier, Boat Yard (more
a 'repair' than a 'parking' facility).
Wireless LAN: a 'LAN-technology'
based on 'wireless' ("most" LANs use something called 'Ethernet'
cabling, some LANs use a wired/cabled technology called "TokenRing"
cabling - some other LANs use a cabling of fiber-optics, but these are
fairly rare.
Wireless LANs are ideal in a marina environment for several reasons:
• boats tend to take-up a lot of space
• boats tend to move around within that space
• boats are frequently in a salt-water environment
and therefore the 'salt-air' tends to corrode any form of metal cabling
• boats can be 'moored-out' (with no permanent
connection to a dock') so wireless is very applicable here
• boats travel - that is many boats in a given
marina may be classified as "transient"; that is - there in the marina
for several days or weeks but not in need of a 'permanent' connection
to the Internet
• last updated:
06Jan03_G4X_Moz