How many systems per single eithernet port handle?

[sparky]

O.k. Here is the setup. We have 24 and 48 port 100Mbps switches. Right now every system is hard wired to it's own port. My boss wants to go wireless but does not want to pay for a controller and wireless AP that are commercial grade. They decided to go with standard wireless AP and spread them out to where they would not step on each other. The issue is now we have up to 30 systems on one AP. These systems are used for online classes that are interactive.

To me this is like hooking 30 systems into one port of an Ethernet switch and I can see speed becoming an issue as your splitting the bandwidth x30 or I'm i looking at this wrong?

These systems also run IM, use DHCP, IP printers "print queue are on the systems not the server" on a flat network to give you an idea of bandwidth used.

Considering all of this I have to ask how many systems can be put on a single AP or Ethernet port? When the systems are used in this fashion.

[wige]

In theory, you could put thousands of systems on a single Ethernet (wired) port. However, this assumes that you are using a controller that has a processor that can handle that many connections without simply crashing. You would need to check the documentation of the switch to find out how many systems it can support per physical port, as it has to handle physical routing for each machine address. The same would go for the wireless access points.

Generally speaking, depending on the type of wireless network you are using, you may have a lot more bandwith available than you need. Most Internet traffic uses less than 1Mbps, while internally you may have a 10/100 switch, which provides 100Mbps throughput on each port, or you may even have a 1Gbps switch. In your case, I think the bottlenecks will come down to processing speed on the various components, rather than bandwidth, especially if you are using consumer grade devices instead of commercial grade.

[timmathews.com]

I agree with wige. My only concern is with the wireless setup. If you do go that route, you must ensure it is locked up tight, otherwise someone *could* gain access to yoru data.

[alphaomega]

One AP will handle unlimited number of connections. Bandwidth could be an issue. If you use directional antenna you will improve reception. It depends on the office layout. In any case you could handle 30 systems without problems. Encryption is a requirement in any wireless networks.