802.n WiFi at Birch Ridge Inn

802.n WiFi at Birch Ridge Inn

Between seasons, Mary and I do a number of projects around the inn. They range from simple maintenance, to major investments. This posting discusses one of the improvement projects recently completed at the inn. Warning...contains geek speak.

Since getting back from vacation, Mary and I have had a full list of projects around the inn. Maintenance is a huge part of running an inn. The goal, of course, is that is all done transparently as far as our guests are concerned. Things just happen... as if little elves are scurrying around in the dark (and I do stay up late at night when some stuff gets done). But the reality of it all is that Mary and I, together with staff, do most of the work when guests are not around.

One of the features an inn MUST HAVE these days is WiFi internet access. Guests walk through our door with a myriad of electronic devices, many of them thirsty for a drink from the internet. 11 years ago when we started, bulky laptops with modem connections were de-riguer. I fondly remember (not) configuring laptop modem strings for guests at midnight as they struggled with the concept of a second dial tone through our PBX to get an outside line.

Today, of course, there are Powerbooks, Macbook Air's, Old IBM and new Lenova Thinkpads, Dell and HP Laptops...just too many kinds to keep up with. Then there are the smart phones with WiFI interfaces... the Crack-er- Blackberries, the IPhone, and countless Symbian and Windows Mobile (yuk) devices. Wireless tablet devices are starting to be used by guests. The Apple ITouch is a good early example. The connection via a telephone cord to our PBX has now been replaced by a wireless connection to our DSL service. The good news is that most of the time it all just works. The bad news, of course, is that sometimes it doesn't...And thats when your friendly innkeeper has to get involved.

About 5 years ago we started our first foray into WiFi with a Linksys 802.11b router donated by a friend. It had a theoretical data rate of 11Mbs, but in practice connections speeds hit several hundred kilobits per second at best. It worked ok, as long as you stayed near the front desk. Of course it was eminently hackable, which someone did less that 2 weeks after it was installed. Enabling WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) took care of that problem, but created a whole host of other problems as many devices implemented WEP passwords using different schemes.

A couple of years ago, when our internet service provider offered us a higher, multi-megabit per speed DSL circuit, I upgraded the network to a faster interface, supporting 802.11g. I attempted to install a 802.11g repeater (Linksys WRE54G) in one corner of the inn to increase signal coverage beyond the sitting room, great room, and front desk area, but WEP encryption created some interface issues resulting in spotty performance. Conceptually it was a good idea...but this winter I found most of our guests with their wireless devices in the bar or sitting room. Not necessarily bad from an inn revenue standpoint (email with a beer anyone?)..but from a service standpoint we should be able to do better.

With the change in seasons, I purchased an Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n router just before heading off on vacation. 802.11n is the latest draft wireless standard with a theoretical data rate of 248Mbs and a practical throughput limit of 74Mbs when driven by data from a local server. More importantly, it maintains compatibility with wireless B and G devices, while increasing range. With the new router, I have also upgraded security protocols to WiFi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) from the earlier WEP, much to the delight of the Linksys repeater in the back building.

Speeds and feeds are nice, and email with a beer is pretty good too, but from a practical standpoint the whole exercise is to improve our guests experiences while they are staying with us at Birch Ridge. With the new system in place, inn guests connected to the inn's wireless network should be able to take advantage of nearly the full speed of the inn's DSL service. I have measured transfer rates higher than 2Mbs to the DSL side of the internet in my testing (using an ITouch) in every room at the inn. Inter-device communication is much faster, although I have not seen inn guests set up their own network of multiple devices yet...but I am sure it is coming to a room at the inn sometime soon. Of course, individual guests connections speeds will vary based upon the equipment in their quiver... So it goes.

Mary and I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. And remember, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sunscreen.