Church Internet Equipment

Discussions about Internet service providers (ISPs), the Meetinghouse Firewall, wired and wireless networking, usage, management, and support of Meetinghouse Internet
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kinggrunt
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Church Internet Equipment

#1

Post by kinggrunt »

Im posting this here to find out if anyone else has the same problems has ourselves. To make a long story very short, this is our situation:

We have internet at our stake centre, this needs to provide internet to family history centre, 3 wards Clerk offices, we have one access point, and due to the size of our building we can't position the access point to give signal to all area's needed"

Now our problem:

Contacted FM group, who have not been very helpful, told us we are not a "priority" and meeting houses with no internet at all are going to be looked at first.

It seems like the church has issued and trying to push internet access in meetinghouses, and therefore I do not understand why we just keep getting problems trying to get devices, its like we are a problem for them. We are having to turn non members away from our family history centre due to no online access to family history sites, its very embarrassing for our family history, and ward clerks are having connection problems due to signal.

Question:

Is anyone having similar problems or any tips on how to resolve all this.
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

kinggrunt wrote:We have internet at our stake centre, this needs to provide internet to family history centre, 3 wards Clerk offices, we have one access point, and due to the size of our building we can't position the access point to give signal to all area's needed"

Although wireless has its benefits, in our buildings we have made sure that as many critical connections as possible are wired. For example, we located our firewall in our FHC, making it very easy to have wired connections to all the workstations in the FHC. We also have wired connections to some of our clerks' offices, but not all. We originally had a much greater dependency on wireless connections, and have been much happier since we have more wired connections, both in terms of performance and reliability.

I can't speak to your problems with your FM group -- we have an excellent relationship with our FM group and have always been able to work with them to get everything done that we need. It sometimes takes a bit of time, but it has always been reasonable.

Of course, wiring also has to be coordinated with the FM group, but perhaps they might be more willing to work on wiring than ordering new components. It might be worth a try.
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russellhltn
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#3

Post by russellhltn »

The stake technology specialist should be able to work out a plan. The FM group will need to be consulted when running wires or doing anything involving the building. While it is not required, it would be nice for any additional access points to be ordered though the FM group for consistency. But by in large, the FM group is a purchasing agent, not a contractor. Typically they don't have to staff to deal with computer issues. That's the role of the STS.
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harddrive
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#4

Post by harddrive »

RussellHltn wrote:The stake technology specialist should be able to work out a plan. The FM group will need to be consulted when running wires or doing anything involving the building. While it is not required, it would be nice for any additional access points to be ordered though the FM group for consistency. But by in large, the FM group is a purchasing agent, not a contractor. Typically they don't have to staff to deal with computer issues. That's the role of the STS.

Over the last few years, I have personally wired most of my clerk and bishop's offices in our buildings. I could have done wireless, but I'm still not a huge fan of it. It has it place, but for clerk and bishop's office, I would prefer wired.

I'm getting ready to have FIOS (Fiber) connection put into my stake center to replace a DSL circuit. I will be working with the technician, who is a member of my ward. I will be pulling cables and what ever else we need. My FM group thanks me for it because it is very expensive to get a contractor in for one or two drops. Also, it helps me to know where the cables go and if there is a problem with the cable, then I can track it down easier.

So one thing to look at is to see if there is a member in your ward/stake that is a network engineer and knows how to run cat5e cable and ask him to help you wire the building.

Also with wired, you are guaranteed to get 100 megabits/second when you are on a switch. With wireless, you get a maximum of 56 megabits/second, but it also depends on how close you are to the wireless access point (WAP) and what type of material is between it and the receiver.

Terry
kinggrunt
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network

#5

Post by kinggrunt »

I am the technical specialist and I also am skilled in networks and installing them, I am under the impression from leaders & FM group that a contractor is only people allowed to install things in meetinghouse due to risk etc. Also when you wired your buildings who payed the cost of equipment etc? We have the biggest building in the UK and most of europe, so need a lot of cable and other network devices. Seems like I might just have to do it myself, would be ideal to have wired and wireless together, I'll price equipment and see if I can foot the bill myself.
harddrive
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#6

Post by harddrive »

kinggrunt wrote:I am the technical specialist and I also am skilled in networks and installing them, I am under the impression from leaders & FM group that a contractor is only people allowed to install things in meetinghouse due to risk etc. Also when you wired your buildings who payed the cost of equipment etc? We have the biggest building in the UK and most of europe, so need a lot of cable and other network devices. Seems like I might just have to do it myself, would be ideal to have wired and wireless together, I'll price equipment and see if I can foot the bill myself.

My FM Group thanks me for doing the cabling. It saves them money. Now, I just worry about the network stuff and nothing else.

For us the stake payed for the material to do the work. It cost up $1,000 U.S. to put small switches and wiring. They also paid for the wire mold to keep things looking professionally.

I got an upgraded circuit coming in on Friday and I will be working with the technician to get things installed and also to add another wireless access point to the stake center. I also have to run a couple of other cables so that I can do webcasting and connect the wireless access point. This has all been cleared through the FM group and my stake president.

My stake president is fully supportive of us doing technology and especially webcasting.

Hope this helps.
russellhltn
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#7

Post by russellhltn »

kinggrunt wrote:I am the technical specialist and I also am skilled in networks and installing them, I am under the impression from leaders & FM group that a contractor is only people allowed to install things in meetinghouse due to risk etc.

As been discussed before, there are a number of legal things to be aware of. It is understandable if a FM group doesn't want anyone other then a licensed contractor doing the running of wires. That doesn't mean a partnership can't be worked out that saves money but makes sure that everything is done right.
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pete.arnett
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Location: Sunny South Florida, USA

#8

Post by pete.arnett »

See current meetinghouse networking details
Also, as been discussed before, there are a number of legal things to worry about

It appears that the FMG provides everything up to and including the wall jack and the Stake handles everything that connects to a wall jack

Here are summary of some key points from a Facilities Management Group (FMG)
1 The FMG will provide the wiring and other equipment for the meetinghouse. (CAT6 wire, wire management equipment, firewall, routers, initial install of the ISP, patch cables and wireless access points are the major items)
2 The Stake Tech Specialists will set up and manage the network equipment
3 If possible and the skill set exists, we are encouraging the Stakes to use donated labor to install the wiring. If they are unable to do so, then we will assume the responsibility of contracting out the labor to have it installed
4 We want to hard wire where possible the following locations
..a Clerk’s offices, one drop to Family History, Employment, Stake Presidents Office, Stake Clerk Office / Work Room and FM offices
..b Wireless access point locations; on a typical building like a Heritage you would have 3 access points on each side of the building centered over the corridor.
..c Predetermined location for staging the webcasting transmitter, usually by the Satellite cabinet since it has video and sound are pre-wired to that location
..d Rostrum area, depending on the building type, where it is possible to run the wiring
..e Webstat location (Air Condition/Heating controls from Honeywell)
5 While wiring the network, please add voice lines and run back to a punch block as well
6 Consider the use of a contractors to install the networks if the FMG or Stake does not have qualified staff, or the time to do installs
Thanks,
:cool:Your Fellow Member,
Pete Arnett
Sunny South Florida, USA
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