How to temporarily disconnect WiFi access in the building?

[ksteurer]

We broadcast our stake conference and other meetings to another unit building about 90 miles from the stake center in order to reduce driving for those in the distant corners of our stake here in Iowa. During our broadcasts, we need all the bandwidth we can get to transmit a quality signal. Our upload speed in the stake center is only 750 Kbps, so we typically disable wifi communications during the broadcast to that we don't have 1000 smartphones and tablets competing for the broadband. To do this, our stake center firewall has 3 antennas that you can disconnect and then we disconnect the two remote wifi antennas as well. We basically make it impossible to get a wifi signal, and the broadcasting computer communications are all thru ethernet directly connected to the firewall.

OK - now for my question. The location that receives the broadcast also has bandwidth issues, and we would like to disable wifi there as well. They have a newer firewall that has internal antennas (no external antennas) that we cannot access to turn off the wifi. Can anyone help us figure out how to allow ethernet data transfer but not wifi transfer with that firewall?

Thanks!
Keith

[lajackson]

They have a newer firewall that has internal antennas (no external antennas) that we cannot access to turn off the wifi. Can anyone help us figure out how to allow ethernet data transfer but not wifi transfer with that firewall?

I would call the Global Service Center and ask them to turn it off for you. I would also tell them you are looking forward to the day when you will be able to turn it off yourself at tm.lds.org but until then you need them to do it for a stake conference broadcast.

If they refuse, ask them for permission to wire directly from the modem to the computer running the broadcast, bypassing the firewall. This is against policy and they should probably say no, but I would challenge them on it and see what their response was. If you do this, be absolutely certain to put everything back behind the firewall as soon as the broadcast is over.

You can also put some short of metal box over the firewall that will shield the signal and give you about a three foot WiFi range. Others here have done that. If I can find the topic that talks about it, I will edit this post.

We lost a conference broadcast today because we could not turn off WiFi in a building, but for different reasons that will go into a different thread.

Note that turning off WiFi at the firewall does not turn it off at the Wireless Access Points. You have to do that, too.

[russellhltn]

wire directly from the modem to the computer running the broadcast, bypassing the firewall.

Personally, I'd never wire a computer directly to the internet. But a home router would suffice. But asking for permission is a good strategy.