It's been a while since I left the IT profession, but if you were going to equip the office with consumer-level wireless connectivity then I would have to concur with the consultant. To appeal your concern for bulkiness consider small-form factor desktops. Lastly, I hope you have plans for robust backup system for the server that is, in your network scheme, a single-point of failure.

Thanks for the feedback, afrdzak. Interesting...I hadn't considered SFF systems. My desire to go with laptops is less about avoiding visual clutter or increasing workspace and more about flexibility of the work environment and portability. Our firm has two offices and staff routinely work from both locations. It would be nice to maintain some consistency in the computer interface and avoid the inefficiency of having idle, underused desktop systems.

And, yes, the proper backup system is being thoroughly explored.

Why not establish a series of docking stations? CAT cable/external monitor hookups. Maybe even mouse/keyboard. I would get very stabby if I had to do extensive graphical work on a laptop screen for extended periods of time.

I know of an office of 8 people that uses wireless for their work and also utilizes Revit and central files. The main problem with wireless (or the routers that I am familiar with) is that you can only transfer data to one computer at a time, making simultaneous saves or retrieval of data hindered. It is possible but definitely not at the same level as that of a wired connection unless it is all in close proximity and with a limited number of users.

i work in an office that uses wireless. i don't recommend it. we lose a lot of time just saving files to the server. by necessity people end up working locally, and then often forget to save projects to the server at the end of the day. the biggest problem then becomes that you end up with duplicate projects floating around the office and it's difficult to know what is up to date. if you begin working and then forget to save locally first, you suddenly get an autosave moment that can take as much as 5-10 minutes of your time saving a bim file to the server.

rusty's suggestion of multiple wired docking stations is really quite brilliant. you plug into those when you need to do graphic intensive work with saves to the network; otherwise you use the wireless to do more mundane office administration. i think it's great.

i 2nd rustystuds comment. Completely slipped my mind.

@rusty: agreed--an external monitor is a must and is already in the plans.

@le bossman & Michael S Bergin: many thanks for dropping the first- and second-hand knowledge. Valid points.

I'm the technology guru of my small office (10 people) and I do not recommend wifi for anyone doing production and design nor do I recommend laptops (desktops have better power/$ and with BIM you need as much power as you can get). Wifi connections will inevitably drop or your microwave will interfere with the signal or the building itself will block the signal...the mapped network shares (as well as other shared network services such as print tracking and antivirus servers) will continually break on the client machines.

It will work but as others have noted above: it will be slow, unreliable and not have the capacity for large files (overall network speed will drop considerably during transfers)

Wired is the way to go, especially since gigabit systems are affordable now

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

Did I make myself clear?


No.

If the office is a 5 to 8 person firm then you need a hardwire system if less than 6 then wireless is probably fine , also depending on the internet provider if you are getting a broadband connection, DSL, T1 or Fiber optic that would increase or decrease traffic flow. If you really want a wireless connection you can bridge multiple wireless devices to broadcast the wireless signal only if you don't want some dead zones. Make sure the switch is a gigabit going to the wireless router and looping the direct feed to the server. The wireless security is the main concern most of the time but you can address this issue by limiting the computers that can access the network by only accepting connections from users on the approved MAC list only that way you don't have to do a trial and error to find out what is the only protection service that is compatible on all the computers. you should do a RAID 1 automated to a removable dock that you take the drive from the office every two weeks just in case.

it's actually pretty easy and not that expensive to set up your own offsite backup without resorting to the "sneaker network" method (you'll inevitably forget to bring the drive home or back to the office plus you have to wait for the backup to run which could take a while depending on the replication method used)

We use two QNAP NAS boxes (RAID configuration); one is at the office the other is offsite--they're designed to talk to one another over a secure internet connection and back-up nightly, no need to remember to bring a drive home. . .the transfer between the boxes only takes about 30 minutes (dependent on the amount of data) and it's fully automated

of course, you need to have a "business class" broadband connection at both ends and it makes things a lot easier if you have static IP addresses (though it can be done with dynamic IPs)

Get a gigabit switch, and go the wired way. Wireless is hopeless for large files.
If you really want go for the speed, you can even get a fiber backbone from the server to the switch, and then hook up all the computers thru regular gigabit ethernet.

It is a good idea to have Wifi for smart phones and consultants, but of course, it should be secured, and permissions should be put on the server shares so outsiders could not access the files.

@jplourde: But...maybe?

Thanks to all for your input. We'll be making some decisions soon, and if we decide to stray from the collective wisdom here I'll come back and let you know what/how/why.