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I'm planning on recording portions of a live stream, which will then be saved to a server via a gigabit switch. The plan is to hook up several AP's to this gigabit switch, allowing wireless users to access the videos on the server.

I'm new to AP's, and I'm not even sure what AP's to look for - there seems to be a wide range from prices, from $100 to $1,000+. My main concern is the traffic. If 100 people access a AP that only has 300 MBPS, they are stuck with 3 MBPS, which may not be enough to view the video. How can I automatically detect when this happens, and switch the person to a different AP?

Is this something that a more expensive AP will provide?

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    Actually, if 100 people connect to a 300Mbps AP, they will each get much less than 3Mbps. If they're all accessing streams at the same time, the AP will spend a significant fraction of its time switching between transmit and receive, switching between transmitting to different clients, and waiting for clients to stop transmitting, and channel efficiency will be very low. What's the total number of clients you're trying to serve? And what kind of physical space will they be distributed over?
    – David Schwartz
    Oct 9, 2012 at 23:00
  • Thank you for the clarification, I hadn't thought about all that. The total number of clients will be approx 1,000 - 2,000 fans - not all of them will be accessing the replays of course. The physical space will be approx. 1,000 feet (length) of obscured space.
    – Luke Shaheen
    Oct 10, 2012 at 1:29
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    You will need directional antennas so that you can re-use the same frequency in the same space. Most devices will only support 2.4GHz, and you will have some legacy and broken devices that slow down access for everyone else. This requires some sophisticated knowledge and you should definitely hire a qualified consultant. You can start with this Cisco white paper for an idea of how this is done.
    – David Schwartz
    Oct 10, 2012 at 9:14
  • @DavidSchwartz Thank you for the white paper, that provided a lot of excellent information. I'll look for a simpler solution for the time being, and hire a consultant when I'm ready for the big stuff!
    – Luke Shaheen
    Oct 10, 2012 at 13:11
  • You may be able to get away with a small number of cheap access points, but you will really want directional antennas aimed across the coverage area so that you can re-use frequencies. Don't skimp on the antennas.
    – David Schwartz
    Oct 10, 2012 at 15:26

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