How much would I cost to setup network for a small business?

Question

There will be five computers at different locations, My store is about 10,000 sq feet , Could anyone tell me how much it will cost to have someone install wired network/ or wireless network?

I will proved the hardware/software .

Answer 1

I would do it for $10, but someone else may charge extra. You can get a friend to set it up for free, just buy USB wireless adapters, plug them into them into usb> Buy a wireless router, plug it into internet, put a password on it, and connect all of the computers.

Answer 2

You said 10,000 square feet but you didn't give the dimensions of your store.

If its square, thats 100ft by 100ft.  If you have computers at opposite ends, they could be just under 150 feet apart (141.4 feet).  Complicate this by the fact that a lot of computers are under desks, shelves, etc, and wireless can get real flaky, especially if you have other wireless stuff (phones, etc) nearby, and nearby could include neighbors too.

If your building is 50x200 (still 10,000 square feet), then corner to corner is over 200 feet, really too far for most lower grade wireless equipment.  Higher grade equipment would probably cost more than wiring the store.

Either way, depending on what your doing on the computers (handling customer info, etc) a wireless solution may not only be a bad idea, but an explicit security risk.  Wireless is NOT secure, and don't let someone tell you it is.  It is possible to secure it using VPN's and stuff on top of the wireless, but thats a little overkill for a store with 5 computers.

Generally wiring a network drop isn't that expensive, and it will be faster and more reliable, and less likely to be snooped on.

Just remember this with wireless, anything you can do, someone in a car parked in the next parking lot or building over can do the same.  For some casual user at home, thats fine, but for someone that may be handling customer info, names, c/c info, etc, thats just not acceptable.  If you any kind of HR work on your computers, it has the same problems.

On the other hand, if all your doing is looking stuff up in a catalog over the internet or something, none of this may be a concern.