Our goal at KLIK Communications is to facilitate small to mid-sized businesses, churches, and schools make the transition to a wireless workplace that supports the burgeoning BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) culture. The KLIK Boks Wireless Presentation Connector is designed to address this goal. As we sat down and developed the hardware and software requirements we focused on this concept: optimal presentation support that is highly flexible and simple to set up and use. While KLIK Boks meets the usability criteria, the flexibility that we built into the unit provides situational options that may not be immediately obvious. This is the first in a series of in-depth articles to help you get the most out of your KLIK Boks.
There are three ways to connect devices to KLIK Boks: Wireless Direct, Networked Wi-Fi, and Networked Ethernet. We outline below how each one works and when is the ideal time to use each connection method.
Wireless Direct
KLIK Boks was built with its own 801.11b/g/n, 2.4G and 5G Wi-Fi transceiver. This is the simplest mode to set up—simply turn on KLIK Boks and find it in the list of Wi-Fi SSIDs on your device. If you select this method then your device is connected directly to KLIK Boks and you are ready to go! However, in this mode, because devices can only have one wireless connection at a time, you have no network access at all—either LAN or Internet—meaning you can not access data from the Internet or the Cloud. Also, in this mode, a maximum of 16 devices can be simultaneously connected to KLIK Boks.
When should you use Wireless Direct mode?
Initial setup – KLIK Boks comes with factory default settings. You will want to change the name of your KLIK Boks and get it authenticated on your network. Wireless Direct mode gives you the ability to connect to KLIK Boks and adjust its settings.
Outside Your Network Firewall – In some cases you may want KLIK Boks to be accessible to persons whom you do not want to authenticate to your network, like when you have a vendor visiting to make a sales pitch. Wireless Direct gives presenters access to the screen without connecting them to your network.
Presentations On The Road – In the case of a person who makes regular presentations at clients’ premises or in public spaces, they may want to take KLIK Boks with them. Connect to the client’s HDMI or VGA display and use all of the features included with KLIK without taking time connecting to the client network (or if they won’t let you!). Another similar scenario is if you’re presenting at a convention center where there is no network to connect to, you can still enjoy the benefits of wireless presenting.
Conclusion: While Wireless Direct mode has some limitations (max 16 users connected, no Internet or LAN, limited wireless range), it has the distinct advantage of providing wireless presentation connectivity in locations where networks do not exist and the security of being outside your network’s firewall.
Networked Wi-Fi
Networked Wi-Fi is the most common way of setting up KLIK Boks in a permanent installation, especially if there is no Ethernet jack near your display device.KLIK Boks uses its wireless transmitter to connect to your existing wireless network just like any computer, wireless printer, or other Wi-Fi enabled device. In this mode, instead of connecting your device to the KLIK Boks SSID, the presenter would select the SSID of your wireless network, open KNKT (our KLIK Boks software app) on their device, and find that room’s KLIK Boks by its friendly name (i.e. KLIK 691). Once they enter that unit’s password and join, the presenter will be visible to KLIK Boks and still have access to all network resources including Internet and LAN. This only needs to be done once as KLIK Boks will remember the settings and will remain connected through Wi-Fi even when power cycled.
When should you use Networked Wi-Fi mode?
Connecting KLIK Boks to an existing network gives you the most flexibility and connectivity. When connected to a network, a conference moderator can queue up to 256 presenters at once (pending your network’s wireless router capabilities) and presenters can access Internet-based, embedded assets within their presentation. Below are two scenarios where Networked Wi-Fi mode would be helpful.
When there’s no Ethernet connection near the KLIK Boks– If your KLIK Boks needs to sit on a projector that hangs from the ceiling and there is no Ethernet jack near the projector, then use Networked Wi-Fi to integrate KLIK Boks with your existing network.
When you want more people connected but don’t want them on your network – If your application calls for more than 16 people to be connected to KLIK Boks but you don’t want them on your company network, you could set up an alternate Wi-Fi access point for this purpose. This alternate access point could optionally be connected to a segment of your network or directly to the Internet, or be in some way segregated from the existing infrastructure.
Conclusion: Networked Wi-Fi mode enables a dramatic increase in the number of presenters in the moderator queue and allows presenters to have access to the Internet. For internal use, employees can access KLIK Boks without having to connect to a different Wi-Fi SSID. With some extra planning, you could create a sub-network to wall off visitors to your existing network while extending the same features to them.
Networked Ethernet
If you can install KLIK Boks in a location that has an Ethernet jack nearby, then this is the ideal method of connecting KLIK Boks to your network. Users continue to connect to your network using the Wi-Fi (or wired) but also have access to KLIK Boks using our KNKT software. By using the Ethernet connection KLIK Boks now receives its data from the network over a wired connection, increasing speed, signal integrity, and reliability while providing the full feature set to presenters and moderators. Presenters can connect to KLIK Boks either through your LAN or via Wi-Fi in the same method as used for Networked Wi-Fi mode.
When should you use Networked Ethernet mode?
Whenever you can! Now we come full circle. As we mentioned in the opening paragraph, we designed KLIK Boks to be flexible. As a Wireless Presentation Connector, KLIK Boks is a versatile and useful business tool bringing wireless connectivity to display devices in locations that do not have wireless capabilities. But if you hook KLIK Boks up to your existing Ethernet network, with our proprietary firmware and KNKT presentation software, KLIK Boks becomes a true workhorse.
Networked Ethernet mode also preserves Wi-Fi bandwidth. Presenters using Networked Wi-Fi are sending their display information over Wi-Fi to your AP, which then routes it to KLIK Boks. By connecting KLIK Boks via Ethernet you eliminate all of the wireless traffic that would otherwise be sent by your Wi-Fi router. While the total quantity of presenters who can be connected and queued in Network Wi-Fi mode are limited to the bandwidth of your network’s Wi-Fi router, Networked Ethernet mode can accommodate up to 256 devices. This reduction in wireless traffic also keeps your network working at peak efficiency and ensures ample bandwidth for all users.
Conclusion: For permanent installations, KLIK Boks should connect to your network with an Ethernet cable. That way, users retain all of their network access while enjoying the most stable and reliable connection possible.
Hopefully, this first article not only fully explains the three different connection modes to KLIK Boks but provides a glimpse of the flexibility and potential of KLIK Boks. Stay tuned for additional articles on how to get the most out of your KLIK Boks, wireless presentation connector!
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