Wireless Networks @ UTC Jess Williams Wireless Network
Administrator Robbie Reel Network Operations Manager Christopher
Howard Senior Network Engineer April 21, 2015
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Student Connectivity @ UTC ~1998 Ethernet in dorms ~2004 Cisco
Wireless ~2005 Meru wireless ~2008 Aruba wireless Fall 2012
Wireless in Dorms 2015 Outdoor Wireless
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The early years of Wi-Fi
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Coverage Design
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Technology Changes
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Now
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Coverage Design
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Capacity Issues
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Mobile Devices
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AP Models AP-275AP-225AP-115 AP-125 AP-135 AP-105
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AP Models in Service *357/679 - housing *25/437- housing
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Interference 2.4GHz Neighbors Wi-Fi MiFis and other hotspots
Microwaves Some Cordless Phones Wireless Headsets Bluetooth (in
large amounts) Analog Video Cameras Some gaming controllers . And
more
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Interference 5 GHz Other Wi-Fi networks
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Expectations = Coverage Meets Student Expectations All the
time! Everywhere! Everything
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Expectations = Quality Wireless Design = know the devices
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Expectations = Quality Wireless Design = know the devices
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Mobile Device Design
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Capacity Design
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AP growth over time
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# APs on Campus 1305
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SSIDs
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Indoor vs. Outdoor AP installs Indoor Aps installs 1.Costs
$1,000 2.All Indoor Cabling 3.Fewer parties involved 4.Aim for
Density and bandwidth Outdoor AP installs 1.Costs $2,000 2.Outdoor
and indoor cabling, plus grounding 3.Several departments involved
4.Aim for coverage
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Outdoor APs The outdoor Aps are often mistaken for security
cameras. We currently have received ZERO complaints from students
about the cosmetic look of outdoor or indoor Aps.
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Future of Wi-Fi on Campus More Capacity and Coverage Indoors
Increase Outdoor Coverage Simplify Guest Access, more automation
Install dedicate Aps as Spectrum Analyzers Dec 31 st 2015 Goal =
1,500 APs
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UTC Wireless Maintenance Campus Wide Outages are performed
during bi-monthly Friday night maintenance Windows, typically
starting at 5:30 PM and lasting until finished These are typically
controller updates, reboots or changes, etc
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UTC Wireless Maintenance Wireless Outages only affecting one
building are typically performed during normal working hours by
communicating with appropriate users and sometimes scheduling
outages. Typically individual AP upgrades, moves, and changes.
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Wired 1000Mbps (1 Gbps) Wired 100Mbps Wireless Wired VS
Wireless Download Speed Wired Connections have dedicated bandwidth
however Wireless connections are share among the number of users
connected to the Wireless AP. Thus the more users the less
bandwidth available per user.
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Wired or Wireless Network? Should a new building or renovation
be designed with a Wired Network or a Wireless Network? Lets think
about this: Wired is much faster but Wireless is less expensive and
much more convenient Wireless only devices are rapidly growing.
Users want a quality wireless experience. Thus I should only invest
in wireless network infrastructure right?
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Wired or Wireless Network? Wireless devices and usage are
growing rapidly; you definitely need a quality wireless network.
However, often Wireless Networks cannot handle the bandwidth
requirements of todays users. This becomes a real Balancing Act to
manage.
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Wired or Wireless Network? We recommend connecting devices to
the wired network as much as possible. Especially devices typically
used for high bandwidth applications such as: Desktops, Smart TVs,
and Cameras. Why? 1.Improved bandwidth capacity 2.Improved
manageability 3.Sometimes improved security 4.And see next
slide.
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Happier Wireless Users 4. Reducing the bandwidth load on the
Wireless Network increases performance and overall satisfaction for
the Wireless User.
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Other Wired Network Devices We recommend Printers, Game
consoles, and various special devices plug into the wired Network
for security and manageability purposes.
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What do our users do on the network? Top 10 in the 16.1% others
category
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What percentage of traffic is wireless?
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Old hardware woes Some of the largest numbers weve ever seen
Over 220 TB of data in one month Due to old IPS we are stuck. Users
want more data, but we cant give it to them.