la plata’s municipal wireless network a (somewhat) technical overview of network components...
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La Plata’s Municipal Wireless Network
A (Somewhat) Technical Overview of Network Components
Charles County Tech CouncilFebruary 22, 2011
WiFi Project History
La Plata WiFi HistoryA simple idea
•Town Council Service Priority•Wi-fi system in Town.
•Charles County Public Library Sought Innovation Grant•In December 2008 Emily Ferren (CCPL Director) met with Town staff to seek support in grant application to expand library information access in La Plata•Town had budgeted $50,000 to begin WiFi•Partnership between La Plata, CCPL, and Civista to apply for the Public Library Innovation Grant from ICMA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
La Plata WiFi HistoryGrant application started collaboration
• Innovation Grant was to provide a small wireless network around the library, hospital, and north toward the Phoenix Run neighborhood
•The three partners would develop a portal to access library, health, and civic information
•Town funds would have been used as a match – however application was unsuccessful
La Plata WiFi HistoryPartnership began
•Summer 2009 had disappointment in not receiving the grant but realization WiFi was possible
•Grant application had the elements of a broader public system
•Began discussions of how a MOU could be developed between the Town and Library
•Web survey had 73% support for downtown WiFi – 56% was strongly supportive
La Plata WiFi HistoryCouncil Support
•October 2009 Emily Ferren outlined partnership to Town Council•Library provides technical experience, in kind labor from existing staff, and houses the drop•Town provides funding for equipment, installation, and, connectivity costs•Community would need to provide locations for nodes
•Town Council indicated its support
La Plata WiFi HistoryImplementation
•Completion of Memorandum of Understanding between Town and Library completed in February 2010
•Developed a Node Location Agreement for partners to house nodes at no cost to Town or library
•Designed initial system using Town owned structures and other partners
•First plan of deployment was delayed
La Plata WiFi HistoryImplementation – Phase I
• In Summer 2010 with the first try unable to succeed - began a scaled back plan
•September yielded the first four nodes•Library Roof•Civista Roof•Facchina Roof – 2 nodes
•System went online, quietly, Sept. 10, 2010•Users began finding the system that day•35 unique users found the system the first
weekend
WiFi ImplementationWhat it looks like
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
•MR-58 units used on Library, Civista, and Facchina
•Additional small Outdoor unit installed on Facchina
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Library Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Library Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Library Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Civista Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Civista Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Civista Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Facchina Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Facchina Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Facchina Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
Facchina Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase I
•Connectivity was generally between the Library and Dash In on Charles Street
•Also from 301 to Greene Turtle along Centennial
•Nodes could communicate from Facchina to Civista but wireless device antennas don’t have enough power for the range
•An Android phone could get signal beyond Greene Turtle, but an IPhone had to be in front of the restaurant
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
•Successful launch led to scouting locations for Phase II
•Fall 2010 spent scouting, making contact, and confirming locations for next phase
•Goal was to provide continuous coverage across downtown, and connect to Town Hall
•All MR-58 units would be used to ensure a healthy backbone for future expansion
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
105 Centennial Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
105 Centennial Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
105 Centennial Roof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Old FirehouseRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Town Hall
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Town Hall
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Town Hall
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Kelly on CentennialRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Kelly on WashingtonRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Kelly on WashingtonRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
PNC BankRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
PNC BankRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
PNC BankRoof
La Plata WiFi Implementation – Phase II
Port TobaccoPlayers Roof
The Tech
La Plata Municipal WirelessNetwork Management, Maintenance, and Monitoring•Equipment Overview (Show and Tell)•Architecture and Layout•Filtering•Meraki Dashboard•Content Delivery•Possible Avenues of Growth
The Meraki MR58
Technical Specifications
•Weight: 3.8 lb (1.7 kg)•10” x 10” x 3” not including mount•Power consumption: 12.8 W max; 7.5 W typical•Three 802.11 a/b/g/n radios•Auto-selection of optimal 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequencies•Max radio rate 300 mbit/s per radio•Connect, transmit, and receive on all three radios•2.4 GHz 22 dBm peak transmission power•5 GHz 21 dBm peak transmission power•1 year hardware warranty included•Power over Ethernet: 802.3af compatible
About Meraki: Meraki is based in San Francisco, California, and is a privately held company backed in part by Google and Sequoia Capital. Every day, over 17,000 organizations in 140+ countries around the world rely on Meraki for their networks.
Architecture and Layout•Backbone connection located at La Plata
Library - bonded T1 lines. •3 Mb/s upgradeable to 9 Mb/s•All traffic must travel from nearest MR58,
through mesh network to Library•13 access points spread throughout town•Each access point has numerous paths to
library wired connection•Access point installation requires only non-
penetrating roof mount and POE
Current Access Point Map
Filtering•Library has configured filtering using
OpenDNS•Web filtering with more than 50 categories
of content. No appliance necessary. Effective against proxies, P2P, Web 2.0, adult and more.
•Configuration is similar to that found in the public library branches
•OpenDNS Basic account is free
Meraki DashboardDashboard is the interface to the Meraki Cloud Controller.The Meraki Cloud Controller provides:•Centralized management of your wireless networks •Remote monitoring and troubleshooting •Continuous optimization of network performance
Network Summary Page
Content Delivery System•Library▫Online Storytime▫Podcasted Book Talks/Reviews▫Digital Collections▫Public Computing Centers
•Town of La Plata▫eGovernment▫Town Forms/Applications▫Mapping/GIS
Possible Avenues for Growth
Avenues for Growth• Network Expansion
• Provide service to more of downtown• Expand to additional business areas• Cover additional public spaces and parks• Go where people congregate or where they could be
• Communicate presence to residents and visitors
• Service Based Expansion• Library Services • Municipal Services• Emergency Services• Economic Development
Network ExpansionDowntown
Network ExpansionAdditional Business Areas
Network ExpansionPublic Spaces
Service Based ExpansionLibraryKiosk
Service Based ExpansionDevice Lending
Service Based ExpansionMunicipal Security
Service Based ExpansionEmergency Services
Service Based ExpansionUtility Services
Service Based ExpansionWastewater Treatment
Service Based ExpansionWater Meter Reading
Avenues for Growth• Partnerships
• Emergency Services• County Government• Schools• Local Businesses• Non – Profits• Medical and Social Services
• New Uses• Mobile Offices• Tourism Information• Economic Development• Youth Activities
• What ideas do you have?
Avenues for Growth• Municipal Wi-Fi brings:
• An opportunity for creativity
• An opportunity for partnership
• An opportunity for investment
• An opportunity for lifestyle
• An opportunity for business
Special Thanks:
Ed Kelly