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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.

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Questions? Discussion?