surfing the tsunami: residence hall wireless devices
DESCRIPTION
Keeping up with the explosion of wireless devices connecting in the residence halls on campus, Appalachian State University and UNC Greensboro have developed multi-pronged approaches to support, maintain, and grow their wireless deployments. Working closely with our client support groups and with help from the hardware manufacturer, both Universities have overcome severe problems. We’ll discuss our successes, how we relieved pain points, and how we are planning for a future without Ethernet.TRANSCRIPT
Surfing the Tsunami
Riding the Rising Tide of Wireless Devices and Moving to a Wireless-Only Environment
Joint Presentation by:
John Pertalion - ASU Network Infrastructure and Control Systems
Phillip Garrison - UNCG HRL Assistant Director for Technology
Phillip Kluttz - UNCG ITS Wireless Network Engineer
Natsu Carr - UNCG ITS Enterprise Networks and Support
Introductions
Overview
ASU and UNCG Wireless Environment Placement of Access Points Authentication Customer Support Planning for the Future
Universities At a Glance
ASU
17,589
34%
99%
UNCG
18,478
30%
81%
Campus enrollment
Residential students
Residential freshmen
The Tsunami at ASU
Clients over the past year Max 12,500 Avg 7,260
The Tsunami at ASU
Bandwidth over the past year
The Tsunami at ASU
Clients over the past week
The Tsunami at ASU
Bandwidth over the past week
ASU Wireless Environment
Manufacturer – Aruba Networks
Entire Campus 7 controllers 1,800 access points
Residence Halls 4 controllers 900 access points 20 Residence
Halls 5,100 beds
ASU Wireless Environment
New Hardware Reduced the number of controllers Maximized the license counts on our best
controllers Increased the number of access points
Network Switches Spread the load of authorized clients Added to handle increase in number of APs New switches to accommodate PoE requirements
The Tsunami at UNCG
SeptemberStudentVisitorOverall
NovemberStudentVisitorOverall
AVG2,54
0713
3,630
3,109
6494,16
6
MAX3,12
1870
4,437
3,606
7684,82
1
2012AVG3,84
2160
4,443
5,429
7425,62
5
MAX4,67
3215
5,427
8,279
1,296
8,943
2013
The Tsunami at UNCG
The Tsunami at UNCG
UNCG Wireless Environment
Manufacturer – Aruba / Blue Coat
Entire Campus 4 controllers – 7000 series Almost 1,800 access points PacketShaper 12000 CacheFlow CF5000
Residence Halls Use campus
controllers 761 access points 26 Residence Halls 4,750 beds
UNCG Wireless Environment
Access Point Deployment: Hallway vs In-Room
More success with In-Room deployment Consequences:
Increase in the number of APs 1G connections for new APs Better coverage for 5 Ghz devices
Placement of APs
Old technique Install APs in hallways Let signal bleed into rooms on both
frequencies
Problems Co-channel interference Signal quality in the rooms Other devices in the 2.4 Ghz spectrum
Placement of APs
New technique Install APs in the rooms Use only 5 Ghz
Results Reduces co-channel interference Improves signal quality in the rooms Avoids 2.4 Ghz problems
Hallway vs In-Room
Which coverage map would you choose?
Authentication at ASU
802.1X authentication against AD radius servers and custom radius server
Registration in our Netreg NAC system WPA2, dropped WPA AES, dropped TKIP due to N requirements Dropped 802.11b transmit rates
SSIDs
UNCG-FacultyStaffStudent Secured Network Domain Authentication
UNCG-Wireless Open with Captive Portal 768K bandwidth restriction Limited to basic Internet use HTTP Traffic
Authentication at UNCG
UNCG-FacultyStaffStudent 802.1x Authenticated WPA2 Enterprise CloudPath Xpressconnect Automated Client Configuration
UNCG-Wireless Captive Portal using Aruba ClearPass Password provided with valid email or text Account expiration after 8 hours
Customer Support
General Configuration Support Phone support from the Service Desk Technology Support Center for Walk-ins Online Configuration Guides
Non Configuration Support Coverage Network Configuration
Customer Support
Student Staff Basic troubleshooting at staffed support center Detailed Training For Select Student Staff
System Design, Authentication, Wifi Testing, Hardware Layout
Nighthawk Support Team Client Configurations In Residence Halls
Flipping Access Points Moving from 5Ghz to 2.4Ghz as needed
Planning for the Future
Continuous Upgrading Installing new access points, ¼ complete Upgrade controllers to consolidate hardware
Drop NAC Registration Requirement Allow access by credentials
Redesign Visitor SSID Balance access of casual devices Add network requirements
Move to the new licensing system
Planning for the Future
Wireless ONLY = NO Ethernet in the Residence Halls
Impacts: Wireless core infrastructure Coverage / density needs for future
technologies (ac) Bandwidth needs Device support User support
Planning for the Future
Learning from our Residents
Surveying Coverage and Perception Frequent surveys for feedback Following up on reports of poor coverage Addressing reality vs perception
Lather, Rinse, Repeat Three to four surveys per academic year
Wireless ONLY – Feedback
Planning for the Future
Device Support Desktop support – USB wireless
adapters Home devices – Register up to 3
devices
User Support Skill-based routing at the Service
Desk Going to the customer
Wireless ONLY – Support
Summary
ASU and UNCG Wireless Environment Placement of Access Points Authentication Customer Support Planning for the Future
Questions
Phillip Garrison – UNCG – HRL [email protected], 336 334-5636
Phillip Kluttz – UNCG – ITS [email protected], 336 334-4762
John Pertalion – ASU – ITS [email protected], 828 262-7909