Mobility Solutions
University deploys Wi-Fi access
Wireless network integrates well with
existing high-speed wired LAN.
Bryan Morris, manager of network operations
and services at the University of Utah,
needed scalability and flexibility in the
school’s wireless network.
In 2005, the University of Utah, based in
Salt Lake City, began implementation of one
of the largest wireless networks at any U.S.
higher-education institution. Answering the
demands of students and campus organizations
and institutions, the office of information
technology (OIT) proposed and obtained
funding approval to install a wireless
network that would provide connectivity and
support applications for approximately
45,000 users across 1,400 acres and more
than 200 buildings.
According to Bryan Morris, OIT’s manager
of network operations and services, "Our
goal was to provide ubiquitous wireless
access to every student, educator and
administrator on campus. We also wanted to
reduce administrative costs of disparate
wireless systems across campus by
establishing centralized management and
integration with our existing wired
network."
In specifying requirements for the
wireless network, the university formulated
a set of objectives related to quality and
performance. These goals included:
- scalability and flexibility to
accommodate planned growth, without
requiring major infrastructure changes;
- integration and interoperability of
the wireless system with existing
networking equipment, including systems
for network security and access control;
and
- centralized management to reduce
resource requirements and to save
administration and maintenance costs.
The campus network plan involves
approximately 2,200 access points. The OIT’s
implementation strategy used a phased
approach in which the team installed the
needed wiring and equipment in common areas
first. These included the libraries, union
building and open areas.
Then came the bulk of the installations:
buildings with classrooms of nearly 100
departmental areas in 19 colleges and
divisions. In the third phase, the OIT team
installed equipment to cover administrative
areas in all buildings throughout the
campus. The fourth and final phase was
student housing and the health sciences
center.
In addition, the university has
implemented some unique applications
utilizing the wireless network. For example,
the Utah Museum of Fine Arts uses the system
to tag and track its large inventory of
artwork. The campus police department is
using the wireless network in patrol cars to
provide officers with driver’s license and
other information. Plant operations has
utilized the network to move to a paperless
system, using wireless devices to track work
orders, tickets and approvals.
The network is centrally managed,
enabling OIT staff to be efficient and
productive while ensuring that all users and
traffic are fully supported.
One key risk was that OIT did not know
about all the applications users would
expect to use. Due to the scope of the
project and the variety of study and
administrative areas that would link to the
wireless network, predicting every likely
scenario was impossible, Morris explains.
OIT had to craft its communications to set
expectations as much as possible up front,
while continuously adjusting users’
expectations of reliability to suit the
wireless technology. At the same time, OIT
was able to adapt its own plan to ensure a
sufficient level of support for applications
across departments.
Morris also reports that, at first, a few
LAN managers on campus who had already
installed discrete wireless networks in
their areas of responsibility had
reservations about a centrally managed
network. This is no longer the case.
"In truth, this centralized model took
some pressures off the individual
departments and LAN managers," Morris
explains. "Now, because the access points
are ‘thin clients,’ all management is done
from a single application which the OIT
staff uses to configure, manage, monitor and
secure the network. This has proven to be
both efficient and cost-effective."
The Trapeze Networks wireless solution is
built on its Smart Mobile architecture,
which overcomes the limitations of
current-generation wireless LANs (WLAN) with
"intelligent switching" technology. Smart
Mobile’s intelligent switching combines both
centralized and distributed data forwarding
based on the requirements of the underlying
application, resulting in optimized traffic
flow, reduced latency and high performance.
The system delivers optimal scalability,
productivity, security and quality of
service, and includes deployment and
management tools to facilitate
implementation and centralized network
management. The system offers a wide
selection of controllers, switches, access
points, and all the software and hardware
required to meet the functional and
application-specific requirements of the
university’s network, says Morris.
The Trapeze solution is fully integrated
with the existing wired network, which is
based primarily on Cisco equipment. The
wireless system is a transport for extending
the existing wired network, which runs on a
high-bandwidth, low-latency fiber-optic
network that the university had the
foresight to install in 1992. Due to the
hierarchical topography of the network, the
university is able to use the same firewalls
and network-access controls it uses for the
wired network.
With the wireless network now running
campus wide, all 45,000 users have two
options for connecting to the network: the
encrypted version, or "uconnect," and the
unencrypted version, or "Hotspot." Students,
faculty and staff obtain instructions for
accessing the encrypted network on the
university’s Web site, and OIT provides
every user with a university network ID and
password.
"Not only are students now able to access
the Internet 24/7, but they can also access
the information they need to successfully
complete their coursework while interacting
with teachers, administrators and students
online," notes Morris. "The network also
provides an encrypted method for students,
faculty and staff to access the campus
information system. This system contains a
suite of services through which information
can be accessed, depending on each
individual’s status (e.g., student, staff or
faculty) and level of security."
He adds that education departments and
faculty are utilizing the system to help
with classroom studies and projects, while
campus support services, such as plant
operations and campus police, are using the
wireless network to increase productivity.
Perhaps the most important benefit,
according to Morris, is how the network has
enhanced the students’ user experiences as
they go between various campus locations.
Eventually, the network will be available
everywhere, allowing students to access
information on the Internet or
university-specific applications and data
they need for their coursework.
The network is consistent with the
university’s long-range plans for growth
while sustaining a high level of quality in
the education it provides. From a financial
perspective, Morris says, the university
will be able to install more access points
as required to support its continual growth
and its large array of educational options.
"Our OIT team was able to utilize
customizable planning tools to support the
scope of the project, while maintaining all
existing user data so that users would be
able to use the same authentication measures
for the wireless network that they use for
the wired network," Morris says. "At the
same time, the ability of the system to
integrate with existing technology ensured
that none of the information that was housed
in the university’s network would be
compromised, during or after the
installation."
For more information
(click here)
Gigabit Ethernet
Speeds Connectivity
by Frans Versluis
Enterprise, educational and government
facilities increasingly require high-speed
links between multiple sites on campuses or
in urban areas. Companies around the world
work from distributed offices, whether they
are grouped on corporate campuses or in
separate locations. Productivity and
fail-safe procedures demand that these
facilities be linked with high-speed network
connections. Even end-user traffic needs are
increasing with the use of video and
presentation files that can exceed 10
megabytes.
With legacy copper connections unable to
deliver the required bandwidth (1 Gbps or
more), service providers have used fiber,
microwave links or free-space optics to make
building-to-building connections. Each of
these technologies, however, has drawbacks.
Millimeter wave (MMW) technology is a
relatively recent development. Using the 71
GHz to 76 GHz and 81 GHz to 86 GHz radio
frequency bands, MMW standards were
established by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 1979, but
there was little commercial development
until the late 1990s. In response to
industry requests, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) opened the
bands for licensing in 2003, and instituted
a low-effort licensing scheme in 2005.
Today, MMW technology enables reliable,
easily deployable native Gigabit Ethernet
transport over a wireless link. It offers
several advantages over other technologies.
Distance. MMW links can span from
three kilometers to 12 kilometers, depending
on the rain profile of the area where they
are deployed and the required weather
availability. Although a MMW signal can be
attenuated by heavy rain (more than one inch
per hour), it is not affected by fog, light
rain, dust or snow.
Interference. Like microwave, the
MMW frequency is protected in each
application. Unlike microwave, however, MMW
technology uses a narrow, one-degree beam
width, so it has less potential for
interfering with other signals than
microwave, allowing for a simple and
inexpensive licensing scheme.
Security. MMW technology’s narrow
beam width helps eliminate the chance of
signal capture and its proprietary
technology makes tapping into and decoding
data being transferred difficult, even if
the signal is intercepted.
Easier licensing. Unlike
microwave, MMW uses the FCC’s "light
licensing" scheme, so a specific deployment
can be licensed within hours. Equipment
manufacturers and service providers hold
national MMW licenses that let them deploy
the equipment across the country, and buyers
of specific MMW systems can get immediate
licenses by registering the link coordinates
and radio information in a database. These
licenses automatically renew every 10 years.
Easier deployment. MMW links use
relatively small antennas
(.6 meters in diameter or less) and
lightweight electronics that make for
compact, easily installed systems on window
ledges, masts or rooftops. Each MMW terminal
plugs directly into an Ethernet switch for a
direct 1-Gbps network connection.
Future bandwidth upgrades. MMW
radios use basis low-order modulation
protocols like BPSK. By applying higher
modulation protocols, MMW will be able to
deliver 3 Gbps. Within two years, improved
digital modems will be able to deliver 10
Gbps on a single link.
Frans Versluis is program manager,
wireless access and transport programs,
network solutions business unit,
ADC, Eden Prairie, Minn.
For more information
(click here)