The Challenges of
Mobile Connectivity
Logistics & Infrastructure Track
The Challenges of
Mobile Connectivity
John Matthews – Alcatel-Lucent
Tom Anderson – Shenandoah Univ
Dempsey Peterson – Abilene Christian Univ
WLAN Trends and Challenges
John Matthews
Senior Systems Engineer
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, North America
WLAN Trends in Higher Education
Migration to .11n
Still supporting a/b/g, but .11n is taking off as an overlay
New dormitory construction with fewer Ethernet ports in rooms
 Opting for pervasive WLAN coverage
WLAN expansion into instructional areas
 Move from public and outdoor green spaces to academic areas
Dense AP coverage
 Proliferation of mobile devices
 Behavior of mobile devices vs. computers
Copyright © 2011 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.
WLAN Trends in K-12 Education
Move to structured architecture
 Away from COWs with standalone AP/Router.
 Need to support 2014 National Core Curriculum Assessment Testing
1:1 Computing expansion
 Districts opting for providing laptops or mobile devices
Host Integrity Checking
 Districts allowing student owned devices to access the network
 Need to confirm alignment with security policies and AV posture
Voice over WLAN
 In lieu of Mobile phones – cost containment
 Still usable outside for lunch/recess or bus duty
Copyright © 2011 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.
Mobile Learning &
Your Wireless Network
Tom Anderson
Apple Network Engineer
Shenandoah University
iMLearning
Integrated Mobile Educational Experience
Planning First Year
Expected significant increase
in usage
Existing APs
upgraded to 802.11n
Planning First Year
Increased coverage by
re-purposing older APs
Increased number of APs
from 120 to 160
The First Year
Added 1300 devices
MacBook, iPhone, iPod touch
35% load increase
1000 simultaneous at peak
Planning Year Two
Existing APs
upgraded to 802.11n
Increased coverage by
re-purposing older APs
Now up to 190 APs
The Second Year
Added another 1600 devices
Added iPad & iPhone 4
Traffic peaking at 55 Mbps
Peaked at 1400+ connections
What Did We Learn?
More wireless devices = more demand
Especially in Residence Halls
Make sure you have sufficient internet
connection
More time managing the wireless
environment
Future Plans
Upgrade Residence Halls to 802.11n
100 Mb internet connection in RHs
100 Mb internet connection for main campus
Cloudpath XpressConnect
Connect
tanderso2@su.edu
Dempsey Peterson
Abilene Christian University
Network Administrator - Wireless
Expectations
• Communicate with your customer
• Understand how will your infrastructure be
used
• Develop a multi-year plan
• Implement improvements before they are
needed
Applications
•
•
•
•
Keep track of new technology
Know how your infrastructure will be affected
Baseline your wireless network
Be proactive
Device Density
•
•
•
•
“Steer” devices to the 5.8 MHz “a” band
Don’t “over install” access points
Don’t be afraid to reduce AP transmit power
Understand the limitations of your network
The Challenges of Mobile Connectivity
Questions
The Challenges of Mobile Connectivity
John Matthews – Alcatel-Lucent
john.matthews@alcatel-lucent.com
Tom Anderson – Shenandoah Univ.
tanderso2@su.edu
Dempsey Peterson – Abilene Christian Univ.
petersond@acu.edu