Educause 10-12-2000 Chuck Bartel Wireless Andrew- An Update on Lessons Learned.

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Wireless Andrew-An Update on Lessons Learned

Chuck Bartel 2

Wireless Andrew

Project Overview

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Carnegie Mellon Background

Private research university (R1)

50+ buildings on 100+ acre campus

Half of buildings are on contiguous main campus Early adopters in use of distributed Early adopters in use of distributed

computing and networks (Andrew Project)computing and networks (Andrew Project)

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Background -- 1994

Dozens of Mobile, Wearable, and Wireless Computing ProjectsMultidisciplinary Collaboration Spanning Several Campus BuildingsMore than $20M in Research FundingNo Comprehensive Network-- Each Research Project Left to Fend for Itself

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Vision -- 1994

Establish Common Research NetworkNSF Grant - $550,000 over 2 yearsBuild an Experimental, High-Speed, Wireless Network Support research projects in wireless

communication and mobile computing.

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Implementation -- 1995-1998

No Standard Existed for Wireless LANs Evaluation + Selection: ATT/Lucent 915Mhz

Deployed network in 5 campus buildingsEnable use by approximately 150 usersResearch Network = Limited Support

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Background -- 1998

Successful Wireless Research Network Growing use of LaptopsNeed for Wireless Production NetworkWireless LAN Standard 802.11 Adopted by IEEE Lucent Grant to Support Campus-Wide Deployment (400 Access Points/cards)

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Implementation -- 1998-2000

Deploy Network Campuswide 30+ Buildings (2.8M sq ft) + Outdoor

Areas

Use by Virtually Anyone on CampusProvide Support Equivalent to Wired NetworkLucent’s WaveLAN Product -2.4GHz, IEEE 802.11 Compliant

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Deployment Issues & Challenges

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Access Point Access Point - network - network device that links device that links wireless stations to the wireless stations to the wired network -- wired network -- $900/unit$900/unit

Wireless NIC cardsWireless NIC cards- EISA - EISA bus or PC card -radio bus or PC card -radio transceivers for the end transceivers for the end users -- users -- $795/card$795/card

$595/card$595/card $275/card$275/card $125/card$125/card

Key Components- Wireless LAN

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

For every Access Point in a building, we need: For every Access Point in a building, we need: •110 vac plug 110 vac plug •Data cable capable of supporting a 10BaseT Data cable capable of supporting a 10BaseT connectionconnection

Since most of the Access Points end up above Since most of the Access Points end up above ceilings or other out of the way places, new ceilings or other out of the way places, new dedicated cables needed to be installed.dedicated cables needed to be installed.

Avg. cost per installed Avg. cost per installed AP $1.9K (Cost of AP- $.9K)AP $1.9K (Cost of AP- $.9K)

Wireless doesn’t necessarily mean Without WiresWireless doesn’t necessarily mean Without Wires

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Design factors to consider

Interference

Mobility – Roaming

Coverage vs Capacity

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Examples of potential interference sources in the

2.4GHz ISM band (IEEE 802.11) Microwave ovens 2.4GHz Cordless phones Bluetooth Other 802.11 LAN devices Other 2.4GHz LAN devicesHow do you regulate these on your campus?

Can you? Should you?

InterferenceInterference

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Other complicating factors

Mobility complicates wireless designs. Wireless design is as much Art as

Science. The wireless industry is evolving their

products to support campus environments (but they are still behind the wired side of networking).

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Keys to Design Success (for CMU)

We developed new approaches to building-wide wireless design with the vendor.Colorized coverage mapsDesign review meetingsDesigned for coverage (not for capacity)

Based on our experiences, the vendor improved their design tools.

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Wireless Andrew Infrastructure

Standards-Based Wireless LAN in all Academic and Administrative BuildingsComprehensive Coverage with Roaming Enabled (Mobility is Seamless)Wireless LAN is Connected to the Campus Backbone and InternetSupporting 600-1000 1700 UsersAdd’l Info available at URL:

http://www.cmu.edu/computing/wireless

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Where are we now?

We cover 30+ buildings (to date)- 350 APsWe cover 30+ buildings (to date)- 350 APs We cover over 2.8 M sq. ft. of office/lab/classroom We cover over 2.8 M sq. ft. of office/lab/classroom

spacespace We cover roughly 99% of the academic campus.We cover roughly 99% of the academic campus. We have 1400+ usersWe have 1400+ users

We have upgraded our network to the IEEE 802.11(b) We have upgraded our network to the IEEE 802.11(b) standard (11Mbps)standard (11Mbps)

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Academic andAdministrative

Buildings

Residence Halls, Parking, etc

Wireless Campus by June

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

How Much?? $$$, coverage

Average cost of wireless: <$1K for AP, <$1K for power/data install, + wired network infrastructure costs+design labor costs.Avg pwr/data install schedule– 8 locations / wkAvg AP installs - 8 per dayAP to sq.ft. density: depends on building construction and arch concerns, ex: older construction 25 A.P.s cover 228Ksq.ft., newer construction 12 A.P.s cover 210Ksq.ft.Best coverage 17.5Ksqft/AP, Worst 3.4Ksqft/APYour mileage WILL VARY!!!

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Wireless Andrew Issues/Futures Coverage vs capacity – Why not both? “Airspace policy” and interference –

Bluetooth,… Keeping up with demand- scaling issues Security-Authentication Next Gen 802.11(a) –5Ghz Issues: Fork-lift upgrade? Ease of transition?

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Wireless Andrew Configurations

Workstations/OS Windows 95, 98,

NT Macintoshes Linux (CMU

“Andrew” version) Windows CE

Applications data files Internet/Intranet email Web centralized

calendaring

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Uses of wireless infrastructure

Untethered access to campus network:

Follow-on project - Handheld Andrew: enhancing usability of palm and HPCs with access to campus network – Researcher’s “Field of Dreams”

Educause 10-12-2000

Chuck Bartel

Wireless Andrew-An Update on Lessons Learned