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.

1. Surfing the Tsunami
Riding the Rising Tide of Wireless Devices and
Moving to a Wireless-Only Environment
Joint Presentation by:

2. Introductions
 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

3. Overview
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ASU and UNCG
Wireless Environment
Placement of Access Points
Authentication
Customer Support
Planning for the Future

4. Universities At a Glance
ASU
UNCG
Campus enrollment
17,589
18,478
Residential students
34%
30%
Residential freshmen
99%
81%

5. The Tsunami at ASU
Clients over the
past year
 Max 12,500
 Avg 7,260

6. The Tsunami at ASU
Bandwidth over
the past year

7. The Tsunami at ASU
Clients over the
past week

8. The Tsunami at ASU
Bandwidth over
the past week

9. ASU Wireless Environment
 Manufacturer – Aruba Networks
 Entire Campus
 7 controllers
 1,800 access points
 Residence Halls
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4 controllers
900 access points
20 Residence Halls
5,100 beds

10. 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

11. The Tsunami at UNCG
2013
2012
September
Student
Visitor
Overall
AVG
2,540
713
3,630
MAX
3,121
870
4,437
AVG
3,842
160
4,443
MAX
4,673
215
5,427
November
Student
Visitor
Overall
3,109
649
4,166
3,606
768
4,821
5,429
742
5,625
8,279
1,296
8,943

12. The Tsunami at UNCG

13. The Tsunami at UNCG

14. UNCG Wireless Environment
 Manufacturer – Aruba / Blue Coat
 Entire Campus
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4 controllers – 7000 series
Almost 1,800 access points
PacketShaper 12000
CacheFlow CF5000
 Residence Halls
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Use campus controllers
761 access points
26 Residence Halls
4,750 beds

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Hallway vs In-Room
Which coverage map
would you choose?

19. 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

20. SSIDs
 UNCG-FacultyStaffStudent
 Secured Network
 Domain Authentication
 UNCG-Wireless
 Open with Captive Portal
 768K bandwidth restriction
 Limited to basic Internet use HTTP Traffic

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. Planning for the Future
 Wireless ONLY = NO Ethernet in the Residence Halls
 Impacts:
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Wireless core infrastructure
Coverage / density needs for future technologies (ac)
Bandwidth needs
Device support
User support

26. Planning for the Future
Wireless ONLY – Feedback
 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

27. Planning for the Future
Wireless ONLY – Support
 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

28. Summary
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ASU and UNCG
Wireless Environment
Placement of Access Points
Authentication
Customer Support
Planning for the Future

29. Questions
 Phillip Garrison – UNCG – HRL
 phillip_garrison@uncg.edu, 336 334-5636
 Phillip Kluttz – UNCG – ITS
 p_kluttz@uncg.edu, 336 334-4762
 John Pertalion – ASU – ITS
 pertalionaj@appstate.edu, 828 262-7909