Wireless Andrew An Update on Lessons Learned Chuck

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

Wireless Andrew Project Overview Chuck Bartel 2

Carnegie Mellon Background § Private research university (R 1) § 50+ buildings on 100+ acre campus § Half of buildings are on contiguous Early adopters in use of distributed main campus computing and networks (Andrew Project) Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Background -- 1994 Dozens of Mobile, Wearable, and Wireless Computing Projects Multidisciplinary Collaboration Spanning Several Campus Buildings More than $20 M in Research Funding No Comprehensive Network-- Each Research Project Left to Fend for Itself Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Vision -- 1994 Establish Common Research Network NSF Grant - $550, 000 over 2 years Build an Experimental, High-Speed, Wireless Network n Support research projects in wireless communication and mobile computing. Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Implementation -- 1995 -1998 No Standard Existed for Wireless LANs n Evaluation + Selection: ATT/Lucent 915 Mhz Deployed network in 5 campus buildings Enable use by approximately 150 users Research Network = Limited Support Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Background -- 1998 Successful Wireless Research Network Growing use of Laptops Need for Wireless Production Network Wireless LAN Standard 802. 11 Adopted by IEEE Lucent Grant to Support Campus-Wide Deployment (400 Access Points/cards) Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Implementation -- 1998 -2000 Deploy Network Campuswide n 30+ Buildings (2. 8 M sq ft) + Outdoor Areas Use by Virtually Anyone on Campus Provide Support Equivalent to Wired Network Lucent’s Wave. LAN Product 2. 4 GHz, IEEE 802. 11 Compliant Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Deployment Issues & Challenges Chuck Bartel 9

Key Components- Wireless LAN Access Point - network device that links wireless stations to the wired network -- $900/unit Wireless NIC cards- EISA bus or PC card -radio transceivers for the end users -$795/card $595/card $275/card $125/card Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Wireless doesn’t necessarily mean Without Wires For every Access Point in a building, we need: • 110 vac plug • Data cable capable of supporting a 10 Base. T connection Since most of the Access Points end up above ceilings or other out of the way places, new dedicated cables needed to be installed. Avg. cost per installed AP $1. 9 K (Cost of AP- $. 9 K) Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Design factors to consider Interference Mobility – Roaming Coverage vs Capacity Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Interference Examples of potential interference sources in the 2. 4 GHz ISM band (IEEE 802. 11) § Microwave ovens § 2. 4 GHz Cordless phones § Bluetooth § Other 802. 11 LAN devices § Other 2. 4 GHz LAN devices How do you regulate these on your campus? Can you? Should you? Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

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). Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Keys to Design Success (for CMU) We developed new approaches to buildingwide wireless design with the vendor. Colorized coverage maps Design review meetings Designed for coverage (not for capacity) Based on our experiences, the vendor improved their design tools. Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Wireless Andrew Infrastructure Standards-Based Wireless LAN in all Academic and Administrative Buildings Comprehensive Coverage with Roaming Enabled (Mobility is Seamless) Wireless LAN is Connected to the Campus Backbone and Internet Supporting 600 -1000 1700 Users Add’l Info available at URL: http: //www. cmu. edu/computing/wireless Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Where are we now? § We cover 30+ buildings (to date)- 350 APs § We cover 2. 8 M sq. ft. of office/lab/classroom space § We cover roughly 99% of the academic campus. § We have 1400+ users We have upgraded our network to the IEEE 802. 11(b) standard (11 Mbps) Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Wireless Campus by June Academic and Administrative Buildings Residence Halls, Parking, etc Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

How Much? ? $$$, coverage Average cost of wireless: <$1 K for AP, <$1 K for power/data install, + wired network infrastructure costs+design labor costs. Avg pwr/data install schedule– 8 locations / wk Avg AP installs - 8 per day AP to sq. ft. density: depends on building construction and arch concerns, ex: older construction 25 A. P. s cover 228 Ksq. ft. , newer construction 12 A. P. s cover 210 Ksq. ft. Best coverage 17. 5 Ksqft/AP, Worst 3. 4 Ksqft/AP Your mileage WILL VARY!!! Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

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) – 5 Ghz Issues: Fork-lift upgrade? Ease of transition? Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

Wireless Andrew Configurations § Workstations/OS n n Windows 95, 98, NT Macintoshes Linux (CMU “Andrew” version) Windows CE Chuck Bartel § Applications n n n data files Internet/Intranet email Web centralized calendaring Educause 10 -12 -2000

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” Chuck Bartel Educause 10 -12 -2000

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