How to design Wi-Fi for high density, capacity, and reliability in higher education. Download the best practices: https://www.packet6.com/high-density-wi-fi-education/
1. C H A L L E N G E S A N D S O L U T I O N S
F O R H I G H E R - E D W I - F I
R O W E L L D I O N I C I O
2. W H O I S T H I S G U Y
• Moved to Bay Area April 2015
• 11 years in IT
• @rowelldionicio - Twitter
• packet6.com - Blog
• cleartosend.net - Wi-Fi Podcast
• rowell@packet6.com
3. W H AT ’ S U P ?
• Experience working in Higher-Ed
• BYOD
• High Density
• Capacity
• Interference
• Users. Just kidding, I meant Education
• Bring it all together
5. G AT H E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S
• Applications usage
• Device/Head count
• Peak times
• Roaming
• Aesthetics
• Growth
• Ask question after question
10. H I G H D E N S I T Y & C A PA C I T Y
• Pre- & Post-deployment survey
• 2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz
• Use 20 MHz channel widths
• Use DFS channels
• Create contention domains
• Antenna selection
• Static vs. Dynamic
11. D O N ’ T S K I M P O N T H E …
P R E D I C T I V E & VA L I D AT I O N S U R V E Y S
21. Four 2x2:2 laptops on channel 40
Four 2x2:2 laptops on channel 104
From event upstairs
From nearby classroom
22. C O V E R A G E I S E A S Y. . B U T C A PA C I T Y. .
• What applications are being used?
• How many devices per AP?
• Bandwidth for application
• Required number of APs
• Co-channel interference
23. C O - C H A N N E L I N T E R F E R E N C E
M I N I M I Z E & VA L I D A T E
24.
25. A P P L I C AT I O N
U S A G E
• Duration
• Time in microseconds
• Purpose
31. E D U C AT I O N
• Take the time to teach how Wi-Fi works.
• Explain half-duplex.
• Explain shared medium and contention.
• Tell them why it’s not as easy as installing another AP.
• Use analogies.
33. L I F E C Y C L E
• Ask a lot of questions
• Leverage CAD files
• Validate
• Requirements change
• Optimize
• Use DFS channels
• Understand RF
Plan
Design
Implement
Validate
Optimize
34. - A B R A H A M L I N C O L N
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four
sharpening the axe.”