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

4. B Y O D

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

6. D E V I C E P R O F I L I N G

7. D E V I C E P R O F I L I N G
H T T P S : / / W W W. T H E I P H O N E W I K I . C O M / W I K I / M O D E L S

8. H I G H D E N S I T Y & C A PA C I T Y
Source: TreeHacks

9. Source: Stanford Ed Tech

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

13. Photographer: Jawed
Dynamic Frequency Selection

14. C O N T E N T I O N
D O M A I N S
• Air time
• Cell size
• Data rates
• Channel overlap

15. C O N T E N T I O N
D O M A I N S
• Air time
• Cell size
• Data rates
• Channel overlap

16. C O N T E N T I O N
D O M A I N S
• Air time
• Cell size
• Data rates
• Channel overlap

17. C O N T E N T I O N
D O M A I N S
• Air time
• Cell size
• Data rates
• Channel overlap

20. Eight 2x2:2 laptops on channel 40

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

25. A P P L I C AT I O N
U S A G E
• Duration
• Time in microseconds
• Purpose

26. I N T E R F E R E N C E

27. W I F I K E E P S D R O P P I N G
U S E R S A Y S …

28. A D J A C E N T C H A N N E L I N T E R F E R E N C E
W H A T ’ W O R S E T H A N C C I ?

30. T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G
A N O T E O N

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.

32. Flickr: Penn State
Flickr: RIT
Flickr: Phil Baker

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.”

35. Make Wi-Fi Great Again