Meru 802.11n Wireless ImplementationMeru 802.11n Wireless Implementation Meru 802.11n Wireless ImplementationMeru 802.11n Wireless Implementation

Morrisville State College

Morrisville State College

802.11n Wireless with Meru

Matt Barber, Network Analyst, MorrisvilleJean Boland, Vice President for Technology Services, Morrisville

Net@EDUNet@EDUFebruary 10, 2008

Morrisville State CollegeMorrisville State CollegeMorrisville State CollegeMorrisville State College

• Part of the State University of New York

- Comprised of 64 Colleges and Universities

• 3,300 Students Enrolled at Morrisville- Approximately 1,750 students live in on-campus residence

halls

• Over 70 Academic Programs with 140 Faculty

• Offer Bachelor and Associate Degrees- Health, Aquaculture, Equine, Business, Info Tech,

Hospitality, Architectural Technology, Engineering Technology, Natural Resource Conservation, Automotive Technology, Biology

TECHNOLOGY

Our Vision StatementOur Vision StatementOur Vision StatementOur Vision Statement

“Morrisville State College aspires to

be an academically challenging ,

business-oriented,

technology-focused

entrepreneurial learning

community.”

Academics

Applied Business Entrepreneurialism

Technology Strategy

1998 – Mobile Computing: ThinkPad University

1999 – Nomadic Learning: Wireless

Campus

2003 – Continuous Communication:

Nextel Cell Phone for Every Residential

Student

Morrisville State CollegeMorrisville State CollegeMorrisville State CollegeMorrisville State College

Phases I, II, III

Why Mobility?Why Mobility?Why Mobility?Why Mobility?• More than two-thirds of the U.S. workforce will be mobile workers (CTIA Daily News, July 2002)

• Drucker predicts that by 2020 fewer than half of working people will be employed by others in a classic way

• Students can study and learn at the location best for them…anywhere, anytime learning To better prepare our students

Morrisville Former WirelessMorrisville Former WirelessMorrisville Former WirelessMorrisville Former Wireless• Installed in the Fall of 1999

• Raytheon Raylink 802.11 FHSS

• 2 Mbps shared

• Over 300 Raylink Access Points (APs) installed

• One set of drivers; One PCMCIA card

• MS Vista will not support

• End of life product – purchasing existing supply

• Student complaints of slowness

Wireless is only access in dorm rooms

The Morrisville EnvironmentThe Morrisville EnvironmentThe Morrisville EnvironmentThe Morrisville Environment• Upgraded Enterasys Network in Summer 2005

- GigE backbone

- Gigabit switches in the closets

• Fiber Backbone

• Former Cabling

- 270 cat5 / cat5e cables to wireless APs

- Approximately 100 cat6 cables to wireless APs

• 43 buildings with about 1.9 million square feet

Morrisville Campus and Norwich Campus

What We Were Looking ForWhat We Were Looking ForWhat We Were Looking ForWhat We Were Looking For

• Increased speed

• Expanded coverage area

• Easy to manage

• Product lifespan of 5 to 7 years

• Support for multiple operating systems

• Support for typical student devices2007 Wireless Upgrade

Why We Selected 802.11nWhy We Selected 802.11nWhy We Selected 802.11nWhy We Selected 802.11n

• Speed, speed, speed

• Increased coverage over 802.11b or g

• Expected product lifespan

• Most fiscally responsible decision for us

• Validated by Wi-Fi Alliance certification of 802.11n products

Is 802.11a/b/g nearing end of life?

Why We Selected MeruWhy We Selected MeruWhy We Selected MeruWhy We Selected Meru

• Availability of 802.11n

• Single Channel Ability to easily add an access point to plug a coverage hole

• Client load balancing between APs Good for large lecture halls

Selected IBM as our integrator

Why We Selected Meru, cont.Why We Selected Meru, cont.Why We Selected Meru, cont.Why We Selected Meru, cont.

• Virtual Cell

• Time management of RF traffic Each client gets equal access to the

AP Radio “talk time” is equally shared

among all clients on an access point

• Lowest common denominator effect is is minimized

Testing of Existing CableTesting of Existing CableTesting of Existing CableTesting of Existing Cable

• Cat 5 and 5e Cable Testing to insure operability at gigabit Ethernet speed 270 cables tested 1 cable replaced

• Excellent Results All cable runs were less than 200 feet

nfrastructure hired for all cabling

Site SurveySite SurveySite SurveySite Survey

• EZ-RF Coverage Planner – done for 5 GHz

802.11a RF Predictive Modeling Physical Site Survey

• Findings: Greater coverage between floors, outdoors and overall Fewer APs needed than expectedOriginally expected 900 Aps to be

installed

August Implementation for Start of SchoolAugust Implementation for Start of SchoolAugust Implementation for Start of SchoolAugust Implementation for Start of School

• Cabling 400 new cat6 cables

• Access Point Installation 710 Meru AP 150’s 10 Meru AP 320’s

• Six new switch installations for additional ports

• Added new locations, such as football field, equine barns

Both a/b/g APs and a/b/g/n APs installed

In August, Meru 802.11n DeploymentIn August, Meru 802.11n DeploymentIn August, Meru 802.11n DeploymentIn August, Meru 802.11n Deployment

• 10 Meru AP 320’s

• Each AP with one b/g/n radio one a/n radio

• Using Power over Ethernet (PoE) Existing 802.3af standard (15 watts) 2 X 2 antenna configuration

In Mustang Alley

From Our StudentsFrom Our StudentsFrom Our StudentsFrom Our Students

It is really fast in Mustang Alley (where Meru

802.11n is), but it is so slow everywhere else!

802.11g is slow?? Changing Expectations…

ClientsClientsClientsClients

• Lenovo T61 laptops have internal 2.4 / 5 GHz 802.11n wireless

• Legacy Lenovo laptops Internal a/b/g wireless 2.4 GHz 802.11n USB adapter

• Desktops 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g USB adapter 2.4 GHz 802.11n USB adapter

5 GHz 802.11n USB adapters were not yet available…

From LenovoFrom LenovoFrom LenovoFrom Lenovo

Done by 3rd Party Test Lab “Quality Partners”

Chariot Download – Comparison between 11n and 11g

ThinkPad WLAN Performance Improvement from Predecessor

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Test Points

Da

ta D

ow

n L

oa

d T

hro

ug

hp

ut [M

bp

s]

ThinkPad T61 w/ Intel 4965AGN (11n)

ThinkPad T61 w/ Intel 3945ABG (11g)

ThinkPad T60 w/ Intel 3945ABG (11g)

11n showed 800% better performance than 11g.

From MorrisvilleFrom MorrisvilleFrom MorrisvilleFrom Morrisville

Client Time Test Results

Client Client Clientwith with 2.4 GHz with 5 GHz

File 802.11g 802.11n 802.11nDescription of Test Size USB USB internal

Windows file uploadfrom laptop to network share

Windows file downloadfrom network share to laptop

Web file uploadfrom laptop to server

Web file downloadfrom server to laptop

Ruckus*, double album, music downloadfrom local server to laptop 164MB

(33 tracks)* a legal music download service offered at Morrisville

Test environment: The Meru 802.11n access point was mounted vertically on the wall at a height of 7 feet.The client tests were performed at a distance of 30 feet from the access point.Between the access point and the client was a sheet rock wall with an open wood door.Withn 50 feet were two 802.11 a/b/g access points with minor traffic.

20MB 10 min.

20MB

50MB 1 min. 28 sec.

50MB 3 min. 51 sec.

1 min. 15 sec.

20 sec.

2 min. 59 sec.

26 sec.

21 sec.

2 min. 18 sec.

8 sec.

1 min. 37 sec.

8 sec.

8 sec.

2 min. 36 sec.

6 sec.

Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedLessons LearnedLessons Learned

• Moved from a homogeneous to a heterogeneous client wireless environment

one wireless driver to many one wireless adapter to many

• Up-to-date wireless driver is critical

• Power management on laptops, must be set to “maximum performance” and NOT to “maximum battery life”

Can turn OFF internal wireless; erratic results

Clients, clients, clients…

In October, Total Meru 802.11n InstallationIn October, Total Meru 802.11n InstallationIn October, Total Meru 802.11n InstallationIn October, Total Meru 802.11n Installation

• All 720 APs are Meru dual radio 802.11n AP 320’s

b/g/n in 2.4 GHz a/n in 5 GHz

• Replacement of a/b/g APs with a/b/g/n APs took 2 people only 1 week

• Still using Power over Ethernet (15

watts)

Campus Wide Meru 802.11n Wireless

Statistics To DateStatistics To DateStatistics To DateStatistics To Date

In our 5th month of using 720 Meru 802.11n APs:

• 802.11n wireless coverage of 43 buildings and 1.9 million square feet

• All classrooms, all buildings, all parking lots,

and ancillary spaces; equine barns, football field, etc.

• Over 1,500 simultaneous users at peak usage

• Connection Speeds of up to 300Mbps

Equine Breeding & Training CenterEquine Breeding & Training CenterEquine Breeding & Training CenterEquine Breeding & Training Center

“Mister Ed” theme song, by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

Our DashboardOur DashboardOur DashboardOur Dashboard

Additional Devices SupportedAdditional Devices SupportedAdditional Devices SupportedAdditional Devices Supported• Opened up support for portable and gaming

devices Added over 60 devices in first month Currently have over 110 portable and

gaming devices on wireless

Now supporting student iPod Touches,

Sony PSPs, Playstation 3s, Xbox 360s, Nintendo Wiis, and iPhones

• Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n client adapters want to move as many clients as possible to 5 GHz 802.11n

• Linksys WPC600N PCMCIA card on site

• Linksys WUSB600N USB on order

• Netgear WNDA3100 USB available in March

What is Next for Client Adapters?What is Next for Client Adapters?What is Next for Client Adapters?What is Next for Client Adapters?

• Testing SNMP Manageable Power Injectors

draft IEEE 802.3at standard (30 watts) for 3 x 3 antenna configuration will look at increased wireless experience and determine if the power injectors are worth the cost

• Could stay with PoE (15 watts) and 2 x 2 antenna configuration

• Could purchase Phihong or Microsemi power injectors

What is Next for Power?What is Next for Power?What is Next for Power?What is Next for Power?

802.3af (15 watts) or 802.3at (30 watts)?

802.11n “LIVE” at Morrisville802.11n “LIVE” at Morrisville802.11n “LIVE” at Morrisville802.11n “LIVE” at Morrisville

Student Candids

What our students have to sayWhat our students have to sayWhat our students have to sayWhat our students have to say

About Meru’s 802.11n wireless

Nicholas Scholl, a senior at Morrisville State College:

What our students have to sayWhat our students have to sayWhat our students have to sayWhat our students have to say

About Meru’s 802.11n wireless

Christopher Perch, a freshman at Morrisville State College:

Mobility at MorrisvilleMobility at Morrisville

We are creating a marketable difference for our students at Morrisville. With laptops, cell phones, and now 802.11n

wireless, our students are ready to enter and be productive in the mobile workforce.

Morrisville 802.11n Wireless Morrisville 802.11n Wireless

QUESTIONS????