Vertical Design Guide - University and College
Priority by Category
| Criteria | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Density | 50 – 400 concurrent station associations per device 25 – 100 concurrent students per device Multiple Wi-Fi video projectors / Wi-Ficameras per device | Multiple radios per device (8+) Utilize additional channels in 5GHz (802.11a/n) Automatic user load balancing among radios |
| Performance | Minimum 4-5+ Mbps real TCP/UDP throughput per user Real-time applications – voice, video Segmentation by students, staff, guests, devices, etc. | Multiple radios per device (8+) Utilize 7X channel bandwidth in 5GHz (802.11a/n) Local packet processing/switching/control at the AP Gigabit Ethernet uplinks QoS: WMM, 802.1p/Q Fast and seamless Roaming |
| Coverage | Multiple classrooms per device Flexible control of coverage area | Integrated or External High gain directional antennas Automatic or manual cell sizing for control of coverage area Ability to sharply define coverage boundaries for privacy |
| Security | Rogue AP and threat detection Authentication and encryption Filtering/firewalling | Integrated Wi-Fi threat sensor in every AP and automatic alerting Proactive threat mitigation RADIUS authentication with WPA2 encryption Integrated rules-based stateful firewall Station-to-station traffic blocking |
| Mobility | Seamless In-building cross subnet roaming | Layer 2 and Layer 3 Roaming |
| User Management | Easy User connection and authentication User Accounting Segregation of groups of users (staff, students, guests) Monitoring and troubleshooting tools | Interface with RADIUS Servers/ Nomadix/IP3 Gateways Multiple SSIDs Web page redirect Per-user monitoring Integrated packet capture and spectrum analyzer |
| Management | Element management RF management | Central and Local Management Real-time RF coverage monitoring and control Distributed Spectrum Analysis for troubleshooting Automatic channel selection Location-based asset identification Leverage existing management tools (syslog, SNMP, CDP etc.) |
| Resiliency | Hardware resiliency Software resiliency High availability | Multiple radios with 50% coverage overlap Dual Gigabit Ethernet uplinks Dual software images with rollback Configuration auditing and backup Active radio service health check with self correction |
| Enclosures | Flexible, secure installation options | Securable, drop ceiling/surface mount indoor enclosures Environmentally controlled outdoor enclosures |
| Power | Flexible powering options | AC and Power over Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet options Redundant AC and DC power |
| Upgradeability | Multi-generational hardware platform Future proof for 802.11n | Modular hardware and software for in-field upgrades Hardware performance headroom for future requirements, performance boost Designed for 802.11n today – expandable to Cellular, Zigbee |
| Scalability | Ability to easily add additional capacity or coverage | Use of the same product set everywhere No large step functions or boundaries in additional cost such as controllers or software licenses Ability to easily budget for planned expansion |
Services
| Criteria | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Real world (non-predictive) site surveys | Site surveys conducted with actual product Test both signal (RSSI) and data throughput Coverage guarantee |
| Installation | Simplified installation | “3” clicks or less to install a device Automatic channel assignment at boot Quick physical install that can be done when school is in session |
| Verification | Post-installation and verification | Re-run site survey with throughput testing to verify design |
Application Priority by Category
| Criteria | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Applications | Calculated Connections per Second (CPS) Calculated Concurrent Connections (CC) | Achieve desired CPS and CC 100Kbps average TCP throughput for web surfing and email 500Kbps average TCP throughput for file downloads |
| Video over Wi-Fi | Measured # video streams at a given Media Deliver Index (MDI) or Video Quality Metric (VQM) | High real-time throughput º Internet streaming ~1 Mbps UDP per stream º SDTV ~3 Mbps UDP per stream Low packet loss Seamless wireless-wired QoS Low jitter |
| Voice over Wi-Fi | Calculated Busy Hour Call Attempts (BHCA) Calculated Busy Hour Call Completion (BHCC) at an acceptable Mean Opinion Score (MOS) | Achieve desired BHCA/BHCC with MOS > 3.8 Fast roaming – sub 60 msec handoff Cross subnet (layer 3)roaming Seamless wireless-wired QoS Low latency and jitter |