[Hen] Network Administrators Keep a Wary Eye on Increasing Demand for WiFi (forwarded from CCSC)

[Johnson, Bill]

Forwarded;

 

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From: Converged Communications Steering Committee Discussion List
[mailto:CCSC at LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Wendy Wigen
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 8:37 AM
To: CCSC at LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [CCSC] Network Administrators Keep a Wary Eye on Increasing
Demand for WiFi

 


>From Chronicle of HE (subscription only)


http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3289/network-administrators-kee
p-a-wary-eye-on-increasing-demand-for-wifi


September 3, 2008


Network Administrators Keep a Wary Eye on Increasing Demand for WiFi


How robust is your institution's wireless network? Students, faculty
members, and others now expect to be able to connect their laptops to
the Internet anywhere, to say nothing of their iPods and other devices.
And they're not just checking e-mail, either-they want to listen to
music, keep up with YouTube videos, and maybe even watch television
online. But that kind of heavy demand, especially in areas that attract
lots of simultaneous users, is a challenge for those who oversee campus
networks, according to an article in PC World.
<http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150490/the_challenge_of_s
caling_a_wireless_lan.html> 

Carnegie Mellon University, for instance, is upgrading wireless networks
in its residence halls to use the latest 802.11n technology, as well as
connection points that each packs up to 16 WiFi radios, with antennae
divided by sector to reduce interference. Other institutions are dealing
with overloads on the servers that assign Internet addresses as machines
connect to campus networks. Still others face developments like the
Slingbox, a device that lets students stream cable-television programs
over the campus network from their dorm rooms to their laptops-so they
can watch TV wherever they happen to be. 

John Turner, director of network and systems at Brandeis University,
says that as recently as three years ago the university had comparative
few wireless users. "Now everyone has a laptop," he says. "These scaling
issues are becoming more and more apparent where lots of folks show up
and you need to make things happen." -Lawrence Biemiller

 

 

 

Wendy Wigen

Government Relations Officer

EDUCAUSE

1150 18th St. NW Suite 1010

Washington, DC  20036-3824

202-331-5372

wwigen at educause.edu

 

 

 

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