Home > U Arizona To Optimize Wireless Networks on Campus

News

U Arizona To Optimize Wireless Networks on Campus

9/24/2008

The University of Arizona in Tucson said it has begun using wireless LAN tools from AirMagnet, including Survey and Planner, to help optimize and plan wireless networks throughout the campus. The campus includes approximately 115 core buildings and more than 35,000 students. Of those 115 buildings, 70 are currently wireless enabled, encompassing more than 7.5 million square feet. It has 5,000 wireless access points.

"Given the sheer size of our campus, wireless is a vital part of our infrastructure and it allows our students and staff to have unprecedented mobility and access," said Ken Boynton, senior network systems analyst. "To service that network and expand it, we rely on mobile field tools that can give us instant information, allowing us to evaluate problems on-the-fly and maintain or plan high-performance wireless networks."

AirMagnet Survey enables the university to collect live signal, packet, and spectrum data during wireless site surveys in real-time. This allows IT staff to simulate and measure network performance to evaluate a user's experience.
 
With plans for an additional 2,200 access points, the campus is using AirMagnet Planner to plan and deploy new 802.11-based wireless networks. The product offers predictive mapping of wi-fi signals and performance to help staff account for building materials, obstructions, access point configurations, and antenna patterns in the design for the deployment.


Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business. Send your higher education technology news to her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.

Cite this Site

Dian Schaffhauser, "U Arizona To Optimize Wireless Networks on Campus," Campus Technology, 9/24/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=67941

copy text (above) for proper citation



Recommended Reading
  • UNLV Hospitality Students Learn on Micros Opera

    The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has received a donation from Micros Systems that will allow the college's students to use its Opera hospitality software in classes.

  • Cambridge Reduces Support Needs in Move to New Wireless System

    The University of Cambridge is deploying Aruba Networks' wireless LAN equipment to replace a legacy network that had become unmanageable and a drain on resources. Since early 2008, about 100 Aruba AP-65 access points have been deployed, along with dual MMC-6000 Multi-Service Mobility Controllers.

  • iKnow Social Learning Platform Expands Language Support

    Cerego has released new content creation tools for its iKnow social learning platform, adding support for creating learning modules in any of 188 languages. The company has also expanded language support for the text-to-speech technology used in the iKnow platform.

  • Smart Debuts Updated Whiteboard Lineup

    Smart Technologies last week unveiled updates to its Smart Board 600i interactive whiteboard system. The new lineup includes both a standard 4:3 and a widescreen 16:10 model, each featuring new boom-mounted, short-throw projectors.

  • SUNY's Binghamton Monitors Network with Lancope's StealthWatch

    Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, is using StealthWatch from Lancope to help streamline network management, control, and security with visibility of network behavior. Binghamton has an IT network that spans 20,000 client endpoints and six geographic locations. After contending with worm propagation and other security threats that affected network performance, the university's network management team sought a way to increase visibility of network traffic and analyze network behavior for potential threats.

  • Tufts Grants Rights for Mileage-Increasing Transportation Technology to Electric Truck

    Tufts University has optioned rights to a technology that can recharge the batteries of any hybrid electric and electric-powered vehicle while it is driven. The Tufts-developed technology could increase by 20 percent to 70 percent the miles per gallon or total driving range performance of vehicles like the Honda Civic, Ford Escape, and Toyota Prius hybrids and the Tesla Motors and Phoenix Motorcars electric vehicles.