TALKING BUSINESS
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Password-based Wi-Fi
networks are secure
Password-based networks
experience high rates of user disruption.
Disconnected devices try to connect
back to the network as many as
30,000 authentication requests per
day per student. The solution to this is
certificate-based Wi-Fi.
Certificates mean that passwords
are not cached or transmitted every
connection attempt. In essence, a
device registered once should continue
to work without disruption. This means
happier users and fewer support tickets.
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All Access Points are
created equal
To many purchasing managers,
Wi-Fi is just Wi-Fi. It’s a utility and one
AP is as good as the next. While all
major brand APs are based on standard
chipsets, there is always room to do
more above and beyond the standards.
Wi-Fi challenges are everywhere on
campus, from the grounds itself,
where full-bar coverage and capacity
anywhere, anytime is expected, to the
residence halls, which have become a
nesting ground for gadgets embedded
with consumer Wi-Fi. Not all access
points are created equally, and it is
important that all aspects of design
have been optimised based on how
the AP will be used or where it will be
deployed.
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more power. However, switch upgrades
are not necessary to support these
newer standards.
More advanced APs will shut down the
USB port and secondary Ethernet port
when PoE power is insufficient for full
operation, conserving enough power to
keep Wi-Fi speeds at maximum levels.
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Increasing transmit
power improves
coverage
Wi-Fi coverage simply isn’t coverage
unless devices can consistently access
www.intelligentcio.com
the Wi-Fi network. Increasing AP
transmit power may increase coverage,
but multipath characteristics are
different in each environment local to
each AP.
While increasing the transmit power
makes it more likely that APs will be able
to consistently send data to devices, it
does nothing to make it more likely that
APs will be able to receive data from
devices. In fact, some devices reduce their
transmit power to prolong battery life
when connected to a more powerful AP,
thus creating worse coverage.
More broadband solves
most problems
For IT professionals there is more
to managing a wireless network than
purely delivering more broadband. Even
the fastest Wi-Fi networks will come to
a crawl if there isn’t enough distribution
or backhaul. The “problem” could be
related to onboarding and passwords,
network storms or interference – all
unrelated to the bandwidth provided.
Performance speaks volumes, and with
this newfound knowledge debunking
the myths surrounding campus Wi-Fi
deployments IT professionals can
future-proof their network to provide
the next generation of kids instant
access to world without walls.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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