Wireless at UW-Madison

• What the new service offers• Deployment status• Guest wireless• On the horizon

What the new service does

• New service addresses current limitations– No longer an IP subnet per building• Allows much greater efficiency of IP utilization• Allows for a very migratory user population

– No longer different SSID per building• Allows roaming between campus facilities• Consistent user experience regardless of location

– Improved performance with 802.11n• Better throughput and RF spectrum utilization

Deployment status

• Currently in Phase 2 of 3 planned deployment phases– Phase 1 upgraded wireless in Libraries and

Student Unions– Phase 2 concentrating on buildings geographically

close to those completed during Phase 1 and on buildings with the greatest need

– Phase 3 is intended to complete upgrades in nearly all remaining Campus buildings

Deployment status – Phase 1

• Libraries and Student Unions– These facilities have the largest user populations

and had the highest demand for robust wireless service

– The migration to the new service in these facilities was completed by May 1st, 2011

Deployment status – Phase 2

• Buildings close to Phase 1 locations– Buildings were chosen to attempt to make the

user experience as seamless as possible– Buildings with a high likelihood of experiencing

problems due to IP exhaustion have been included– The migration to the new service in these facilities

is expected to be completed by May 1st, 2012– The new service has already absorbed roughly

50% of the total wireless users on campus

Deployment status – Phase 3

• Remaining campus buildings– Starting summer of 2012– Buildings with the most access issues for

performing the work• Athletics facilities are difficult to schedule• Departments with multiple facilities like to have all of

their buildings cut-over as close to the same time as possible• Buildings that have demonstrated the least growth on

the legacy service

Guest wireless

• A need for improved guest access to the campus wireless service was identified– The Provost has sponsored a pilot project at the

Student Unions to address this need– The pilot service provides improvements for

guests and the campus community• The process for guests gaining access to wireless has

been greatly simplified• Campus users are able to authenticate with their NetID

for up to a semester

On the horizon• Deploying improved guest access service– Evaluating expansion of pilot in Unions– EDUROAM (authenticated higher-Ed visitors)– Researching potential opportunities to enable

commercial providers to sell guest access on UW wireless network (UW receives some revenue)

• Evaluating use of UW infrastructure to support commercial wireless providers to improve in-building coverage and capacity (for a fee)

On the horizon

• Expanded outdoor coverage in selected areas• Wireless security improvements (e.g. 802.1x)• Improved performance (802.11ac)