Information Systems:Wireless Infrastructure (WLAN) - Revision history

Norwinu: /* Summary of wireless setup */

2018-09-27T22:42:11Z

Summary of wireless setup

Norwinu at 17:21, 12 December 2017

2017-12-12T17:21:21Z

Norwinu at 17:21, 12 December 2017

2017-12-12T17:21:09Z

Norwinu: /* Administration */

2017-12-09T01:27:58Z

Administration

Norwinu at 01:27, 9 December 2017

2017-12-09T01:27:20Z

Norwinu: /* Configuration */

2017-12-09T01:18:59Z

Configuration

Norwinu: /* Channels and antenna power */

2017-12-09T01:12:03Z

Channels and antenna power

Norwinu at 01:09, 9 December 2017

2017-12-09T01:09:09Z

Norwinu at 01:05, 9 December 2017

2017-12-09T01:05:06Z

Norwinu: /* Administration */

2017-12-09T01:00:16Z

Administration

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:42, 27 September 2018
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	=Summary of wireless setup=		=Summary of wireless setup=

		+	'''The implementation of wireless (WLAN) at uniPHARM uses the Extreme Networks WiNG platform.'''
−	'''The Extreme Networks WiNG platform is used for wireless at uniPHARM.'''

	==Access Points==		==Access Points==

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:21, 12 December 2017
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	On a brighter note, on October 2, 2017, a power outage was experienced, downing several APs, including the controller. However, there were no calls from the warehouse. One AP must be on the UPS and supported all users at that point. The system came up gracefully when power was restored. Therefore, the group of APs as a unit have proven to be quite resilient and each recovering its configuration elegantly when the controller comes back up.		On a brighter note, on October 2, 2017, a power outage was experienced, downing several APs, including the controller. However, there were no calls from the warehouse. One AP must be on the UPS and supported all users at that point. The system came up gracefully when power was restored. Therefore, the group of APs as a unit have proven to be quite resilient and each recovering its configuration elegantly when the controller comes back up.

−	[[Category: Wireless]]	+	[[Category: Wireless (WLAN)]]

@@ Line 140: / Line 140: @@
 ===WiNG vs WiNG Express===
 WiNG Express is a scaled down version of WiNG. The 7532 APs actually use WiNG Express as a default. Upon inspection, WiNG Express appeared too simplistic. A CLI command exists to switch to WiNG from the default WiNG Express.
 ===Wireless performance and future optimization===
@@ Line 154: / Line 153: @@
 On a brighter note, on October 2, 2017, a power outage was experienced, downing several APs, including the controller. However, there were no calls from the warehouse. One AP must be on the UPS and supported all users at that point. The system came up gracefully when power was restored. Therefore, the group of APs as a unit have proven to be quite resilient and each recovering its configuration elegantly when the controller comes back up.

@@ Line 107: / Line 107: @@
 =Administration=
 : Web GUI: https://172.30.18.80
 : Login: {{userpass}}
@@ Line 117: / Line 116: @@
 * [http://lucy1.unipharm.local:8008 Round-trip times in the Statistics section of the TekTerm server Web GUI]
-====Hardware and software support====
+===Hardware and software support===
 Extreme Networks Web Portal: https://extremeportal.force.com
 {{userpass}}
@@ Line 129: / Line 128: @@
 Limited Lifetime Warranty likely has a 7-10 turnaround time. The purchase of additional units to replace failed ones can also be considered; there is no need for higher tiers of hardware replacement agreements. Firmware downloads and software support requires '''Software and TAC''', but it is a gray area whether a separate Software and TAC license is required for each AP, or just the controller AP. However, they are very cheap and thus 5/6 APs have Software and TAC (the 6th was purchased used and for some reason wasn't able to be put under the agreement).
-====Adding staff devices to RADIUS====
+===Adding staff devices to RADIUS===
 Management of staff devices has been moved to [[Information Systems: Managing staff and guest devices on the wireless network|this article]].
-====Upgrading the firmware====
+===Upgrading the firmware===
 Backing up the config and upgrading firmware has been moved to [[Information Systems: Upgrading firmware on the WiNG AP7532 wireless access points|''this page'']].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 =Overview=
-This article documents the current wireless infrastructure. ''A complete overhaul of the wireless was conducted in July 2017; the old article is now located '''[[Information Systems:Old Wireless (WiFi) Infrastructure (pre-2017)|here]].'''''
+This article is the primary article for the topic of WLANs, and it documents the current wireless infrastructure. ''A complete overhaul of the wireless was conducted in July 2017; the old article is now located '''[[Information Systems:Old Wireless (WiFi) Infrastructure (pre-2017)|here]].''''' However, since this topic has grown quite large, more information has been moved to additional articles. Consult [[:Category:Wireless (WLAN)]] to see them.
 This article is broken down into 2 main sections, Configuration (background information) and Administration (troubleshooting).
 =Summary of wireless setup=
 ==Access Points==
 * The model of AP is the Extreme Networks AP7532.
@@ Line 122: / Line 123: @@
 Tickets can be submitted via the web portal.
 ====Adding staff devices to RADIUS====
@@ Line 130: / Line 134: @@
 ====Upgrading the firmware====
 Backing up the config and upgrading firmware has been moved to [[Information Systems: Upgrading firmware on the WiNG AP7532 wireless access points|''this page'']].
 =Other Notes=

@@ Line 86: / Line 86: @@
 ===Wireless security===
 WPA2-PSK is used for uwd_dcrf for simplicity. Regarding the staff and guest wireless networks, consult [[Information Systems: Implementing_staff_and_guest_WiFi_networks |'''this article''']] for more info about the authentication mechanisms used.
 ===Channels and antenna power===
@@ Line 93: / Line 96: @@
 * Only a few APs (mostly the ones serving the RF guns) are enabled for 2.4GHz.
 * 5GHz channels were also selected strategically to minimize interference/overlap. Most APs have the 5Ghz radio enabled as this spectrum allows for less overlap.
-* Power was tuned by trial-and-error, most radios are at 50% of max power.
+* Power was tuned by trial-and-error; most radios are at 50% of max power, since the antennas have tremendous reach.
 Currently, none of the APs are permanently mounted. Ideal hardware mounting solutions for each AP is under exploration.
 PoE adapters were purchased separately and currently power the APs. It is expected that PoE switches will be acquired in the future, perhaps as part of the VoIP upgrade project.
 =Administration=

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 * The APs have static IP addresses.
 * The gigabit interfaces are set to trunk mode: untagged on VLAN 1, and tagged for VLAN 2.
 * IP routing is turned off. Much of the IPv6 functionality is turned off.
 * The domain controllers are used for DNS resolution.
@@ Line 86: / Line 87: @@
 WPA2-PSK is used for uwd_dcrf for simplicity. Regarding the staff and guest wireless networks, consult [[Information Systems: Implementing_staff_and_guest_WiFi_networks |'''this article''']] for more info about the authentication mechanisms used.
-====Channels and antenna power====
+===Channels and antenna power===
-Wireless channels and output power are manually tuned per AP. No auto is used (that would be a severe indication of technical incompetence).
+Wireless channels and output power are manually tuned per AP. No auto is used (that would be a severe indication of technical incompetence). Some things to note:
 Currently, none of the APs are permanently mounted. Ideal hardware mounting solutions for each AP is under exploration.
@@ Line 104: / Line 103: @@
 * BSSID mapping: Enterprise APs such as the WiNG AP 7532 will often allow multiple SSIDs mapped to a wireless radio as BSSIDs. This minimizes interference by allowing the same radio to broadcast several wireless networks serving different purposes.
 * Antenna diversity: Antenna diversity is enabled on the 2.4GHz of some access points as an experimental setting (it's disabled by default).
 =Administration=

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 This article is broken down into 2 main sections, Configuration (background information) and Administration (troubleshooting).
 * The Extreme Networks WiNG platform is used for wireless at uniPHARM.
 =Summary of wireless setup=
@@ Line 65: / Line 63: @@
 =Configuration=
 ===Virtual Controller AP===
 One of the APs (office_2ndflr_controller), is being used as a virtual controller - a WiNG feature that allows an AP to manage other APs.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:00, 9 December 2017
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	The 6 APs are covered under Limited Lifetime Warranty and an annual coverage. Extreme. There are maintenance contracts and software upgrade/support entitlements that can be purchased on a per-device, per-year basis - they are currently being explored. The fact is that these units are both fairly easy to acquire and expected to be quite stable, so common sense dictates that "Next Business Day" hardware replacement options would be excessive in this situation (not to mention that we currently have a spare unit). However, if the ability to upgrade the firmware requires a software entitlement, then it would be in our best interest to obtain entitlements for all devices.		The 6 APs are covered under Limited Lifetime Warranty and an annual coverage. Extreme. There are maintenance contracts and software upgrade/support entitlements that can be purchased on a per-device, per-year basis - they are currently being explored. The fact is that these units are both fairly easy to acquire and expected to be quite stable, so common sense dictates that "Next Business Day" hardware replacement options would be excessive in this situation (not to mention that we currently have a spare unit). However, if the ability to upgrade the firmware requires a software entitlement, then it would be in our best interest to obtain entitlements for all devices.

−	====Summary of wireless infrastructure====
−	Some quick facts to get you caught up with the wireless setup:
−
−	* The APs have static IP addresses.
−	* Most are configured to communicate on VLANs 1 and 2.
−	* IP routing is turned off.
−	* Much of the IPv6 functionality is turned off.
−	* The domain controllers are used for DNS resolution.

	====Adding staff devices to RADIUS====		====Adding staff devices to RADIUS====