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Technology Conquering the Wireless Challenge How does a business school jump fully into wireless networking? Administrators at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, think they have the answers. Since they fully inte- grated a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology with the univer- sity's existing network of wired and wireless technologies provided by Cisco Systems Inc., they say they have lessons to share. "Wireless on a school campus has moved beyond the 'tipping point,'" says Kevin Baradet, chief technology officer at the Johnson School. Unlike a typical technol- ogy adoption curve, which is slow and steady, the "big bang" of wire- less chips preinstalled on laptops resulted in a significant critical mass of students and faculty requiring wireless access, he says. "I think this time last year, all the top business schools were surprised by how fast stu- dents shifted from wired to wireless technology," Baradet says. "In May 2003, our students were carrying drop cables and plugging into wire ports. By December 2003, nobody had them or wanted to use them." As a result, the Johnson School spent last year "catching up" to stu- dents, says Baradet, but now the school is ready to go. To complete its own transition from wired to wireless, the school used BeaconWorks WLAN, a product of Boston-based Chantry Networks. Before a full roll- out of a wireless community, however, Baradet notes that any business school should address a few key issues: Understand user needs. The latest lap- tops and handheld devices often need tweaking to access the network. 48 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 Therefore, a business school should ensure that its help desk is appropri- ately staffed and prepared at the be- ginning of each semester for a flood of new users needing support. Cut the cords. Few students come to business school expecting to "plug in" to a network. Installing ports should no longer be a priority. Include enough access points. Any large- scale deployment requires access points that provide a great coverage area, but those points are inexpensive to install and maintain, says Baradet. transition. Only by including all users in the process can a school ensure sat- isfied users and smooth deployment. Accommodate peak work times. A wire- A state-of-the-art wireless network needs to operate with the same quality of service of a wired network. It should not resemble a cellular network which often has gaps in coverage. The Johnson School, for example, has 32 access points, which can handle 1,000 simultaneous users checking e-mail or doing light Web surfing. At peak times, the network handles around 300 simultaneous users. Pay attention to building materials. The concrete in older buildings can block signals. Access points must be numer- ous enough to circumvent these ob- stacles and provide full coverage. Develop networks collaboratively. Suc- cessful wireless networks are devel- oped using a collaborative, rather than a top-down, process. Provide a liaison who will hear and voice the re- quirements of users throughout the less network should have enough ca- pacity to accommodate an academic community's peak traffic times. For corporations, this time is roughly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; however, a university population works differently. At the Johnson School, peak times happen between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and be- tween 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. Consider additional features. A wireless LAN alone may not meet a busi- ness school's needs. For example, professors may want to limit stu- dents' usage of wireless devices during classes. A wireless solu- tion that provides separate net- works to faculty gives them addi- tional control in the classroom. Integrate with current technology. No business school should build a wireless network from scratch, or be required to endure mas- sive upgrades when technology changes. It's wise to choose a solu- tion compatible with past and future technology. Develop a partnership with vendors. Chantry Networks is still heavily involved with the evolution of the Johnson School's wireless network, says Baradet, which will make the school's transition to future technol- ogy more seamless. The company also benefits from an ongoing part- nership, he adds. "We've become a development partner for its product," Baradet says. "We've given the company a lot of feedback and are essentially a testing lab. Chantry's staff see things happen- ing here that they couldn't imagine or create in their own testing environ- ment. So, they gain the knowledge to make the product even better."