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World's Largest WLAN: Ohio State?
Eventually, according to Aruba Networks
Aruba networks is claiming that they're deploying the world's largest WLAN at Ohio State University. Ohio State believes that up to 10,000 APs may be required for optimal coverage of the 25 million square foot campus. At the moment, there are 1,700 APs installed in 31 buildings (the campus has 400).
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rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL

1 edit

rachelsfx

Member

Soon

Ohio State students will be able to login to MySpace anywhere!

aztecnology
O Rly?
Premium Member
join:2003-02-12
Murrieta, CA

aztecnology

Premium Member

Re: Soon

File this under, BFD...

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH

1 recommendation

dslwanter to rachelsfx

Premium Member

to rachelsfx
College students use Facebook since most aren't pedophiles.

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Ok

How long before the system slows up. From web surfing to P2P(unless blocked)to downloading pron stuff like that. In the article they were using Voip so better use a strong backbone.

just my .02

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

Re: Ok

Most, if not all, of OSU's campus is likely wired already and many people there will continue to use those hard-wired connections vs wireless. I'm also sure that OSU has bandwidth that many countries do NOT have !
GigahertZ420
join:2001-10-02
Fairbanks, AK

GigahertZ420

Member

I have seen their network

I have been to their campus and seen their network. It is quite impressive. They have plenty of bandwidth for the campus. They have many buildings and they are often very far from each other. Creating a wireless network that covers all of that territory without dropping signal in between will be quite an accomplishment.
garosenb
join:2005-12-31
Madison, WI

garosenb

Member

Buckeye

Build the hugest WLAN around...Buckeye!
truocchio
join:2004-07-05
Miami Beach, FL

truocchio

Member

The right way to get wifi coverage

If google calculator serves me correct the 25 mil sq ft is about one sq mile. This system would use 10,000 ap's in that sq mile to get the required coverage. Compare this to the muni deployments of 30 -50 aps per sq mile and you can start to see the real reason wireless guys and rf engineers are against muni wifi. They simply cannot achieve their stated goals based on the number of radios they are planning to deploy. And when they fail they will blame it on wireless not their poor planning, simplistic approaches and so far failure for execution.

Cities should take some notes before spending tax money or even bond money on wi-fi. Now muni fiber, there is a different story

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

1 recommendation

Hall

MVM

Re: The right way to get wifi coverage

Muni wireless setups typically don't attempt to go *inside* buildings. If it works, great. If it doesn't, too bad, that wasn't the intention. The 25 million sq ft simply isn't open grassy areas, but office buildings, dorms, classrooms, etc, etc. Go inside a steel frame building you might need multiple APs just for one building. The APs right outside the walls may not penetrate strong enough.

ehurtley
join:2001-11-24
Portland, OR

ehurtley

Member

Umatilla County, Oregon?

While Ohio State may win in most APs, I think Umatilla County, in rural Northeastern Oregon, wins for largest area.

As someone else mentioned, 25 million square feet is about 1 square mile. Umatilla County's multi-county WLAN covers about 700 square miles. With "35 towers and 75 antennas," according to the only article I can find that mentions numbers.

But... This isn't meant to cover a dense downtown, or large university buildings. The largest town in the area is Hermiston, a city of less than 15,000. I still find 10,000 APs to be incredible. What, did they build their campus out of lead?!

Also, the other OSU already operates a nearly-campus-wide WiFi net, as well.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

1 edit

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Umatilla County, Oregon?

said by ehurtley:

Also, the other OSU already operates a nearly-campus-wide WiFi net, as well.
I thought you meant the other real OSU
Okman5
join:2001-10-01
92714

1 edit

Okman5

Member

big Microwave

10,000 APs in a sq. mi. sounds like walking through a big microwave. Can the brain fry?

insomx
Premium Member
join:2003-01-26
Canada

insomx

Premium Member

Re: big Microwave

said by Okman5:

10,000 APs in a sq. mi. sounds like walking through a big microwave. Can the brain fry?
I was thinking about the free heat someone may get there (kidding)

osumba2001
join:2000-12-11
New Albany, OH

osumba2001

Member

TBDWLANITL

The Best Damn WLAN In The Land



For those who don't know, this is a spoof of the OSU slogan "The Best Damn Band In The Land")
thekiefs
join:2005-11-14
Newbury Park, CA

thekiefs

Member

WiMAX Anyone?

Seriously now, such a long process like this could have immediate benefits with Wi-MAX v. Wifi here...

AdamB0
join:2001-01-07
Columbus, OH

AdamB0

Member

It's nice

It's very very nice. There are very few places on campus you can't get some sort of connectivity. I cannot wait to get my MacBook and take advantage of it. The lecture halls I've been in are connected with antennas all over the hall, so if the lecture gets boring you can surf the net! Or download the notes from the professors website and follow along.

calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA

calvoiper

Member

Re: It's nice

Sounds like it's not a place for the EMF-wary crowd....

calvoiper

kremit
Super Tux
join:2001-12-20
Columbus, OH

kremit

Member

Wired network horrible in places

I'm an Ohio State student. This is great, but yet the wired network is still horrible in certain areas... on West Campus where I work -- yes, OSU is so large that we have 2 giant parking lots surrounded by buildings, and this is 1/4 mile from Central Campus -- most of our building is still using Cat-3 wiring from 15 years ago. The university has refused our upgrade proposals for the past 3 years. The finally upgraded the border router to Gigabit, however, so it's a step.
phasr
join:2001-05-29
92201-9605

phasr

Member

Comment

Someone had to have that "top spot," why not Ohio State?