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Focus

New Wireless Standard Connects VARs with College Campuses

By: Linda L Briggs

9/16/2008

As the new, yet-to-be-finalized 802.11n wireless LAN standard picks up steam in higher education, it offers great business potential for VARs with expertise in wireless networks. In particular, smaller schools are rich opportunities, both because there are far more of them and because they are less likely to have adequate wireless expertise on staff.

In that vein, KOR Systems, a networking solutions firm based in Gainesville, GA, was instrumental in helping Emmanuel College, a 700-student private college deep in Georgia, move this summer to an 802.11n wireless network from Ruckus Wireless. KOR is a networking solutions firm based in Gainsville, GA; it works with at least two wireless vendors, including Ruckus.

Although KOR's primary focus is the hospitality industry, KOR IT Design Engineer Bernard Davis brought an understanding of the education market to the project along with his wireless expertise. "Schools are very budget-constrained right now," Davis said--something that became clear during the bidding process for the project. When Davis saw that various vendor bids to install a new wireless network at Emmanuel were all far too expensive for the tiny college, he revamped the KOR bid to focus only on the residence halls, bringing the price down significantly.

Testing the Standard
In August, he helped the college install two Ruckus controllers and 31 access points; reaction from students in the first few weeks of school has been positive so far. The school plans to add additional access points as needed based on usage feedback and testing.

The 802.11n standard is expected to be ratified in final form in late 2009. However, a number of vendors are already offering 802.11n equipment built to the latest draft version of the standard, on the assumption that little will change between now and final approval. Also, many notebook computers offer 802.11n capabilities already; for those that don't, 802.11n access points can "step down" to accommodate other wireless standards on devices, such as the commonly used 802.11g.


Because the standard isn't final yet, Davis said it's important to reassure customers that the hardware portion of the standard is virtually certain to remain unchanged. The software portion of the standard may change, he conceded, but said that Ruckus offers free software upgrades that will address that if necessary.

Case Study: Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, had plenty of standalone 802.11g wireless access points scattered across its 150-acre campus. But the campus was also dotted with sturdy vintage buildings with thick walls, brick exteriors, and other structural impediments common to higher education. Connectivity to wireless access points (APs) would disappear and reappear, inconveniencing both students and faculty and causing huge headaches for the IT staff. "We had a lot of complaints," according to Leo Satara, the IT director at Emmanuel. "There were constant problems, and students complained a lot. We just couldn't manage it or see what was going on."