Using Wireless Technology at a Small Urban Institution Bank Street College Copyright Christina D'Aiello and Arlen E. Rauschkolb, This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
Bank Street College
About Bank Street Location – Morningside Heights An interesting neighborhood
Bank Street - A Unique Institution School for Children Graduate School Continuing Education Family Center Liberty Program
The Challenge
Network Topology Current Location New Location ?
The Choices Leased T1 DSL/ISDN Wireless Laser Microwave Radio Frequency
Requirements Turnkey systems Voice mail 4 digit dialing Administrative databases Internet
The Choice - Laser Line of site Cost effective Reliable Easy integration
ICS – Infrared Communications Systems, Inc. 100 MB Laser – point to point Reliable (no intervention for recovery) Already successful in NYC
Equipment Phones: IP/MUX T1 cards for PBXs Data Wireless heads Core change - Business Policy Stack config for Bank Street North
Installation Site prep Fiber and power to roof Security for wireless head Mount equipment Alignment
Basic Design Bank Street Main Bank Street North
Bank Street Implementation
Operation/Management Check Link Stats Physical readings Link Manager Monitor network traffic
The Reality Traffic slowdown in the C level/Annex Lost link in fog Outages/saturations in clear weather
Issue: Traffic slowdown
Issue: Weather outages Fog Heavy Snow Heavy Rain
Issue: Saturations
Backup Solutions Data Local server for data/printing Phones Dedicated T1 Remote voice mail system
Conclusions Monitoring Investigate reasonable monitoring tools before a problem; pull copper to roof Contingency plans for all services Phones Data
Christina D’Aiello Arlen Rauschkolb