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DESIGNING FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE

MAY 2012

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MOBILITY IS #1 ISSUE FACING ENTERPRISE IT TODAY

• Organizations increasingly depend on wireless to transform their business ­ Highly mobile workforce ­ Business processes relying on wireless and cloud access ­ Need for frequent, real-time interaction

• Redefining the way organizations interact with users ­ Enhanced productivity is the primary benefit of wireless investment

•  ‘Wireless First’ or ‘Wireless Only’ is the new reality ­ Raises the bar for network Reliability, Performance and Scalability

• Most of today’s wireless networks are not appropriately designed for these new requirements – design approaches must change

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TIM ZIMMERMAN

“Without Proper Planning, Enterprises Deploying iPads Will Need 300% More Wi-Fi.”

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WHAT ARE THE KEY DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR A WI-FI NETWORK?

• Start by defining areas to covered with floor plans for all buildings/areas

• What type of clients will be supported? ­ Laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.

• What bands do the supported client devices operate in? ­  2.4G and/or 5G

• What areas have high density requirements? ­ How many simultaneous clients in one area? ­ Average bandwidth needed per client?

–  500Kbps for general Internet access –  1Mbps to add basic streaming video – More for instructional or coordinated activities

• What are the construction materials?

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HOW IS THE TYPE OF DEVICE IMPORTANT TO THE WI-FI DESIGN?

• Different Wi-Fi devices operate fundamentally distinct from each other on the wireless network.

• With tablets/smartphones showing up everywhere on the network, they are the lowest common denominator for most designs today

Device 2.4GHz 5GHz Max Rate Survey Criteria

POS scanner X X 54Mbps Varies Location tags X NA > -60dBm Media Players (iPod Touch) X 65Mbps > -65dBm Smartphones (iPhone) X Few 65Mbps > -65dBm Tablets – low end (Kindle) X 65Mbps > -65dBm Tablets – mid/high end (iPad) X X 65Mbps > -65dBm Netbooks X Some 300Mbps > -70dBm Laptops X X 300Mbps > -70dBm

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RF DESIGN APPROACHES

• Two types of RF site surveys 1.  Predictive

•  Based on floor plans and other information provide by customer •  No equipment actually used •  Can be performed remotely if appropriate information available

2.  Active •  Live survey with actual equipment •  Conducted at the customer premise •  Optional pre-install if a good predictive design can be done, but should

always be done after install to verify the implementation

• Xirrus Wi-Fi Designer application incorporates both types

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WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT RF DESIGN BEST PRACTICES?

• Determine signal criteria required based on device usage: ­ Laptop usage = -70 dBm minimum RSSI ­ Smartphone/Tablet/VoWiFi usage = -65dBm minimum RSSI

• Design for coverage in all areas for both 5GHz and 2.4GHz • All locations should see multiple radios

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HOW DO YOU DESIGN FOR WI-FI CAPACITY?

• Methodology ­ Determine mix of 2.4G and 5G radios

•  If primarily smartphones, maximize 2.4GHz, but also provide full 5GHz •  If tablet and laptop use also, increase percentage of 5GHz radios

­ Determine per radio bandwidth by dividing max data rate by 3 •  20Mbps per radio for tablets and smartphones (65Mbps max rate) •  100-150Mbps per radio for laptops if 11n (300-450Mbps max rate)

­ Determine radio count per Wi-Fi band •  Radios = (Devices * BW per Device) / BW per Radio

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HOW DO YOU DESIGN FOR WI-FI CAPACITY?

• General guidelines for device density per radio ­ High performance = <5 (Ethernet replacement) ­ Medium performance = <15 (General laptop & tablet support) ­ Low performance = <40 (General Internet access)

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WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES FOR ULTRA-HIGH DENSITY DESIGN?

1.  Maximize 5GHz ­  Band steer devices to 5GHz if they support, minimize 2.4G

2.  Disable 11n bonding ­  Maximizes number of 5GHz channels for the design

3.  Limit SSID count ­  Each adds significant overhead to the Wi-Fi channel

4.  Turn off 11b ­  Very few 11b only clients out there, negatively impacts performance

5.  Filter traffic ­  Keep peer-to-peer, broadcasts, netbios, Bonjour, etc. off the air

6.  Rate limit clients ­  500Kbps cap for general browsing, higher if additional services (video)

7.  IP addressing ­  Ensure big enough space allocated and DHCP lease times limited

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WHO IS XIRRUS?

• Vision

­ Wireless replaces wired as the primary choice for network access.

• Mission

­ Lead the transformation from wired to wireless by providing the most powerful, scalable and trusted access solutions to organizations who increasingly depend on wireless.

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THANK YOU