University of Queensland to deploy largest 802.11n WLAN - UPDATED

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 28 May 2009 12:42

IT Industry - Strategy

The University of Queensland aims to deploy the largest 802.11n wireless network using Cisco gear and also to deploy the largest Cisco TelePresence network in Asia Pacific  in a tertiary institution. (Changes are shown in italics)

Cisco says it can confidently make the claim that the University's deployment will be the largest of standard 802.11n access points because "[Cisco is] one of the first vendors to ship industry standard .11n Access Points and Cisco’s corporate Wireless Business Unit has verified it's the largest deployment of .11n access points worldwide."

The standard is not  yet finalised. That is not expected to happen until January 2010. However, Cisco says that the Wi-Fi Alliance has been conducting compatibility testing since June 2007 to ensure interoperability of products adhering to the 802.11n draft 2.0 standard and that this certification, to which some 450 products conform, has become the de facto standard for 802.11n. 

According to Cisco, its Aironet access point was selected as the reference platform for the WiFi Alliance test bed and all products receiving WiFi Alliance 802.11n draft 2.0 certification must be tested with the Cisco Aironet 1250 Series access point.

The university will deploy some  4,000 Cisco Aironet 1520 and 1140 Series 802.11n wireless access points across campuses, including some on the ‘City Cat’ ferry in Brisbane. The network will extend to the university’s working mine site at Indooroopilly, the marine research centre on Herron Island, 80 kilometres off the coast of Queensland, and the agricultural and veterinary science campus located in Gatton, also 80kms from the main campus at St Lucia.
 
The Cisco TelePresence  network will comprise four TelePresence  System (two participants and two Cisco TelePresence System 3200 units capable of seating up to 18 participants in one room.

The university serves close to 38,000 students from more than 110 countries and has around 15,000 staff, 774 buildings, four major campuses and another 45 sites throughout Queensland, including two islands in the Great Barrier Reef. It claims that, "by providing a seamless connected campus experience previously unseen in a university environment, this multimillion-dollar investment will transform the academic experience for students and staff."

Cisco says the university selected its equipment for its reliability and performance. "Notable features include Cisco’s innovative M-Drive technology [a set of network optimisation and configuration tools] which enhances 802.11n performance while simplifying the ongoing operations of the wireless network."