A Look At Scaling Challenges of WLANs

College campuses are considered ground zero for WLAN scaling issues and discussion due to the large number of clients and high bandwidth usage for both wired and wireless users. Network World took a look at the challenges of scaling WLANs and what some colleges are doing about it.

Early WLANs focused on growing the number of access points to cover a given area. But today, many wireless administrators are focusing more attention on scaling capacity. That focus is a broad one, calling for a deeper understanding of what access points are capable of, and paying more attention to scaling back-end systems, servers and networks.

Just a random thought in my head... what if there was a way to have a generic "capacity" limit at each access point. And show how many people are connected. It wouldn't have to show their computer name or IP address assigned or anything. Just like a counter-strike server, 27/32 means 5 slots left so 5 more people could connect.

Meh...

i work at a college in Alberta, and wireless access is a big "selling" point of our campus...

we offer "free" wireless access to any student with a valid login

the only problem? we don't extend that to the dorms and we've had BIG issues connecting

all our stuff is Cisco based...including the software we force students to use to connect (the Cisco clean access agent) and it is pretty harsh.....but it helps protect our network infrastructure by forcing people to meet certain minimal antivirus/windows update restrictions before they can connect....

it's a HELLAVA nightmare for me and the others who deal with these students on a daily basis, but for the back end stuff, it's a lifesaver...too bad these guys don't deal with the students tho...*sigh*