Wireless Networking Policy and Process at UNC-Chapel Hill

As ATN Networking has been mandated by the University to manage the campus network "from the wall-plate to the Internet", in order to ensure reliability, integrity and interoperability, it is also the responsibility of ATN Networking to ensure the integrity and appropriate use of the campus "radio space" in terms of wireless networking.

Even more so than with traditional wired networking technology, 802.11 wireless networking has a multitude of issues that can "step on" or conflict significantly with campus wireless services. Channel allocations, device placement, access point configuration all have the potential to disrupt the critical campus wireless networking service.

Compliance with the policies and guidelines below will reduce service problems for everyone and provide a more robust campus system. Therefore, just as is the case with the campus wired network infrastructure, schools and departments at UNC-Chapel Hill who fail to fully coordinate with ATN Networking can cause clearly avoidable problems. In order to minimize such problems, systems failing to comply with the guidelines listed below will be identified, located, and disconnected until the problems are resolved.

The policy and process, then, is as follows:

1. Any school or department that wishes to pursue having 802.11 wireless networking within their building or for their department needs to have a Remedy ticket to arrange for an appropriate site survey by ATN Networking to assess the requirement for wireless connectivity, determine how many access points/radios are needed and where the optimum location for placement of these radios would be. The ticket can be submitted one of two ways: 1) submit a request via the web (select the Request Help button at the bottom of the page and select Type of Help - "Wireless Networking", or 2) call 962-HELP.
   
   
2. If the purpose of the wireless connectivity is for departmental administrative/faculty/staff connectivity, the department is responsible for all costs associated with the equipment and any wiring that might be required; however, ATN Networking will provide all installation, configuration, maintenance and management of the access point(s) at no charge to the department. ATN Networking would provide specific details as to what would need to be purchased and from where.
   
   
3. If the purpose of the wireless connectivity is to provide wireless capability within one or more classrooms, a request for central funding for this purpose needs to be directed to the University's Classroom Committee, chaired by Rick Peterson. Email can be sent to Rick at rick_peterson@unc.edu. Should the Classroom Committee approve your request for classroom wireless connectivity, the costs for the access point and installation wiring will be covered centrally by ATN Networking.
   
   
4. The University has established the Cisco/Aironet product line as the standard for 802.11 wireless access points. Access points from any other vendor are not acceptable and if any non-standard access points are identified, it will result in a lengthy stay in the Penalty Box (i.e. the devices will lose connectivity from the network). If the non-standard access point is adversely affecting campus wireless service, the non-standard unit will be located and disconnected. The Cisco/Aironet access points and network cards are available for purchase from the RAM Shop in Student Stores.
   
   
5. If a school or department has a legacy non-standard wireless access point that was installed prior to the establishment of these policies, that school/department must arrange with ATN Networking for a site survey to assess the coverage radius and to document all relevant settings associated with that access point. If ATN Networking determines that that access point needs to be configured at a different frequency or with different settings, the school/department responsible for that unit must do so as quickly as possible. Furthermore, ATN Networking will not provide any maintenance or management support for those non-standard units.
   
   
6. Even if a school or department purchases a Cisco/Aironet access point, if it has not been installed in consultation with ATN Networking and a problem or radio interference is traced to these access points, they will be identified, located and disconnected until the appropriate issues have been resolved.

Failure to follow these aforementioned policies and procedures in terms of wireless networking will result in any non-compliant devices being completely disconnected from electrical power and from the network until there is compliance.

It is important to keep in mind the fact that wireless technology is and will for the foreseeable future a shared bandwidth technology (like old shared Ethernet hubs). As such, services that rely on appropriately configured switched electronics, like IP Multicast, will not effectively work in a wireless environment. If there are any specific questions not addressed above, please submit a Remedy ticket or contact the IT Response Center at 962-HELP.

Jim Gogan
Director, ATN Networking