Wireless Networking and JDL Technologies
Case Study
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Company:
JDL Technologies is a systems integration company specializing in enterprise integration of desktop management, enterprise wireless, security and regulatory compliance, high definition video conferencing communications, remote network monitoring and management Industry:
Education Region:
Florida with focus on South Florida Company Size:
7th largest public education enterprise in the U.S. Type Solution:
Enterprise Wireless deployment on 234 campuses with Cisco Systems including site survey, design, procurement, deployment, remote monitoring and management and maintenance. |
Business Challenge:
Provide high speed, secure access to network computing resources for students who are mobile to capitalize on the network resources in the district and the Internet resources for learning around the world. Reduce the cost of network refresh and expansion by focusing on wireless infrastructure. Solution:
JDL Technologies proposed a fully manageable wireless infrastructure based on Cisco’s LWAP product family and according to a design for secure, high speed, flexible signal strength management and rogue AP detection developed by JDL. Results:
Enterprise Wireless deployment on 234 campuses with 245 controllers, 5,500 access points, 40,000 wireless laptop computers and a peak load of 6,000 users per hour. |
The Challenge: Maximizing End User Access and Network Resource Availability
Making the most of wireless network resources is a dynamic endeavor. The wireless signal is the end, the controllers and access points provide the means. JDL Technologies proposed a cutting edge design; make network signal strength dynamic and automatic based on demand. Cisco’s LWAP technology absorbed AireSpace technology which was central to JDL’s design when the wireless enterprise deployment was initiated in 2002.
JDL offered Web and network access to more than 40,000 mobile laptop devices district wide without the cost of wiring and hubs in each classroom. Students and teachers, under a wired infrastructure design, would be forced into using mobile computer carts only where hubs or switches were available. The effort to connect and disconnect and the risk of damaging patch cables or gear was a measurable fact.
“Part of the problem is that students and teachers are both mobile in the secondary schools. Instructional needs change and the technology to support learning must be flexible enough to change with those needs,” reasons Dan Gesch, Sr. Systems Engineer for JDL.
Since JDL had already deployed the enterprise-wide wired network refresh, it was familiar with the issues and needs of the end users. JDL also operates a network operations center where the entire WAN and each LAN is monitored and managed from a central location according to service level agreements where agreements on available and response time are measured and maintained in end user terms. This experience enabled them to propose a solution that was solid but cutting edge in order to meet the challenge.
Why JDL Technologies?
Why JDL is a question that could be best answered by customers. JDL Technologies is a systems integrator with a long and successful history with key network and computing deployments.
Choosing a systems engineering firm is a key company decision. Businesses have needs and goals. JDL’s goal is to help you develop further the capacity of IT resources to enable the success of the enterprise.
- JDL wireless engineers are experienced with industry and manufacturer certifications. They can keep pace with your engineers but they know that the network is yours and they want to help you succeed.
- JDL has procured, installed and daily manages one of the largest wireless networks in the world with more than 7,000 access points and 40,000 wireless laptop computers within a single enterprise.
- JDL works collegially with its customers. We get along with our customers because we know our place and we know our stuff.
Best Practices
JDL Technologies is trained and certified in ITIL frameworks and has extensive experience monitoring network resources against Service Level and Quality of Service Agreements (SLA and QOS). JDL has even developed custom applications for monitoring service levels and making the service delivery measures visible to the enterprise over the Web.
While many are familiar with IT best practices, JDL has implemented systems for deployment and management which operationalize Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management and Configuration Management Database (CMDB) processes. JDL has deployed processes and tools for enabling effective application of the process for optimization of the end user experience with technology and for maximizing achievement of the vital business functions of the enterprise.
Results
The deployment of the enterprise wireless network by JDL was successful in the extreme. The following principles guided JDL as the wireless network was planned, designed and deployed:
- All decisions were based and focused on achieving business purposes and meeting both internal end user needs and customer requirements
- Planning and deployment was tested and measured in stages to assure viability of the design and deployment in order to avoid misfiring with budgets of money and time allocated for implementation
- Security, regulatory compliance and user privacy were indispensable goals of the deployment and technologies to achieve these were tested and implemented
- Flexibility of signal strength and bandwidth availability was crucial and were achieved through automatic load balancing, remote monitoring and management of the wireless enterprise
- Focus on Wi-Fi Alliance Certified Products and product manufacturers to assure interoperability, reliability, security and response time
- Leverage the independence of vendor neutrality and providing the best technology for the best value in pursuit of business goals
Today, the wireless enterprise is operating according to these principles and best practice processes. More than 40,000 wireless devices operate on the 234 local wireless networks with a peak of 6,000 devices per hour. The demand is balanced so each student and teacher maintains the amount of bandwidth required to meet their needs.
Working with JDL: An Example
Where do we begin our discussion of wireless systems with our customers?
JDL begins with two areas of data collection: 1) What does the enterprise aim to achieve by implementing wireless technology? and, 2) What is the environment, in detail, of the wireless system implementation or upgrade?
The answer to these questions comes in consultation with business and IT executives. This data collection phase will include a survey of business functions such as requirements for reliability, availability and security. Data collection also includes determining who and how many employees will use the wireless network, where and under what conditions. The analysis of the physical environment includes instrumentation of possible barriers to radio frequency signals with spectrum analysis.
All of this data turn helps us predict needs and design a solution to match. A good way to make a mistake is to guess. JDL does not guess.
A case study overview of the wireless systems pre-implementation analysis:
| Wireless Site Survey | Site Design to Achieve Business Goals | Design Phase One | Design Phase Two |
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Obtain business purposes for wireless system |
The environment of the business includes vital business functions and business goals. How is the achievement of these goals enabled by adding or upgrading wireless technology? |
Describe each application and the expectations of the end user. |
Define the specific business availability and reliability requirements on the wireless technology |
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Obtain scaled facility floor plan. Perform facility walk through to indicate:
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The wireless design grows out of survey users’ needs to determine the following:
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Map areas that need to be covered. Approximate location of Access Points. Approximate potential channel assignments for roaming coverage. |
Install test Access Points. Verify roaming coverage. Test security parameters. Determine types of additional antennas as required. |
What’s Next?
Experience firsthand what it is like to work with JDL. Contact JDL to discuss a project you have in mind. We’ll do four things that will help you look into how we operate:
- Discuss the goals of your project, the business functions it is intended to achieve and the benefits anticipated by management. We talk about what is already in place and how you see the implementation and integration. We’ll talk about the range of technology options and the advantages and disadvantages of them.
- Assess the current status of the infrastructure in order to anticipate the best path to implement and then integrate the new tools or resources. Provide a readiness assessment for the planned technology.
- Conduct some “hard science” assessments of the facilities to determine whether and how the solution you are looking into is feasible and prudent from a technology, business goals and cost stand point.
- Produce a proposal that shows how JDL can combine its resources with yours to achieve the goals of the technology project and of the business regarding the investment in the wireless technology.
In Summary
Wireless technology brings both advantages and potential pitfalls. JDL has the experience to leverage each advantage and remove every pitfall with effective planning and careful, proactive analysis of needs and technologies. This is no time to leave the decision a vendor alone. JDL’s certified, experienced capability with Wi-Fi focuses on making decisions that accommodate customer needs, goals and resources.
Contact JDL to begin a discussion of how to move to a fully mobile communications environment that enables the enterprise to communicate among colleagues and with customers in real time to make decisions and deliver products and services. Unified communications is not longer a technological “nice-to-have .” Ask JDL to define unified communications and describe how it can improve the competitive advantage of the enterprise.
