Summary of main points: * We will be upgrading equipment as well as redesigning our coverage plan
* Adding 802.11ac support and increasing density in the 5GHz band
* Phase I: Survey – April through May
* Phase II: Install – June through September (possibly October, contingent on unforeseen delays) [Update: please see timeline post below for live details]
* Engineers will need access to all spaces (offices, labs, classrooms, etc.) during both phases of the project (we cannot ensure good coverage for any area that is not surveyed properly!)
Beginning this week, engineers will be performing detailed surveys of Soda, Cory, and Sutardja Dai Halls in order to fully understand each space and its uses. Our current deployment was designed during a much earlier time in Wi-Fi’s history and was never intended to cope with the number of wireless devices in use today or the way in which we use them; it also includes some oddities such as access points being mounted in hallways where they have trouble reaching into offices and labs. This is being taken into account and access points will be moved into the areas where they will be used, which will require our engineers to fully explore all classrooms, labs, offices, and conference rooms. In addition to reevaluating where and how we place access points, we will be increasing density (more APs) and upgrading to newer and more powerful models which support 802.11ac.
This project is broken up into two main phases. As mentioned above, the survey phase is beginning this week, and will consist of detailed walkthroughs of all wireless locations. The second phase, which will begin after the current semester is concluded, will involve contractors running cables and installing the new access points.
The current wireless deployment will remain online until the new APs are fully installed, at which point we will switch over.
To ensure that our new design provides complete coverage, our engineers will need access to all spaces within EECS, including individual offices. We will do our best to work around busy people and spaces, but if possible please try to take a moment for us when we come around. Remember: we cannot ensure good coverage for any area that is not surveyed properly.
Please contact help@eecs.berkeley.edu with any questions or concerns. We appreciate your patience with the wireless network as of late, and look forward to providing a much higher level of service.
UPDATE
[2015-04-24 17:35:22 | Derek Calderon]
The survey phase has begun, and we wanted to share our estimated timeline for the project. This post will be updated as milestones are met or if the schedule changes for any reason. Please note that all future dates are estimates and may be changed due to pace of work or other complications.
Update 8/14: Due to a large number of unforeseen complications, we’re pretty far behind schedule and no longer anticipate having these upgrades complete in time for the fall semester. However, we are continuing to move forward and should have Soda and Cory live by the end of September or beginning of October.
###Areas Currently Live:
* Soda Hall all floors (except HP Auditorium)
* Cory Hall all floors (except second floor courtyard)
* Sutardja Dai Hall all floors (except Banatao Auditorium)
###Currently in Progress:
* Final AP activations and fine tuning
* Data collection and debugging
###Completed:
* Survey and design of Soda, Cory, and Sutardja Dai Halls (completed 5/22)
* Final design review (completed 6/4)
* Contract bids received (7/1)
* Contract bids awarded (7/6)
* Soda Hall cable pulls (8/14)
* Soda Hall cable testing and AP mounting (9/16)
* Cory Hall cable pulls and testing (10/8)
* Cory Hall AP mounting (10/8)
* Sutardja Dai cable pulls (10/19)
* Sutardja Dai cable termination, testing, and AP mounting (11/24)
UPDATE
[2015-07-21 16:18:34 | Derek Calderon]
The contractors are currently onsite; work began in Cory Hall on the 14th and will begin in Soda Hall on the 22nd. Sutardja Dai will begin after completion of Soda Hall. Time is of the essence and we are working hard to get as much done as possible before the fall semester commences.
Due to the nature of the work and our shortened timeframe, the contractors may not be able to coordinate access into individual offices ahead of time. We request your cooperation and courtesy in these instances, and at the end of this post there will be a link to the list of rooms where the contractors are expected to be working.
We would like to thank the entire EECS community for bearing with us during this project, and we look forward to the vastly improved wireless service that this project will help us to provide.
The list of rooms which will be receiving new wireless access points can be found here: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~dcalderon/aps2015.txt
Room numbers ending in “H” designate that the AP will be located in the hallway outside the specified room. Please note that while this is the complete list of AP locations, the contractors may need to enter adjacent rooms to assist in pulling the data cables. Therefore this list is NOT exhaustive and contractors MAY need to enter rooms which are not listed.
UPDATE
[2015-09-17 16:45:35 | Derek Calderon]
All AP installations in Soda Hall have been completed, and the third floor has been activated as a pilot. We expect to bring the entire building live in the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions, please contact dcalderon@berkeley.edu.
UPDATE
[2015-10-06 11:50:05 | Derek Calderon]
Soda Hall has been live on the new hardware for a couple of weeks now, and the Cory and Sutardja Dai installations are moving forward at a good pace. We anticipate that all three buildings may be live by the end of October. Upon completion of the primary work, network staff will install the final pieces of equipment in specialized areas such as the HP and Banatao Auditoriums.
Preliminary reports from Soda Hall have indicated that many people have seen a vast increase in network reliability from the new deployment, but we have also heard reports of areas which are not yet performing as desired. This is expected and we plan to spend good portions of November and December gathering data in the field, fine tuning our configuration, and debugging various troublesome areas.