Juniper wlan highdensity_webinar
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The document discusses the challenges and solutions for implementing high-density WLAN networks, particularly in environments like Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. It highlights a testing event conducted by Juniper Networks to evaluate performance under high client loads, revealing that the network maintained stability and performance despite substantial device demands. Key takeaways emphasize the importance of testing WLAN systems for high density, the impact of BYOD trends, and the benefits of careful design in managing network resources.
Juniper wlan highdensity_webinar
- 1. MISSION CRITICAL WLAN IN HIGH DENSITY ENVIRONMENTS
- 2. 2 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net
- 3. 3 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net INTRODUCTION Lane Timmons Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Joe Bilbro Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Phil Belanger Novarum Ken Biba Novarum Tim McCarthy Juniper Networks
- 4. 4 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net AGENDA 1. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center High Density Problems and Solutions 2. Juniper High Density BYOD Testing with Novarum Test event in Sunnyvale, CA Test Results and Observations 3. Key Takeaways
- 5. 5 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER Major American research university Founded 1969, West Texas Over 10,000 users with multiple devices 4,000 students, 6,000 faculty and staff Challenge Students unhappy with wireless access Legacy 802.11bg WLAN network Need 802.11n WLAN to support high density requirements Students connect 2-4 laptops, tablets, smartphones Key need: high density High quality wireless service in dense university environments
- 6. 6 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net Result: Juniper delivered the best end user experience LIVE VENDOR EVALUATION Setup – high density client environment Vendors configured/calibrated system prior to test 200 students invited to participate in evaluations during lunch hour Typical large classroom setting Each student ran tests with 2-4 wireless devices Multiple tests performed: web, youtube video, news site/data, HD streaming video Evaluation Qualitative assessment of end-user experience for each data type: good, average, bad Final question comparing experience to home network
- 7. 7 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net NEXT STEPS Juniper selected for new high density 11n network Partnered with Juniper, designed for high density locations Initial rollout 1300 APs, completed 2013 Continuing to deploy additional APs to service high density area
- 8. 8 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net 5 3 4 2 1 POLL QUESTION #1 The highest amount of users at one location that my organization regularly provides Wireless LAN services to is: 10-20 20-50 50-100 100-250 250+
- 9. 9 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net WHY TEST HIGH DENSITY BYOD trend is driving increased density Device diversity and high density is the new reality Customer deployments are getting bigger and becoming mission critical Be confident your WLAN vendor understands High Density
- 10. 10 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net CHALLENGES How to narrow the test scope to something meaningful No test scenario is perfect, how to get as close as possible Testing Wi-Fi with real devices in real world settings is hard RF is messy, how to get reproducible test results
- 11. High Density Wi-Fi High Density is the new normal Wireless is the edge network for enterprises Explosion of mobile devices BYOD Cellular offload WLANs are being pushed to their limits demand for wireless access is exploding technology is improving but spectrum is limited Core Wi-Fi technology is very mature Must design WLAN deployments for high density Subtle changes in system design can make large differences in system performance 11 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 12. Testing Approach Test with real clients in a real environment Over the air testing Typical clients Repeatable tests Ixia Chariot scripts High Throughput TCP tests push system to limit Consistent configuration for WLAN infrastructure Same locations, channels and power levels Consistent configuration for clients Tools to observe system behavior Packet capture, spectrum analyzer Controller system logs, Chariot results 12 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 13. Important Metrics System performance is affected by subtle differences in high density WLAN features and configuration Load Balancing and Band Steering How are clients distributed across the APs? Utilization What is channel utilization? Are all channels used effectively? Fairness Are all clients getting fair access to the system? Error Rate Retry Rate If retries become too high system can collapse. Client behavior Do laptops get better service than smartphones? 13 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 14. Test Setup Facility 1000 seat auditorium in Sunnyvale, CA Clean RF environment Configured for 300 seats in theatre arrangement Client Devices 300 real devices Mix of iDevices, PCs, Macs, Android, tablets and smartphones Traffic generation tool installed on each device Network 6 WLA532 3x3 3-stream 11n APs 2 WLC880 controllers EX Virtual Chassis SRX Cluster 14 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 15. Client Configurations A variety of clients - smartphones, laptops, tablets Three different client populations - All, Half, Third Auditorium style seating - row letter, seat number Each client machine is assigned a name and location that never changes, same client in same seat Evenly distributed throughout the space 15 Copyright Novarum 2013 Channel Configuration
- 16. Overall Results Maximum aggregate throughput was 483 MBPs for this configuration We saw throughput over 625 Mbps when using more 5 GHz channels For the tests generating the highest load, “BiDir” and “Max Thruput”, peak system capacity with half client load Throughput declined with All Clients Gradual decline Stable system performance at the highest load 16 Copyright Novarum 2013 # Clients BiDir Thruput Max Thruput Low Thruput All 302 423 433 311 Half 156 479 483 312 Third 95 454 442 231
- 17. Detailed Results Max Throughput, Half Clients Chariot throughput results Each line is throughput results for a TCP stream 156 clients with 221 separate streams in this test Low error rate Most streams under 4 Mbps Throughput fairly even across all of the clients/streams 17 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 18. Detailed Results Max Throughput, Half Clients Channelyzer screen captures show channel usage All 5 GHz channels are being used Channel 165 is shared by 2 APs and is only 20 MHz Band steering worked well 2.4 GHz channels were almost fully utilized in all of the tests Channel 44+ had higher utilization also had higher retry rate... 18 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 19. Overall Observations Error rate rises with increasing client load as expected Retry rate remains fairly flat with increasing client load This is surprising and positive System is stable under very high load Some clients have higher retry rates Win7 and Win8 had very high retry rates on most tests Mobile clients surprisingly good 19 Copyright Novarum 2013
- 20. 20 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net 3 4 2 1 POLL QUESTION #2 The performance of my current wireless network is: Excellent Average Adequate Poor
- 21. 21 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net JUNIPER HIGH DENSITY TEST TRIVIA 302 clients 1.5 days to setup 3 days of testing .5 day to tear down ~30 perf tests per vendor, 3 vendors, over 100 test runs Typical 30sec packet capture of one 5Ghz channel = ~500,000 packets 12GB of compressed log files, packet captures, script output
- 22. 22 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net WHAT WE LEARNED Clients in high density environments, under the most demanding load, can still access the Juniper network to get their work done Major network failures did not cause any disruption to the WLAN network Many factors influence High Density design (see whitepaper for more info)
- 23. 23 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net HOW HIGH DENSITY DESIGN CAN AFFECT THE BOTTOM LINE Lower Capex Proven to meet BYOD demands of today and tomorrow No need to purchase and deploy more APs as client population increases Lower Opex Fewer system failures Fewer client trouble calls Fewer devices to manage Higher utilization of network resources Increased productivity of IT
- 24. 24 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net QUESTIONS FOR YOUR WLAN VENDOR Do you test WLAN at high densities with BYOD devices? Can your system continue operation in the event of major network failures? If so, what is the recovery time? Is performance for all clients on the system maintained as density increases?
- 25. 25 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net KEY TAKEAWAYS BYOD is driving new levels of scale in all customer networks of all sizes Testing at this level is a requirement for the new network Testing at full capacity proves system readiness to support high performance for High Density networks Resiliency at scale is critical for delivering High Density WLAN networks Customers should consider doing their own “taste tests” like Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 5 3 4 2 1
- 26. 26 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net 3 4 2 1 POLL QUESTION #3 My workforce is: Highly mobile Somewhat mobile Mostly fixed Not mobile/wireless
- 27. 27 Copyright © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. www.juniper.net