Introduction

This chapter will take you through the detailed steps in designing a wireless campus network. The steps in this chapter are paramount to the success of any wireless design and implementation project. This chapter will describe the basic characteristics of a campus network, and what we use to define a campus architecture. After reading this chapter, you should have enough information to determine if the project you are working on fits into the campus model. We will also uncover the potential pitfalls in designing and implementing a wireless network and the capabilities available to overcome those issues. In general, our use of the term campus refers to a university, hospital, or company that resides in an area such that all the buildings in that area belong to the organization; the hospital case study in Chapter 6 focused on the particular needs of a medical facility in avoiding problems with interference. A typical requirement of campus networks is the increased mobility or an always connected capability for the individuals present at that campus. Note also that although we use the term campus in the subsections, these principles pertain to all wireless network designs in varying degrees.