IU Secure boosts wireless access points, reliability

IU Secure is now more stable and reliable, UITS representatives said.
UITS recently announced a “boost” in IU Secure’s 5,000 wireless access points, the end result of a five-month, $3.2 million upgrade plan that was completed in March.
“I believe that it is more stable,” said Dave Hunter, the network design engineer for the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. “The complaints we are having now are focused on individuals as opposed to large groups of people.”
The upgrade focused on strengthening and replacing the access points that already existed across campus, a “like for like” replacement process, Hunter said.
Engineers sought to improve the IU Secure connection in high-density areas, such as Herman B Wells Library, as well as system scalability to make wireless better-able to handle spikes in usage.
IU Secure hit peak usage during the first week of class this year, with 17,650 devices connected to IU Secure at one time. Connectivity averaged 8,505 devices in the first week of class, Hunter said.
UITS is still examining wireless coverage in the residence halls, Hunter said.
Since the buildings are constructed of concrete blocks, wireless signals sometimes struggle to get through. But Mark Spencer, manager of campus network engineering for Bloomington and Indianapolis, said engineers are now better equipped to handle any problems users might  have.
“If we do have an issue, we have much better tools to go in and diagnose whatever the issue is,” Spencer said.
The upgrade did not fix all coverage gaps, Spencer said, but those coverage gaps often aren’t noticed until someone tries to use wireless in that area and contacts UITS.
Classrooms are a real example of this, as students or faculty may not have tried to access wireless in those areas in the past, but need to now, he said.
The upgrade has so far been considered a success, Hunter said. UITS no longer receives as many calls on the weekend to fix service, he said, and added that he hadn’t seen stability problems in the new system so far.
“It doesn’t go down,” he said. “We were trying to meet certain goals, and we met most all of them.”

Follow reporter Kathryn Moody on Twitter
 @KatMMoody.