Filton College in Bristol chose a wireless system to complement its new state-of-the-art campus and allow staff to flexibly deliver information learning technologies (ILT) within their academic programmes.

The WISE (West of England Institute of Specialist Education) campus houses the Bristol Academy of Sport, the South West Academy of Dramatic Arts and part of the Bristol School of Art, and these non-traditional vocational areas of education suit a wireless environment, says Filton’s IT team leader Bobby Wilson.

‘Wireless allows for dynamic teaching, including demonstrations in the sports hall, performance reviews in the gym, fitness analysis within the Astroturf arena and choreographing images within the dance studios,’ he says.

But Filton’s initial foray into wireless was not so successful, with connections continually lost and a high volume of user complaints to the IT support desk.

‘The existing wireless system had, among others, co-channel issues, shared bandwidth, multi-path issues, poorly configured power, poor access point locations and a low signal experience,’ says Wilson.

Thankfully, the second wireless deployment of Meru Networks equipment by Synaptics Solutions proved to be a success, with 31 MNT3050 access points installed across the campus in less than six weeks.

‘We underwent a trial period which allowed us to gain insight into how the wireless network was supposed to function and ensure we had the correct amount of coverage in the right places,’ says Wilson.

Security was a key concern, and the network is managed through MAC (message authentication code) authentication of devices. ‘The link between the wireless local area network (Lan) and the rest of the Lan had to be secure otherwise we could have unauthorised access to financial or student information,’ says Wilson.

‘The Meru system allows us to specify exactly who is allowed access through the wireless connection to either the Lan or the internet.’

Following installation and testing, onsite training began to provide the means for self-maintenance by the college, reducing support costs.

‘The skills transfer means we are able to troubleshoot ourselves. IT staff can now focus on other, more important issues facing the college’s IT infrastructure,’ says Wilson.

‘Users can move around the building into classrooms with laptops. At the moment, the network is available inside the buildings, covering all offices and corridors, but outside access will soon be available.’

Next week: the third part of Computing’s definitive guide to mobility focuses on skills and careers issues