Hi Lee, We were approached by a company called MobileIP to trial their solution on our local bus. We have not had the time to participate, but below is a link to their website.
http://www.mobileip.com.au/ Regards, Peter. Peter Arbouin Network Engineer Network Operations Centre, ITS Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, QLD, Australia PH: (07) 313 81030 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Barber, Matt Sent: Thursday, 20 November 2008 11:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless coverage for bus riders Hi Lee, We have done very limited testing of this on our campus. A few of the groups we have taken on tours (the same one we gave you actually!) have kept a laptop open and connected during the entire time. We were probably driving at around 15-25 MPH through the campus. They haven't done much more than keep a continuous ping going, but they have been able to keep a connection during that time, missing only a few here and there when we got really far from a building. For casual use, I think it could work. I am gearing up for a full Meru Virtual Cell deployment throughout the entire campus in the near future. When it is deployed all over campus, I will repeat the same driving test and let you know how it looks. That ought to be a pretty fun time actually :) Take care, Matt Barber Network Analyst / PC Support Morrisville State College 315-684-6053 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lee H Badman Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:45 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless coverage for bus riders No arguments on the science. At the same time, I'd love to hear from folks that have big honkin' 802.11-based mesh networks, as I've gotta think there is some from-within-the-vehicle-while-rolling use occurring on.11 topologies at city driving speeds in these environments. Fully realizing that some of the other lesser known 802.11 working groups (like .11r) are better suited for reference in this line of dialogue, I guess I'm thinking that at least on our campus, there's a fair amount of bus stop-and-go, considering all of the bus stops, stop signs, traffic-related slowdowns, etc. So if I had a shuttle route of say a mile and a half, the typical AVERAGE speed of the bus might be 10 or 15 MPH, despite the posted limit being 30. Then let's say that the casual user was trying to do email, or basic web functions for their 10 or 15 minutes of suffering through potentially 10 stops until they got to their own- not enough time to get into heavier activities (if you mention voice, I'll ignore you)- it seems like circumstantially you get closer to being able to pull it off. But then there are questions like "and what have you really gained with all of this?" I do realize. Again, just letting the mind wander a bit on the topic. Lee -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonn Martell Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:14 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless coverage for bus riders Hi Lee, The reason why I'm not optimistic about WLAN outside-in for this use is because it was never designed to provide roaming at anything more than walking speeds. I'm sure that some vendors are better than others using proprietary ways but in my vehicular tests on campus, the roaming capability didn't prove to be a success. Even bicycle speeds might be too much. For a modern day WLAN network to be a success (IMHO), they would have to implement Enterprise WPA2 and if you think we have re-authentication fun on a campus mobile level, I can just imagine doing this at a XX AP per second level while moving on a bus. I'd advocate that a per-bus Wi-Fi AP is the best architecture. The outside-to-outside(WWAN)+inside-to-inside(WLAN) wireless seems to be the best architecture especially in regards to user experience, frequency reuse and power management. ... Jonn Martell, [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.martell.ca On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 5:56 PM, Lee H Badman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi John- > > Actually some busses have gone the route you describe. Here's one in San > Francisco: > http://thecityfix.com/the-wireless-on-the-bus-makes-the-wheels-go-round- > and-round/ > and a bus line in Singapore does it as well, for examples. > > But back to my notion of outside-in coverage... > > If you think about the classic activity of war-driving, you're typically > trying to find wireless networks from within a vehicle, which is largely > a rolling Faraday cage- just like a bus. I have external antennas, but > rarely bother with them during my often very successful, shall we say, > "explorations" in this area. > > So perhaps another somewhat simplistic way of looking at the idea of > outside-in coverage for rolling busses is that you're setting up a > really good war-driving target for passengers (as casual users) to be > able to "find" and use. Seems like even a less-than-optimal WiFi > "corridor" along a 30 MPH or less bus route *may* provide throughputs as > good as a cellular-based access point that's at one end of a bus full of > signal-attenuating people. > > Maybe. Not really trying to prove a point- just free wheelin' here:) > > -Lee > > > > Lee H. Badman > Wireless/Network Engineer > Information Technology and Services > Syracuse University > 315 443-3003 > > -----Original Message----- > From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonn Martell > Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 7:01 PM > To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU > Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless coverage for bus riders > > Hi Lee, > > I would not even dare to do it with WLAN if the plan is to get > connectivity to a moving bus from outside the bus. If the goal is to > get users connectivity in a non-moving bus, not sure how significant > that would be for users (how long do buses stay stationary?). > > To make it of real use, I would use licensed stuff (3G and 4G) to the > moving bus and have an AP inside the bus for end-user connectivity. > Not sure why the transportation and transit systems haven't gone that > route (no pun intended!). > > ... Jonn Martell, [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.martell.ca > > On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 12:26 PM, Lee H Badman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> In the name of "what if", wondering if any school has installed >> infrastructure specifically intended to provide WLAN to bus riders on >> campus? I'm talking strictly outside-in coverage, no radio magic on > the bus >> itself. If so, how's it working for you and just as important, do you > get >> the sense that anyone appreciates it? >> >> >> >> Regards- >> >> >> >> Lee >> >> >> >> Lee H. Badman >> >> Wireless/Network Engineer >> >> Information Technology and Services >> >> Syracuse University >> >> 315 443-3003 >> >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this > EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > > ********** > Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent > Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > > ********** > Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
