Structure of Wireless Andrew

We have installed a new IEEE 802.3 backbone network on-campus. We use this backbone to connect the WavePOINT units in each building (through a separate router located in the main campus data communications facility) with the rest of the campus wired network. In each building, each WavePOINT is connected to a SynOptics IEEE 802.3 10BaseT hub located either in the buildings master wiring closet or in a remote wiring closet on the floor of the building. These hubs, in turn are connected by multimode fiber cable to a 10BaseT hub which is central to the high-speed wireless network. This hub connects to a Cisco router. The WavePOINT units and hubs are powered by the campus 110 VAC system.

This structure allows us to operate the high-speed wireless network independent of the campus network. We will use this arrangement until we are absolutely sure that the wireless network is stable. This structure also allows us to separate traffic on the wireless LAN backbone network from traffic on the rest of the network. The Cisco router connecting the wireless backbone to the rest of the campus filters packets based on destination address and only passes packets to and from the wireless backbone as needed. For example, this allows us to avoid passing the packets used for the WaveAROUND sign on protocol between the mobile computer's old and new WavePOINT access point over the main campus network backbone.

Started in 1994, the research version of Wireless Andrew uses Lucent's WaveLAN I product, which operates at 915 MHz. The full production version uses Lucent's WaveLAN II product, which operates at 2.4 GHz and is compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard.