Campus Wireless Refresh

About this project

IST began a complete refresh of the Campus Wi-Fi network in 2020. The project is well underway, and hundreds of users are already connected to the new infrastructure. On this page you can find more information about the project, how it is progressing, and how to get support for Wi-Fi.

Project goals

Behind the scenes

Access Points

The new access points (AP) are Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) models; the latest enterprise Wi-Fi hardware available. The 802.11ax standard represents a multi-generational leap forward from the existing access points.

Controller-based Architecture

Over 6000 APs on campus do not run autonomously. All configurations, radio frequency (RF) management, and client traffic management is done by two pairs of highly available, geographically disperse, wireless LAN controllers (WLC).

In the event of a failure, each controller member can handle the entire AP load assigned to the pair. In the rare event that both members of one pair fail, the second pair of controllers can manage every AP on campus.

Wireless Core Routing

In 2019, IST completed a redesign of the wireless network core, which provided increased bandwidth and resiliency. Using this work as a starting point, the total wireless bandwidth has been upgraded to 80Gbps.

Login

The authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) system for wireless has been completely replaced. The distributed deployment of AAA services is ready to handle the ever-increasing number of wireless devices on campus. The system provides an extremely granular set of policy controls that will support local and guest clients.

Management and Analytics

The combined number of AP’s, users, devices and locations can make management and troubleshooting a network of this size extremely challenging. To support the infrastructure mentioned above, IST has deployed a next generation wireless management platform. The configuration of new APs, troubleshooting of wireless issues, and collection of statistics is all done in a single management interface. Baselines and behavioral analytics are automatically generated and compared with the current state of the network. The result is faster alerting of issues, and shorter time-to-resolution.

How you can help

Report issues

The new management system will help proactively identify areas of concern. However, filing of problem reports will continue to be important in quickly resolving wireless issues.

Keep your devices up-to-date

A leading cause of wireless issues for users is out of date device software. Android-based phones are particularly susceptible to software bugs that can prevent the device from joining an enterprise wireless network. Regularly updating your device software is recommended by most hardware vendors.

Remove private wireless APs

Private wireless access points, sometimes called “rogue APs”, can degrade wireless services provided by the University. The Linksys, Asus, or TP-Link wireless router sitting in your office, or in your residence room, can cause your neighbors to have a poor wireless experience. They may, in turn, decide to run their own rogue AP to mitigate the issues, causing a cascading effect.

If the University-provided wireless service is unable to meet a specific requirement, rogue AP approval can be requested.

For information about why rogue APs require approval, and the approval form, please see: https://uwaterloo.ca/information-systems-technology/about/organizational-structure/technology-integrated-services-tis/network-services-resources/wireless-what-you-need-know#rogues

Support

Please visit the links below for wireless support or submit a support request.

• Guest Wi-Fi
• Eduroam 

Building refresh status

All campus buildings with existing IST provided Wi-Fi are in scope for the wireless refresh. Once a building has been scheduled for replacements, it will be listed in the table below.

Buildings not listed are currently in the planning stages.