We are currently switching from distributed Cisco to central Juniper controllers . For us, it is the best way to accommodate the increased client count and increased service areas. We are multiplying our current number of APs by a factor of 5+ due to our increased coverage and capacity models. With thousands of Access points we need a central location to manage configurations and handle outages. Coordinating a self-healing coverage model with distributed APs can be very cumbersome.
Keith Noah University Information Technology Services University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Network Operations Center Cell:414-810-6789 Office:414-229-4972 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jacob Barros" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 9:51:30 AM Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Distributed WiFi model - Thin vs Thick debate revisited Hello all. We are seriously considering replacing our Aruba infrastructure in favor of a distributed model. We are having controller issues this academic year and the appeal of a controller-less model is strong. It feels like I am coming full circle to where I was six years ago. Though I know its not exactly the same, I went back to the thin vs thick debates in the archives. A few things stood out to me as considerations: One concern was vendor longevity. Another was whether or not the thick AP model would be able to keep up with the controller based architecture. An advantage of the controller based architecture that stood out to me was central processing, specifically regarding key exchange. Are these points still valid concerns? If your administration asked you to consider a distributed architecture, what other (vendor-neutral) concerns would you have? Thanks, in advance, for your opinions! Jake Barros | Network Administrator | Office of Information Technology Grace College and Seminary | Winona Lake, IN | 574.372.5100 x6178 ********** 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/.
