The purpose of a campus WLAN is to serve as an access system that
incorporates complete mobility. WLANs allow users to access information from
unwired places outdoors, in dining halls or informal study spaces, from
classroom seats and, even, the athletic fields. However, campus WLANs should
not be viewed as a replacement for a wired environment, but rather as a way to
add more functionality to the existing network.
A campus-wide wireless
overlay easily provides networking in hard to reach or temporary locations.
These are places that might have otherwise been left out altogether. Cisco
Aironet 1100 and 1200 access points and Aironet 350 bridges integrate well with
Cisco Ethernet switches, which are typically used in a campus environment. Many
of the elements of such a campus-wide deployment are pictured in Figure
. Several
switches, including the Catalyst 3500 and 6500 series, provide in-line power.
This eliminates the need for additional power sources for connected APs.
One of the biggest benefits of a campus WLAN is the ability for people to
sit in common areas and work together, and still easily get network access. In
the case of many education institutions, where resources are limited, this
could mean that there are fewer users competing for the handful of hard-wired
computers. Wireless is quickly becoming a viable and important tool in a
variety of business and educational environments.