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Past
Information Technology Services and its forerunner, the Academic Computing Facility, have been working with wireless networking since 1995. Initially work focused heavily on point-to-point connections, which linked networks in different buildings via wireless bridges. Such deployments have proved invaluable for short-term and long-term solutions. These links not only provide data connectivity where speeds greater than that of a T1 (1.5 Mbit/sec) are desirable, but also avoid recurring circuit charges that traditional leased lines would entail.
The very first point-to-point NYU wireless link put into production was deployed in Florence, Italy, where we interconnected two buildings on NYU's La Pietra estate. Expense and architectural preservation issues made the situation ideal for wireless and proved to be very successful.
Over the years, ITS has worked with pre-IEEE 802.11 standard equipment as well as the earliest deployment of IEEE 802.11 standard devices. The first production wireless LAN deployment was installed during the Summer of 1999 at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts. Both of IFA's buildings (Duke House and Chan House) use wireless technology extensively for primary desktop connectivity and for bridging data between the two buildings, which are located across the street from each other.
Despite our successes and firm belief that wireless was destined to play a major role in networking at the University, our concerns about security had, until recently, prevented a full scale, production deployment. The security issues surrounding the original IEEE 802.11 standard and subsequent IEEE 802.11b standard were well-documented and had been the Achilles Heel of the technology (see the Security page of this website). Vendors worked diligently for years trying to deal with this issue and formulate strategies that would secure data and standardize a security methodology for home as well as enterprise scale usage has been the goal.
Present
Now, thanks to all that hard work, an industry-wide standard for transmitting and encrypting data, in conjunction with an authentication mechanism, has seemingly emerged with the approval of the IEEE standard 802.11i, also known as WPA2. ITS will be integrating this access method into NYURoam's configuration in the coming months, further improving our secure access methodology. A campus-wide wireless guest access mechanism is also under development and we hope to have the service in place some time during the Spring '06 semester.
As of January 1, 2006 ITS has deployed close to 700 wireless access points at the Washington Square Campus and other off-campus locations (e.g., the Institute of Fine Arts, the SCPS Midtown Center, the Woolworth Building, etc.). We are currently (conservatively) providing NYURoam coverage to over 1.5 million square feet of space.
Future
Future wireless deployments will focus on updating our network for the 802.11i standard, and equipping more new buildings, renovated facilities, and areas around the Washington Square campus where staff, faculty and students most congregate: classrooms, lounges, conference rooms, auditoriums, etc. Numerous factors play into timelines and geographic deployments but it is our ultimate goal to see wireless connectivity available throughout the vast majority of the Washington Square campus.
Page last reviewed: August 22, 2006