Improving the Wireless

Network at Howard
Community College
By: Edder Bruno,
Gary Smolyak,
and Youri Felix.

The Proposal
To work with the User and Network Services Department at HCC in order
to implement a change to the Student Wireless Network that will either
allow students to authenticate with their HCC credentials directly with the
network, or increase the timeout length so that students do not have to reauthenticate whenever they reconnect throughout the day.
Upon implementation of this change, we will do a survey of random
campus population to see how satisfied they are with the performance of
the wireless network throughout campus.

The Problem
Students at HCC have voiced their opinions of the HCC Wi-Fi in many
different ways. The best seen ways is expressing their frustration on social
media, such as Yik Yak, and Twitter.
After doing some research we have determined that the worst performance
of the Wi-Fi is in the Library, where all students gather to study.
As the library fills with students, the amount of individual devices
connected to the HCC wireless access points in the library overwhelms
them.
In todays day and age most individuals have AT LEAST 2 devices that are
Wi-Fi capable, a laptop and a phone. With only 2-3 hotspots which can
handle 50 connections each, this means that no more than 200
connections can be made. This means that just 100 people in the library
can overwhelm the integrity of the internet causing major disruptions.

The Problem (Continued)

The second, most subtle, problem was felt by every single user of the WiFi network.
After doing research we noticed that you would have to re-supply your
password about every 5 min while trying to use the HCCSTUDENT
wireless network.
Closing your laptop or walking to a different area of a building would
necessitate re-entering your credentials. Many were annoyed by this.

Our Goal
The goal was to change various security settings in the management
system in order to allow for longer timeout or change authentication
settings on the network itself to completely eliminate the need for a Captive
Portal.
Due to financial and other technical difficulties we were only able to do the
first option.
Find a way to give students access to a faster Wi-Fi.

Complaints
Students are voicing their concerns over social media
at how slow the Wi-Fi performance truly is when they
are in the Library.
Popular social networks such as Yik-Yak and Twitter
were used to voice frustrations with the Wi-Fi.
Heres some posts weve compiled.

Student Surveys
In the fall of 2014, we conducted surveys, where we went around asking
students on their feedback for the Wi-Fi network at hcc. The general feedback
we reviewed:
No Wi-Fi reception on the quad and by amphitheater.
Constant login every time they move to another building.
Crowded areas such as Library have poor internet speeds.

Process
Mr. Tyrone E. Boyd
Conducted meetings with HCCs User and Network
Sr. Network Engineer
services Department.
User and Network Services
o Reported and presented the results of our surveys Department
o We proposed our project to Mr. Boyd and asked about
the pros and cons of changing the system.
o It was determined that it was realistic but they already
had a system in place so that is why we could not
completely eliminate the need for a Captive Portal.
Cost was also a factor.
Discussed the background aspects of the wireless network
~3100 devices connected to HCC Wifi everyday
Determined ways to improve the current wifi conditions

Process
Conducting Campus analysis from students perspective:
Computer application called inSSIDer to see where on campus
needed more hotspot.
Used Phone/Laptop sniffing software to determine the amount
of student connected to a hotspot
Casually used our devices, during peak hours at busy locations
on campus
Reporting Results
Meet again to give Mr. Boyd feedback

Process

Changes/Improvements
Access Points
o More access points added on the the back side of Duncan Hall
o More external access points added throughout the Quad
Wifi-Controller
o Original idle time 5min (meaning after 300 seconds of inactivity the
user is logged out and brought back to the sign in page)
o New idle time: 8 hours

Student Surveys
During the spring of 2015, We conducted another set of surveys where we
asked students if they noticed any improvements or still have any concerns for
the wifi:
Authentication process not as redundant (not logging in as much if at all)
Better reception on the Quad (still spotty right outside of Cafe on the
Quad).
Crowded areas, such as library and cafe, are still slow during peak hours
(10am-2pm, mainly Mondays & Wednesdays)

Conclusion
Voice of the Students
o IT-Department not getting feedback from users
o No assessment from students
We were able to work directly with the User and Network Services Department
to voice our concerns for network problems that have been at HCC for at least
2 years. Ultimately, the authentication was resolved by extending the timeout
period for everyone. There are still other problems, such as the slow connection
in crowded areas,that the department is working around the clock to improve.
We are hoping that other students will continue what we have started, and
voice their concerns directly to the User and Network Services Department to
help point out and solve problems in the future.