1. 802.11ac for Hoteliers – Its time Getting off the Wi-Fi Roller Coaster - The Graceful Transition to ac
Perry Correll,
Xirrus, Principal Technologist

2. Agenda Addressing guests' demand for Wi-Fi everywhere
Understanding Wi-Fi’s evolution to 11ac
Myth vs. Reality: separating marketing messages from business advantage
Designing High-Performance Wi-Fi Networks: Doing more with less infrastructure
Summary / Q&A

3. The Exploding Demand for Wi-Fi
Understanding guest expectations

4. Wi-fi has Rapidly evolved

5. Wi-Fi usage has exploded
In 2013 Smartphone/tablet sales will exceed that of all consumer electronics combined – IDC Predictions -2013
Every day another 4 million+ wireless devices are activated
– Flurry-2013
55% of hotel guests use Internet during their hotel stay in 2012, up from 20% in Of those, 87% today connect by Wi-Fi – J.D. Power, 2012 survey

6. Networks are not prepared for the traffic
Instagram video becomes #1 traffic on Internet on day 1 of release
Netflix And YouTube Account For 50% Of All North American Fixed Network Data
Real-Time Entertainment responsible for over 67% of peak downstream traffic

7. Plan your Wi-Fi carefully!
“80% of newly installed WLANs will be obsolete or re-engineered in the next 3-5 years due to lack of proper planning”
Tim Zimmerman

8. Wi-Fi’s evolution to 802.11ac
What’s the advantage?

9. 802.11 Evolution Multi Gigabit Wi-Fi is the future
New standards are focused at 5GHz
802.11ad
>5Gbps
60GHz
802.11a
54Mbps
5GHz
802.11n
600Mbps
802.11ac
>1Gbps
802.11
2Mbps
802.11b
11Mbps
802.11g
54Mbps
2.4GHz
802.11n
300Mbps
1997
1998
1999
2000
2002
2003
2004
2008
2009
2011
2013
2014
Wi-Fi Standards Evolution

10. Technology Benefits Data rates up to 6.9Gbps What is 802.11ac
High performance
Raises the ‘low’ end
Superior throughput
Backwards compatible
Support more devices
‘Cleaner’ spectrum
Improved battery Life
Focus on 5GHz spectrum
Improved modulation efficiency
Channel bonding up to 160Mz
Up to 8 spatial streams
MU-MIMO
The 11ac that will be ratified early next year is getting a lot of mindshare. There is so much talk about ac, what is it? How does it provide significant improvement over 11n technology. Let us look under the hood. There are some core improvements over 11n that makes it 11ac deliver significantly higher throughput of up to 6.93Gbps.
Data rates up to 6.9Gbps

11. 802.11n vs ac
802.11n
Up to 600Mbps
Up to 64 QAM Modulation
Up to 40Mhz channel width
Up to 4 data streams
MIMO- Single client link
802.11ac
Up to 1.3GBps / 6.9Gbps
Up to 256 QAM Modulation
Up to 80/160Mhz channel width
Up to 4/8 data streams
MU-MIMO-Multiple client links
MU-MIMO (multi-user multiple in multiple out) signal processing uses multiple antennas on the transmitter and receiver operating on the same channel. With spatial multiplexing in ac, up to 8 data streams may be concurrently transmitted and split between multiple devices at once.
Higher data rates are achieved by splitting transmitter station streams into separate data streams; each transmitted on a different antenna. MIMO signal processing at the receiver detects and recovers each stream.

12. Standards Roll out plans
Final standard approved by the IEEE Feb’14
3 Streams
80 MHz channel width
256 QAM
Product Availability: Now
WAVE 2
4/8 Streams
160 MHz channel width
256 QAM
MU-MIMO
Product availability: 2H ‘14
IEEE ac data rates are dependent on the number of spatial streams obtained through the use
of MU-MIMO, 80 vs. 160MHz channel widths, the number of transmit antennas, and the type of
modulation. This table shows the maximum data rate achievable at each level, with many additional
lower rates occurring at each level dependent on signal level, SNR, etc.
Phase ac products, first available in consumer products in 2012 and enterprise products in
2013, support up to 80MHz channels and up to 3 spatial streams for a maximum data rate of 1.3Gbps.
Phase 2 and beyond products, expected staring in 2014, will add 160MHz channels and up to
8 spatial streams for a maximum data rate of 6.9Gbps.
Wi-Fi Alliance has launched Wi-Fi Certified™ ac
Wave 1 product certification completed
Wave 2 products certification: expected late 2014 /early 2015

13. Side Note: New Spectrum Proposed
Importance of Additional Spectrum
Wide bandwidth channels to support high throughput requirements
Current UNII spectrum allows only
Twenty four 20 MHz channels
Six 80 MHz channels
Two 160 MHz channels
Additional unlicensed use of GHz and GHz allow
Nine 80 MHz channels
Four 160 MHz channels
144
140
136
132
128
124
120
116
112
108
104
100
165
161
157
153
149 64 60 56 52 48 44 40 36
IEEE channel #
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
UNII-1
UNII-2
UNII-3
5250
MHz
5350
5470
5725
NEW 96 92 88 84 80 76 72 68
169
173
177
181
5825
5925
Currently available channels
New channels

14. Is it time to consider to 802.11ac?
What is the current feedback from guests and event schedulers?
What Wi-Fi technology is your existing system based on?
How long do you want your next upgrade to last?
802.11ac sales will accelerate, reaching over 90% of all Wi-Fi devices by 2015
Growth of ac capable Wi-Fi devices reach nearly 2 billion by 2015
Assuming 3 year replacement rate = 70% ac market share by 2015.

15. separating marketing from value
802.11ac: Myth vs. Reality
separating marketing from value

16. Myths vs. reality Only high-end clients need this much bandwidth/speed
Very few 11n clients reached 450Mbps, all still received value
Higher bandwidth releases the channel quicker
Making additional time (bandwidth) available to other clients
Improves overall capacity and performance of the network
Key value of 11ac is raising the lower end
Just wait for Wave 2 (MU-MIMO, 6.9Gbps, …) to be safe
Wireless continues to evolve with newer technology every 2-3 years
2007 to 2015 saw n 2x2, 3x3, ac Wave 1 & Wave 2
Reality – it depends on your wireless requirements, If your users will benefit from improved wireless performance today, go forward
Probably a few still waiting for 11n 600Mbps (4x4)
SNR:
6 more db compared to 11n min SNR needed to decode 11ac

17. Myths vs. reality Only limited # of 11ac clients used by guests
Samsung has sold 40 million Galaxy S 4s (11ac)
Can’t buy Apple laptop without ac
MRG estimates 58 million 11ac phones shipped in 2013
Turnover rate continues to drop (6 months), 11ac will be the default chipset
LTE growth will significantly reduce need for Wi-Fi
Cellular and Wi-Fi are not competitors,
Cellular and Wi-Fi are complementary technologies
Cellular is large coverage area with low data rate (relative)
Wi-Fi is reduced coverage area with high data rate (relative)
Think Wi-Fi offload, Passpoint, u, NGH, …..
SNR:
6 more db compared to 11n min SNR needed to decode 11ac

18. Myths vs. reality
802.11ac will require a complete network rip and redesign
Technology (wired and wireless) continues to evolve, planning for it is key
You will still need to support legacy technology for a long time
Designing with up to 160Mhz channels, using 256QAM, Rx Sensitivity of 51dBm to get max data rates is a waste of time, energy and money
Think like an engineer, not a scientist
11ac allows you to reduce # of APs to offer same bandwidth
Yes, in Theory, No, in Reality – where do you want to live?
Performance will always be based on the clients capability, not just AP
Always will have mixed environments, lowest common technology
Wireless is continuing to grow and you will always need more bandwidth
Think radios, not APs
SNR:
6 more db compared to 11n min SNR needed to decode 11ac

19. Myths vs. reality Just too many technical challenges with 11ac
Not enough 5GHz channels available (80-160Mhz per channel??)
Complex channel planning
Will increase CCI & ACI interference
I will lose support for 2.4Ghz
My existing network was designed for 2.4Ghz
11ac requires higher signal strength (RSSI) to be effective (1.3Gbps)
Phones and tablets require stronger signal strength (RSSI)
Need to upgrade my edge switches
Need to upgrade my switch uplinks
Will 802.3af be enough – maybe
Now I will need to pay for a consultant too!
Urgh, cat 3 to cat 5 was so easy
SNR:
6 more db compared to 11n min SNR needed to decode 11ac

20. Myths vs. reality What are you hearing? What are you believing?
Myths and Questions From Audience
What are you hearing?
What are you believing?
What are you thinking about?
What's keeping you up at night?
What are other vendors telling you?
What are your consultants telling you?
What about other technologies ad, af, …
SNR:
6 more db compared to 11n min SNR needed to decode 11ac

21. Designing High-Performance Wi-Fi
Doing more with less infrastructure

22. Hotel Wi-Fi design evolution
2010
Nice to offer
3-5 active devices per floor
Design RF for laptops (-72)
2.4 centric
Application focus -
Guestroom coverage
Wired still primary
Cellular - not my problem
Quality of Service
Meeting space Wi-Fi requested
Wi-Fi = infrastructure expense
2014
Mandatory requirement
3-5 active devices per room
Design RF for tablets/phones (-65/-59)
5Ghz centric, but 2.4 is required
Application focus – Video and Gaming
Facility wide coverage
Wired is no longer an option
Cellular integration - Passpoint
Quality of Experience
Meeting space Wi-Fi required
Wi-Fi = Monetization of the data?

23. Client environment - Reality
= 2.4GHz
= 5GHz
300Mbps
2.4G and 5G
450Mbps Max
65Mbps =
2.4G and 5G
150Mbps Max =
65Mbps
150Mbps
1.3Gbps
2.4G only
65Mbps Max
52Mbps =
24 Mbps
45Mbps
6Mbps
6Mbps
120Mbps
150 Mbps
In a Wi-Fi network, the user data rates varies with distance, device type, Wi-Fi band, channel width capability, interference, …..

24. Wi-Fi Capacity - Reality
150Mbps Max Instantaneous Bandwidth
2.4GHz Radio
50Mbps Avg Capacity: Multiple Users
300Mbps Max Instantaneous Bandwidth
5GHz Radio
100Mbps Avg Capacity: Multiple Users
In a Wi-Fi network, radio capacity is reduced by protocol overhead and is shared by multiple users

25. High Density Capacity Planning
Gartner recommends provisioning 6Mbps per user
Radio
Individual User Capacity
Total Available Capacity
Wireless network design based on number of users per radio
5GHz radio: 100Mbps / 6Mbps = ~15 users per radio
2.4GHz radio: 50Mbps / 6Mbps = ~8 users per radio

26. mixed client environment - optimization
The Challenge
Wi-Fi is shared medium - slow clients reduce speed of fast clients
The Solution – Client Classification and Segmentation
Separate high speed and low speed clients on different radios
Maximize system performance for ALL clients

27. 11ac Design considerations
Wireless Architecture
Distributed/Edge traffic processing
Design for 5Ghz coverage
Achieving AC speeds
Understand the mixed client environment
Classify and segment clients based on Band/Mode
Wired Infrastructure
Gigabit links to APs
Design for increased backhaul traffic (MU-MIMO*), Multi-Gigabit uplinks
Implementation planning
Clients and Traffic volume will grow
Designing for the future
How long do you expect a new install to last?

28. 802.11ac will become prominent in 2014
Summary
802.11ac will become prominent in 2014
Driven from client manufactures
802.11ac brings great promise
Understand myths vs. realities
Implementation planning is key
Architecture, client mix, fixed radios

29. Thank You info@xirrus.com
Perry Correll,
Xirrus, Principal Technologist