Key Deployment experience in Spain

RadioNexo Services, a WLAN implementation and support specialist, designed and installed the new system. The large, complex deployment involved deploying and integrating the network at one PorTel port site, including Cádiz warehouses, and at PorTel Algeciras data centers.

Several hurdles–including the constant movement of shipping containers throughout the yard–were overcome to keep the project on time and within budget. “That was probably our single biggest network design challenge,” says David Durrif, RadioNexo senior network consultant. “There are metal objects all over the yard–tractor trailers, cranes, the shipping vessels and large shipping containers–and radio signals bounce right off them.” Routinely, 10’x8’ containers are stacked four high by 20 deep, creating deep corridors where network coverage is required but difficult to achieve.

The legacy RF system was tested to find any coverage gaps. Surveying tools such as the Aironet Client Manager, Cisco 802.11b Network Analyzer and Web-based configuration tool, and the Aironet 4800 access point were used to measure network coverage, the strength of the signal and the speed at which the data was processed based on the consultants’ locations in the yard.

As implementation challenges grew, an Aironet 4800 Bridge was used by installing another directional antenna and creating a point-to-point link to another access point This alleviated cost-prohibitive laying of fiber in trenches. To achieve coverage in the deep corridors between stacked containers, antennas were installed with enough range to provide coverage at the bottom of the corridors and access points were placed in strategic locations throughout the yard.

Integration between the WLAN and existing backbone equipment and applications had to be seamless. When an employee moved into an area covered by a new access point, the original access point would continue to relay data to the system. By the time the switch to the new access point was made, the application had timed out and the server had disconnected. To optimize the network’s performance, the timeout settings were reconfigured, the spanning tree was enabled and support was added for multiple MAC addresses for the hardware ports on the switch, solving the problem of lost connections.

Thorough testing made successful deployment complete in less than three months, and already, there are returns on investment, increased efficiencies, better service to customers and lower operational expenses.

For more information from RadioNexo Services:
http://www.radionexo.com