Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
50 C H A P T E R 6 Small and general aviation airport terminals are smaller and typically simpler architectural structures. They generally are not as busy as major airports in terms of number of flights and passengers. These airports are likely to have less dense requirements for WiFi usage, certainly not to the level needed at major airports. Designing a reliable network and resolving interference problems are still necessary tasks, but the solutions are even more sensitive to costs. Small and general aviation airports will likely scale their WiFi and other wireless services to the affordable necessities. For example, only low-cost network computers, servers, and WiFi hotspots may be acceptable in this environment. These supportable reference architectures can vary from airport to airport depending on affordability. It is still practical to design a reference architecture for small and general aviation airports using the previously identified stakeholders. An airport strategic plan is just as important for a small airport as for a larger airport. There are models in the Cisco publication âSmart Airports: Transforming Passenger Experi- ence to Thrive in the New Economyâ16 that larger airports mostly follow, and which also can be used in part for smaller airports. The first model is for âagile airportsâ that adapt well to a changing technical and business environment and operate at a fast-paced operational tempo. Services provided include man- aged communications, VoIP telephony, broadband, WiFi, and video surveillance at competitive market prices, without the need to deploy and maintain their own technology solutions. Such a system âoffers advanced operational efficiencies.â The second model comprises âsmart airportsâ that fully exploit the power of emerging and maturing technologies for communications and services. âSystems are built around a âdigital gridâ: a single, converged, often carrier-class IP network that enables high-speed broadband traf- fic throughout the entire ecosystem, including the airport, airport city, airlines, seaport, logistics, authorities, and other parties.â WiFi is imbedded in both system reference architectures. Both technical approaches are pre- dominantly focused on larger airports where the size of the conglomerate scope of business can economically support the installation and maintenance of either system. The cost of these two systems is likely to be unaffordable to small and general aviation airports, especially since the WiFi and Internet connections for integration interconnects do not need to be as sophisticated as those implemented at larger airports. However, the systems can be examined for an abbreviated WiFi extraction analysis. Most of the steps that follow are but a small percent- age of the full scope of network planning, but are practical for smaller airports. The steps are not complicated and can be accomplished by a person who is familiar with the WiFi basic technology WiFi at Small and General Aviation Airports 16 Cisco, âSmart Airports: Transforming Passenger Experience to Thrive in the New Economy,â July 2009.
WiFi at Small and General Aviation Airports 51 or by small, reputable WiFi service companies in the area. The key is to establish what level of WiFi service is needed and plan for growth. These points would need to be further verified and quantified from recent history and then through future projections of growth and usage. The following sections summarize a simplified design methodology that captures the WiFi design considerations and specifications for small and general aviation airports. Step 1: Identify WiFi Requirements Per Physical Areas 1. From âThe End-to-End Passenger Journeyâ described in the Cisco publication, address 10 elements (of the 33) that are most likely to impact the WiFi network design. These include: ⢠Check-In ⢠Baggage ⢠Passports ⢠Customs ⢠Security ⢠Food ⢠Retail ⢠Gate ⢠Boarding ⢠Entertainment The relative physical area layout containing these points of interest should be determined within the airport terminal, along with the expected quality and maximum expected WiFi throughput requirements documented. 2. Document any additional passenger WiFi elements needed in the specific airport that are not on the above list. Correspondingly, eliminate items not needed. 3. Document any additional airport WiFi element requirements that need to be included in the system for critical operation of the terminal and airport. Note special consideration and analysis may be necessary for elements that are critical to the airport, such as security, inside terminal emergency response, and alert notifications. These should be provided with priority for message completion reliability. Some analyses may be needed to assure acceptable levels of service. Note in small or general aviation airports, dedicated non-WiFi communications sys- tems may already be in place and work well. Keeping what works cost-effectively and reliably is the simple rule to follow. 4. Document whether WiFi is to transit through cables internally or externally from the airport. Step 2: Quantify Desired Service Levels and Begin Design The next step is to provide quantitative numbers for the above requirements and start the design specifications. Some considerations are as follows: 1. The physical area layout should start with a construction blueprint or equivalent that is to scale. Locations and areas of WiFi service, along with minimum acceptable signal levels, can be marked or referenced to a list. This layout will eventually indicate the WiFi performance specifications in figure format, i.e., areas of coverage and minimum signal levels. Multiple copies of the layout diagrams may be generated to specify the WiFi service level requirements, particularly in different areas of the airport or for different services provided. 2. If an existing WiFi system is in place and is to be upgraded, consider the following: ⢠Note any past problems with WiFi and include appropriate mitigation actions in the new specifications. These can include location, assigned frequency, signal strength of hotspots, or other items.
52 A Guidebook for Mitigating Disruptive WiFi Interference at Airports ⢠Note any unresolved problems; check if the new design can be expected to resolve the issues. This may be placed in a specification for installation if contracted out. ⢠Determine signal strengths and performance throughput of the existing installed system throughout the airport. Note if measurements were performed periodically; estimate the growth slope for least, medium, and high WiFi usage areas. Upgrade the specification, including new areas, using this information to establish desired growth margins. ⢠Establish priorities of service for the airport if not already in existence; expect security, inside terminal emergency response, and alert notifications to have top preference. Ticket- ing, baggage, RF identification, and other support functions inside the terminal may be second in priority preference. Entertainment can have high priority or the lowest priority depending on the business model within the airport. Note that a well-designed WiFi net- work layout under reasonable load may not need a priority schema except in emergency circumstances. 3. Make a final set of measurements documenting the existing WiFi network performance. Stress system load as much as practical to achieve good or acceptable performance results. Use this set of measurements for acceptance tests to assure upgrade starts at this same level of load and performance and has margin for growth. 4. Check on the airport supplier of WiFi over the air (or cable) to assure the derived require- ments can be met with the WiFi input to the terminal building. If the WiFi supplier has a weak input signal to the terminal and it is determined to be unacceptable, postpone installation or upgrade until the WiFi input is optimized. 5. Document all of the above in specification format. 6. Choose an installer by bid or existing contractor. 7. Check the installation proposed, particularly the location and frequency assignment of adja- cent hotspots, to avoid potential interference from adjacent channel overlap. 8. Finally, perform acceptance runs to verify system performance as specified above. Periodi- cally perform some subset of these acceptance runs to check on the health and status of the installed system. In some cases where the airport is very small and the usage is limited to a few services like Internet access only, self-installation using off-the-shelf components may be the most economi- cal solution, provided the airport has someone who is WiFi knowledgeable. Local small business WiFi expertise may be a possibility for a starter system. Step 3: Establish and Maintain Data Finally, it is recommended that a database of problem reports and solutions be kept in a sim- ple format and that periodic measurements be taken to assure performance. These best practices and other recommendations are listed in Appendix B of this Guidebook.
