Project Initiation Document

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Project Code                                   : ‘JRS-single-primary-SSID-xx’

Project Title                                    : Single Primary eduroam SSID

Author                                            : xxxx

Date                                      : xx/xx/xxxx

Authorised By                                 : xxxx

Date                                      : xx/xx/xxxx

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Background

At the time when Wi-Fi services were first widely deployed in UK research and academic organisations there was a wide variety in the capabilities of the different wireless hardware components and software supplicants. In addition to this, organisations tended to segregate wireless services for specific user groups and purposes. As a result of this, organisations generally created a number of separate wireless service networks, each with its own SSID (service set identifier), and each serving a different need.

SSID naming conventions vary but the examples shown below are typical of those found at organisations:

• ‘brandname’ – usually the flagship service SSID offering WPA and/or WPA2 Enterprise wireless
• ‘eduroam’ – introduced to allow visitors (and usually the host organisation’s own users) to connect to the eduroam service
• ‘web-captive’ – usually introduced to provide basic network connectivity to devices which were not able to connect WPA/WPA2 enterprise networks
• ‘special-pda’ (hidden) – created, for example, for Windows Mobile 5 clients which could not connect to a mixed (WPA/WPA2) mode network
• ‘commercialbrand’ – created for visitors (typically also using a captive portal system) going to commercial broadband

As well as these a number of other SSIDs can typically be found around campus, belonging to:

• commercial hot-zone providers (e.g. The Cloud, BT Openzone)
• sporting bodies based on the campus
• spin-off start-up companies
• personal access points of students in halls of residence
• home access points in properties neighbouring the campus (e.g. ‘linksys’, ‘belkin54g’)
• rogue access points connected to the campus network.

This bewildering array of SSIDs introduces confusion: users are not sure which network they should be using and may end up using an inappropriate one. Given this confusing situation, and considering that wireless technology has now advanced to the point that there is no technical need for multiple SSIDs, it is proposed that the complexity of wireless services be reduced by consolidating the SSIDs in use, ideally to one.

Whilst it may seem that ‘brandname’ is the obvious choice for this primary SSID, given that this carries the organisation’s branding, it is actually more desirable to move to using the ‘eduroam’ SSID. The reasons for this are:

• eduroam sites are obliged to broadcast the eduroam SSID for visitors whether or not any other SSID is broadcast.
• Users need to be able to test their eduroam configuration to ensure that, when they leave the site and roam to other organisations, it works; therefore, ideally the eduroam SSID needs to be broadcast across the network.
• Faced with an assortment of SSIDs many users may be unsure what eduroam can provide for them; by making it the standard SSID, its profile will be raised, leading to the recognition amongst users that they will be able to achieve network connectivity wherever they see it broadcast.
• Having eduroam as the default means that users’ devices will be configured and ready to roam and do not need to set up an extra SSID for when they visit another eduroam organisation. This simplifies configuration for users.
• eduroam is a global brand easily recognisable by both visitors and home users.

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Advantages