Ruckus - ZoneDirector for Conference Tool

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Configuration Steps
  • WLAN Groups
  • AP Groups
• Configuration and Connectivity Overview

Introduction

Ruckus ZoneDirector is one of the vendor solutions that are supported for use with the Conference Tool. When a Conference Tool Advanced instance is created, the platform configures the ZoneDirector system to create the required wireless network (SSID) for the conference. However, for Conference Tool to successfully stand up a conference network, a number of pre-existing configuration parameters must be setup on the wireless network.

This guide provides the specific configuration steps required on the ZoneDirector to support Conference Tool.

This document does not provide detailed instructions around the operation and access details for the ZoneDirector controller.  The reader will need to consult the vendor documentation for these details.

Note: the screenshots in this document are taken from a v10.2 lab setup. The layout and options seen may vary between versions of code running on your controller. However, the general configuration concepts shown below should apply across all code versions.

Configuration Steps

To configure ZoneDirector for use with Conference Tool, the following steps will need to be completed:

• Creation of WLAN Groups
• Creation of AP Groups

Instructions for these steps are provided below. Note that the exact configuration in real-world venue settings will vary depending upon the requirements of each particular site. There will be choices that need to be made regarding how the RF environment will be configured, which wireless network features are required and how devices are grouped to meet the coverage requirements of the venue. However, the configuration samples provided will provide an indication of which areas need to be configured to work specifically with Conference Tool.

Note: The reader is advised to consult the logical network diagram at the end of this document for a visualisation of the many of the concepts discussed below.

WLAN Groups

WLAN Groups are a useful administrative tool that is used on the ZoneDirector solution to group together one or more wireless LANs (also known as “SSIDs” and “WLANs”). In most venues there will be one or more static SSIDs that are permanently available to provide general day-to-day guest access. These could be venue-wide, or perhaps only in public areas (the implementation will vary from venue to venue). Whatever the use-case, the SSID will be assigned to WLAN Groups. 

WLAN groups on their own are just an administrative container to group together SSIDs. To make their wireless networks appear on APs around a venue, each WLAN group needs to be assigned to an AP group. Once assigned to an AP group, all APs in that AP group will make the SSIDs contained in the WLAN group available and apply WLAN-specific parameters (such as the VLAN to be used for wireless LAN connectivity once user traffic hits the wired network) will also be applied to the APs.

In the screenshot below, we can see that WLAN groups are accessed via the “Wireless LANs” menu item on the left side of the GUI. Once selected, a summary of configured WLAN Groups is displayed. If a group is selected, the WLANs in that group are shown in the right panel. The example below shows a single wireless network (SSID) called “Guest” assigned to WLAN group “Conf_Suite1_Rm2_WG”.  This network is likely to be a venue-wide SSID that is used to provide standard guest access to guests. This WLAN group will be assigned to an AP group (see next section), ensuring that the SSID is available in all areas covered by the APs in that AP group.

Fig.1 - Wireless LANs Listing in a Wireless Group on ZoneDirector

When Conference Tool is used to create a custom conference network, it will create a new (temporary) wireless LAN network on the controller. It will then assign that wireless LAN to one or more WLAN groups. Due to the one to one mapping of wireless LAN groups to AP groups, this will ensure that the newly created conference network (SSID) will appear in the desired physical locations. Looking at the example below, we can see that in the wireless group “Conf_Suite1_Rm1_WG”, we have an additional SSID called “Corp_Event_Conference” which has been created by Conference Tool. This network will become available in the areas covered by the AP group that is mapped to this WLAN Group.

Fig.2 - Wireless LAN detail on ZoneDirector

To allow Conference Tool to be used with a ZoneDirector controller, with the maximum amount of flexibility, the different areas of coverage where conferences may be required should be planned carefully. A WLAN group should be created for each of these areas. When a custom conference network is created in Conference Tool, it can be accurately targeted to specific areas by only provisioning that network in the selected WLAN group areas. 

In general terms, smaller coverage areas are better as they allow maximum flexibility when setting up a conference area. Also, there are significant wireless performance gains that can be realised by ensuring that a wireless network is only made available in specific areas, rather than across large areas of a venue. 

The next section discusses AP groups, which allow the targeting of wireless networks to specific areas of a venue. 

AP Groups

AP groups in the ZoneDirector solution are used to group wireless access points that share common configuration or environmental characteristics. These include aspects such as radio settings that will be inherited by all APs that are joined to that group. They are also a useful mechanism to group AP in the same general area of a venue. The screen-shot below shows a summary of AP groups on a test controller. Notice that they are accessed via the “Access Points” option on the left menu panel.  Each AP group (Labelled “AG”) may contain one or more APs that will share common configuration parameters and/or venue areas. In the example below, the AP group “Conf_Suite1_Rm1_APs” is highlighted. It has one AP in the group, whose name can be seen in the right panel : “CS1_RM1_AP1”

Fig.3 - AP Groups Listing on ZoneDirector

From an administrative perspective when considering the Conference Tool, it makes sense to create an AP group for each discrete area in the venue where a conference may take place. This could be an individual meeting or conference room, or could perhaps be a whole conference hall. This allows a great deal of granularity and flexibility when assigning custom wireless networks to specific areas. A conference network could be created to be available in just one meeting room, or if several areas are selected, then the same conference network could be created to appear in several meeting rooms and/or conference halls.

The sample screen-shot below shows part of the configuration form for an AP group from a ZoneDirector wireless controller. It shows the options available for the radio channels that may be used by APs in this group:  

Fig.4 - AP Group configuration panel #1 on ZoneDirector

The choices around the channels to be used will be specific to each venue and geographic area. This area of configuration is beyond the scope of this document, as it has no direct impact on the operation of the Conference Tool.

Notice the naming convention used for this AP group: “Conf_Suite_Rm1_APs”. This indicates that this group will contain all of the APs in Room 1 of Conference Suite 1 in the venue.

Scrolling down the form reveals another important field: “WLAN Group” (see screen-shot below). By checking the override option and selecting the wireless group discussed in the previous section, a one to one mapping of a WLAN group to an AP group is created. This allows a conference network that is added to a WLAN group to be targeted in an area covered by the corresponding AP group. In the screen-shot below, the selection of “Conf_Suite1_RM1_WG” shows that we have selected the WLAN group for Room 1 of Conference Suite 1. As this is mapped to the AP group of  “Conf_Suite_Rm1_APs”, then when Conference Tool adds the conference network to the WLAN Group of “Conf_Suite1_RM1_WG”, that network will appear in that AP group area. If several WLAN Groups (referred to as “Locations” in Conference Tool) are selected, then the network will appear in several locations.

Fig.5 - AP Group configuration panel #2 on ZoneDirector

Configuration and Connectivity Overview

The diagram below is provided to clarify the relationship between SSIDs, WLAN Groups and AP groups in the ZoneDirector configuration. 

It also shows which SSIDs are available in each location based on the configuration information shown, together with the logical network connectivity for customer traffic. In the configuration shown below, Configuration Tool has been used to create a custom SSID called “Corp_Event_Conference” in the location “Conf_Suite_1_RM1_WG” . The configuration mappings attempt to show how this SSID is mapped to make it  available in the required venue area. At the AP end of things, the connectivity on to the VLAN dedicated to that SSID is also shown. Note that although all VLANs are trunked to all APs (as would be the case in the real world),, only the VLANs appropriate to the SSIDs on that AP are used to carry traffic: 

Fig. 6 Configuration mapping details & logical network connectivity