Introducing The Msm317 - HP MSM317 Deployment Manual

Introducing the MSM317

Over the last five years, the expectations of hotel guests for wireless connectivity have changed
dramatically. Earlier wireless deployments consisted of hotspot services in public areas such as
lobbies and food service locations. Today, wireless connectivity in guest rooms has become pervasive
in almost all brand segments. In the lucrative business and luxury markets, guests are highly valued for
their loyalty as it often leads to repeat and referral business. Consequently, pressure to meet the
wireless demands of guests for consistent, high-performance connections that support all of their Wi-Fi
devices—just like at home or in the office—is extremely high.
These expectations expose shortcomings in traditional approaches to deploying guest networks in
hospitality settings. Provisioning a traditional access point (AP) to provide coverage to multiple rooms
creates an inconsistent guest experience for two key reasons. First, the performance of an individual
connection decreases the farther away it is from the AP. Second, performance for all users is
compromised by the presence of low data rate connections, which causes degradation throughout the
system due to the sharing of the wireless medium. The proliferation of wireless devices, such as
smartphones and smartbooks adds pressure to network capacity, further eroding performance.
Figure 1: A wide variety of devices can be connected to the MSM317. You can configure the network to send traffic through
the MSM7xx Controller or, in cases where private access areas are isolated from public spaces, you can bypass the controller
completely. Where VoIP phones are deployed, for example, this avoids an additional hop that can slow service.
The MSM317 is an integrated switch/wireless AP designed from the ground up for high-density
environments. This discrete device enables an optimal Internet access experience and more. The same
device supports the delivery of other applications demanded by guests and occupants today—IPTV,
VoIP, and other IP-based services—while paving the way for future services that can further enhance
the end-user experience.
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