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iPhone and Network Disruptions ...

  • From: Prof. Robert Mathews (OSIA)
  • Date: Sat Jul 21 20:57:05 2007

Fellow Nanogers:

Reports have floated across my desk in the past week, which have suggested that iPhones owned by faculty, staff and students have been flooding university campus Wi-Fi networks in parts of the country.  For example, see: "Duke Wi-Fi Crippled by Apple iPhones" at http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=10200AG9NMHU   Since that story first aired, and by applying a patch that was subsequently provided by Cisco, Duke has now come to see the elimination of the problem,  see: "Duke Resolves iPhone, Wi-Fi Outage Problems" at http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2161065,00.asp

There are certain aspects of this story in which I have the most interest, and the following questions (if I may be permitted to list them) detail my concern - adequately.  I wish to ask you:  1) is the iPhone an extra-ordinary device when comparing it with devices of a comparable nature, which also request ties to a Wi-Fi network, (there are many that use Wi-Fi enabled Smart-phones and PDAs on campuses -- so, why do 'they' not pose a similar problem)  2) is this problem a result of poor planning and services implementation at certain campuses, 3) is this story - a product of great exaggerations?  4) if there are technical issues indeed that permit iPhones in particular to DoS Wi-Fi nets, what can these storms be attributed to, and what can/should be done about it?   

If you are in a position to respond, I would like to hear from you, either publicly or privately.  If there is enough group interest in the matter, I would be most happy to summarize.

All the best,
Robert.
--
 
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