Networking
Understanding Venue Capabilities
A conference venue's networking capability and limitations need to be clearly understood:
- Clear communication - Communicate expectations clearly, agree upon them and put the guarantees in writing (e.g., Service-level-agreement in contract)
- Investigation - Investigate their system and do not simply believe their claims
- Assessment - Assess what level of service they can or cannot offer
- Network design - Design your network so conference mission-critical networks (e.g., proceedings office, presentation management) cannot be impacted by convenience networks (e.g., internet cafe, public WiFi)
- Network separation - Use separate networks managed through e.g. VLANs
Wired Network Requirements
Network infrastructure at a conference site MUST comfortably allow for the required bandwidth.
Key components to evaluate:
| Network Component | Minimum Requirement | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Local Area Network (LAN) | 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
| Network Backbone | 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
| Internet Connection | 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
You can try and use some online tools to predict the bandwidth you may need for your conference. An example is Encore's Bandwidth Calculator.
Additional considerations:
- Ensure sufficient routing capacity for the number of connections
- Prepare backup/failover solutions:
- Second ISP
- 5G router for minimum internet access to proceedings office
- Thumb drives/external HDDs for critical file transfers
Wireless Network Planning
Remember that most participants, exhibitors, and editors have multiple devices.
Address weaknesses in advance:
- Add additional access points where needed
- Deploy portable access points for flexibility
- Consider third-party wireless companies for worst-case scenarios
- Use reliable, enterprise-grade wireless devices
Wireless vs. Wired:
Wirless performance has become very good with recent WiFi standards. While it is still safer using wired network for the proceedings office and any conference critical system, huge IPAC conferences like 2024 used wireless sucessfully.
The main reason we are still a bit sceptic about wireless is, often the venues are not up to the task of providing a stable wireless system for the amount of users, especially if you also count in the delegates and industry.
WiFi technology is well mature and stable if set up correct and it can be used for the editing room if carefully planned (e.g. seperate wireless network and even access points). It can save costs and can reduce installation time by removing wiring time.
To be on the safe side, agree with the venue on a service level and make it part of the contract. Write down how many devices you expect to have connected at once (e.g. a delegate might arrive with laptop, phone and a tablet, that would already be three devices for one person) and that conference critical systems should have priority over the guest / delegate connections.
However, keep in mind that the wirless/air interface can be disturbed by a lot of things and a cable connection not as easily.