Wireless network keeps band in tune: a world-famous group now works and lives on the road comfortably - Special focus: wireless applications

Communications News, March, 2002

A decade has passed since the Dave Matthews Band first entertained guests at a private rooftop party in its hometown of Charlottesville, VA.

As the band's popularity grew and it began to play large audiences, the wired network it carried from stadium to stadium grew to include more stations and tasks. Arriving at every new concert venue meant that, for hours, the crew unloaded trucks and installed about 3,800 feet of networking cable. At the end of the show, the crew spent more hours uninstalling and packing the cable into the trucks.

By now, the band needed a network so that concert lighting and sound could be controlled electronically. More importantly, the accounting, production and management information system (MIS) departments needed a network to maintain business as usual while the group was on the road.

Band information technology manager Rudy Arias had to increase efficiency in setup and teardown. He decided to implement wireless networking equipment from Agere systems ORiNoco, Framingham, MA (www.orinocowireless.com).

The wireless network is Wi-Fi compliant, works at the 2.4-GHz-frequency range and provides a bandwidth of up to 11 Mbps, similar in performance to a standard 10Base-T wired network. The network works with Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems and enables users to run all their familiar applications without the restrictions of wires or fixed computer stations.

The wireless network now serves as a mobile office that gives the band, its crew and administrative personnel the freedom to work when they want, where they want, while they travel, and to check e-mails, pay bills and take care of personal banking. Accounting, MIS and production offices maintain operations while on tour. With a Web browser, accounting and administrative personnel can remotely access documents and databases housed on SQL servers located in Charlottesville. A FileMaker Pro server is used to maintain the band's song cues, set lists, itinerary, guest lists and archiving databases.

Arias worked with Brian Dunlap, director of engineering at Wireless Information Networks, to develop and build what he calls portable "droids." At concerts, one droid is positioned outside dressing rooms, the crew room, the stage, and the accounting, production, and MIS offices, as well as outside the loading dock area for the band and crew buses. Each of these six areas functions as an independent work group, and the droids wirelessly connect the hubs, printers, desktop and laptop PCs within each area that are networked to each other with wires.

All of the droids Arias uses at concerts have an ORiNOCO Access Point (AP-1000). AirPort access points and a couple of AP-1000s (with single radio cards) are used for wireless roaming (providing cross-platform wireless network access). Each AP-1000 has two radio card slots and connects to the hard-wired network within each area via its built-in 10Base-T Ethernet port.

The two radio cards in the AP-1000 allow it to carry the network signal to the other five droids throughout the backstage area. One droid positioned near the IT office has a special roaming card that starts the point-to-point wireless connection around the concert venue. Six droids are used as a wireless backbone to the hard-wired network at arena and outdoor venues, and up to l0 droids are used at larger stadium events.

To avoid interference from fluorescent lighting or cell phones at concerts, Arias uses a hand-held device called a Grasshopper Spectrum Analyzer from Berkeley Varitronics Systems to help set up the wireless network. The Grasshopper analyzes the radio spectrum and tells Arias what and where possible interference issues are going to be. Arias can switch channels, move access points more closely to each other, and position wireless range-extender antennas above the crowd's heads to combat interference and focus the radio signal to where it needs to be.

"We have less equipment to unload and less cable to install at new concert venues," says Arias. "Our setup time has been cut in half."

The Dave Matthews Band and crew now focus on putting on a good show for the fans.

Circle 251 for more information from Agere