The jumping off point for climbers hoping to stand on the 20,320 foot summit of Denali, Talkeetna, Alaska is a must-see on on any Alaska adventure. Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge is the luxurious gateway to all the unmatched outdoor activities Denali and the Alaska Range has to offer; including flight rafting, jetboat rides, fishing, dog mushing tours, and more.
 Built from Alaska's natural resources and resting on 35 acres of a 640-acre site, the Talkeetna Lodge created an interesting challenge for IT manager Scott McDonald when he set out to provide wireless Internet access across the ground. After a number of failed attempts due to inadequate coverage provided by various networking solutions and gear, Scott McDonald took the recommendation of a trusted local reseller, Tranzeo Wireless Equipment, and turned to the Meraki solution.
Scott purchased six Meraki indoor repeaters and within a few hours, without the help or guidance of professional installers or integrators, McDonald created a mesh network stretching from the main lodge to the surrounding guest rooms. "I continue to be amazed by the range and penetration of the Meraki signal, it has a way of reaching areas and places where I would have never thought possible," McDonald said.
McDonald was pleased with the performance of the Meraki mesh network and, as a result of the scalable nature of the Meraki solution, he was able to continue to grow his network by simply adding more Meraki repeaters to the fringe of the Talkeetna network. By adding both the Meraki Indoor and the Meraki Outdoor, McDonald was able to grow the network to reach all the surrounding guest rooms, as well as connect the two main lodges, to provide seamless coverage to all employees and guests. “We are very happy with the way that the mesh of signals continue to give overlapping coverage to the two main lodges. It is amazing how the mesh continues to connect in even the most densely wooded locations," Said McDonald.
 Once the network was up and running McDonald tested a few billing systems to allow his guests to pay for Internet access by credit card or PayPal. McDonald tested a number a solutions and decided to leverage Meraki's integrated billing system which required no additional software or setup. “It was the simplest thing ever," McDonald explained, "I simply changed a few settings on the dashboard, Meraki's hosted management system, and and the billing system was up and running.”
Using Meraki, Scott McDonald was able to offer seamless Internet access to employees and pay-for-access to guests of the Talkeetna Lodge. |
