New Campus-wide 802.11ac Replaces Meru Networks, Solves Device Density Challenges
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) today announced that Illinois State
University (ISU), ranked among the top universities in the nation by
U.S. News and World Report, is deploying a campus-wide Aruba
802.11ac-based network. The new Gigabit Wi-Fi infrastructure is enabling
Illinois State to securely connect the 30,000+ mobile and wireless
devices being used on campus while allowing University faculty to
incorporate a wide range of education technologies and enhanced
collaboration into their academic programs.
Illinois State’s Administrative Technologies department had been
receiving complaints about their existing network’s coverage,
reliability and speed, especially in sections of the campus with extreme
device density. To address those concerns and improve network access for
students, faculty, staff and guests, Illinois State decided to replace
its Meru Networks wireless infrastructure and upgrade the network. After
a thorough review of options, including a bake-off between Aruba and
Cisco, Illinois State selected Aruba’s 802.11ac solution. Key
considerations in Illinois State’s decision were Aruba’s ability to
handle increasingly high device density, deliver outstanding
performance, and quickly authenticate device connections on a
multi-vendor network while the University migrates to the new Aruba
infrastructure over the next three years.
“Some students today are bringing up to five mobile and wireless devices
each onto campus,” said Ryan Johnston, Interim Director of
Infrastructure, Operations and Networking for Illinois State. “From
laptops, tablets and smartphones to televisions, Blu-ray players, gaming
systems and printers, there is truly an explosion of devices trying to
access the network. Our students expect their devices to work anywhere
on campus, and to work as well as they do on their home networks. Our
new Aruba infrastructure with ClearPass will allow us to provide the
consistently fast and reliable access our students are demanding.”
The growing number of devices that Illinois State University students
are bringing onto campus reflects the findings of a survey that Aruba
conducted on #GenMobile,
a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their mobile devices
for every aspect of work, school and personal communication. In that
study, 64% of respondents reported that they own three or more connected
devices.
Illinois State’s new network will be comprised of Aruba
AP-220 Series 802.11ac access points (APs)
and Aruba
270 Series Outdoor 802.11ac APs – both with Aruba’s patented ClientMatch™
technology, which continuously matches mobile devices to the best access
points as they roam through the campus, 7200
Series Mobility Controllers, the AirWave
Network Management System, and the ClearPass
Access Management System.
In addition to supporting student devices on campus, the new Aruba
infrastructure allows the University’s faculty to better utilize the
wireless network for instruction. “Our professors want to detach from
the podium and move around the classroom, encouraging more collaborative
work,” continued Johnston. “They want to use Apple TVs and Chromecast
devices to enable students to delve deeper into course materials. Also,
for our teaching program, which is well-known for its focus on 21st
Century teaching practices, wirelessly projecting from a tablet is a
vital capability for instruction. Aruba’s AirGroup feature can allow our
teachers to do this easily.”
Secure guest access was another key factor in Illinois State’s selection
of Aruba. Said Johnston, “We have a high number of visitors on campus
each day including visiting faculty, conference, and event attendees who
want to use the wireless network. We must be able to support their
connectivity needs too, and with ClearPass, we can ensure that each user
on the network has the proper access privileges based on who they are
and what device they are using.”
Looking ahead, the University expects the growth of mobile devices to
continue and Johnston is confident that the new Aruba network will meet
the school’s evolving needs. “With innovations like connected watches
and other wearables coming to market, we expect the number of devices to
continue increasing and we need to be prepared to handle these new
developments. We’re confident that the Aruba infrastructure will be able
to keep pace with our future connectivity demands,” Johnston said.
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network access
solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs and delivers
Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and #GenMobile, a
new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their mobile devices for
every aspect of work and personal communication. To create a mobility
experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely upon, Aruba Mobility-Defined
Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide performance optimization and
trigger security actions that used to require manual IT intervention.
The results are dramatically improved productivity and lower operational
costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in
Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more,
visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
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and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
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© 2014 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include Aruba
Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized), Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®, People
Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®, RFProtect®, Green
Island®, ETips®, ClientMatchTM, Virtual
Intranet AccessTM, ClearPass Access Management
SystemsTM, Aruba InstantTM,
ArubaOSTM, xSecTM,
ServiceEdgeTM, Aruba ClearPass Access
Management SystemTM, AirmeshTM,
AirWaveTM, Aruba CentralTM,
and “ARUBA@WORKTM. All rights reserved. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Aruba Networks, Inc.
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
Director of Corporate Communications
pradda@arubanetworks.com
or
LSH Communications for Aruba Networks
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
Principal
lhultin@arubanetworks.com