Leading University Deploys Aruba Security and Wireless Solutions Across Three Campuses Totaling 10 Million Square Feet to Foster Research, eLearning and Address Student Mobility Demands
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced
that the University of New Hampshire (UNH), a leading public institution
and flagship research university, has deployed a new Aruba Wi-Fi network
to satisfy the increasing demands of its 16,000 students and 2,000
faculty and staff.
Founded in 1866, UNH maintains three campuses, comprising 2,600 acres
and 150 buildings that total 10 million square feet. The University is
recognized for its national and international research with a portfolio
that includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, receiving more
than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to explore
and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.
Like many universities, UNH has experienced a growing population of
students bringing multiple mobile devices to campus and demanding
seamless, high-performance wireless connectivity everywhere on campus.
The ability to offer fast, reliable Wi-Fi was becoming an important
factor in attracting prospective students as well as top-notch teaching
talent. In addition, the University realized that secure and seamless
wireless connectivity was critical for in-classroom educational
applications and test-taking, and to support UNH’s extensive research
agenda.
UNH’s existing infrastructure simply could not handle the increasing
demands which UNH Telecom Operations Manager, Dan Corbeil, characterizes
as approximately 67,000 registered and 17,000 simultaneous mobile device
connections on any given day.
“We were hearing from students who were experiencing slow connections or
who were just being dropped from the wireless whether they were using it
in their dorm rooms or on campus,” said Corbeil. The service degradation
was caused by a combination of older technology and the explosion of the
number of Wi-Fi connected devices.
Corbeil noted that the problems extended into the classrooms where
faculty, also plagued by the connection issues, would tell students not
to use the wireless network to access their application for taking tests.
“Students were noting that they were being dropped mid-test or that
their test would time out. Both students and faculty were understandably
frustrated,” he said.
Realizing that a forklift upgrade was inevitable, UNH evaluated
solutions from multiple vendors, before deciding to standardize on Aruba.
UNH deployed Aruba
7200 Series Mobility Controllers, 320
Series Access Points (802.11ac Wave 2), AirWave network management
and ClearPass
for policy management and authentication. The University is also using
Aruba’s 270 Series APs in some outdoor areas and a combination of APs in
its football stadium both in the interior club and press level suites
and in some sections in under-the-seat configurations.
According to Corbeil, Aruba
AirWave with Clarity was of interest, as they wanted visibility into
the myriad of devices on the network. Clarity helps pinpoint and resolve
connectivity issues quickly and easily before users are affected, rather
than after the fact. Corbeil also noted that ClientMatch, a component of
Aruba’s RF management technology that monitors and automatically matches
clients to the best available access point, was a key feature that
helped confirm their decision.
“ClientMatch was certainly attractive and I don’t think there was any
other vendor doing this,” he noted. “Its ability to provide a better
experience for our users was one of the deciding factors.”
With the new Wave 2-based network in place, UNH can satisfy the
institution’s current needs, while laying the foundation for future
initiatives including expanding outdoor wireless coverage, upgrading the
Wi-Fi in UNH’s hockey arena, and eliminating more wired ports to
reinvest the savings in the Wi-Fi. Corbeil says that the new network is
already accomplishing UNH’s goal of delivering reliable, high-performing
connectivity to students and faculty and improving the wireless
experience across campus.
About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of
next-generation networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes
worldwide. The company delivers IT solutions that empower organizations
to serve the latest generation of mobile-savvy users who rely on
cloud-based business apps for every aspect of their work and personal
lives.
To learn more, visit Aruba at
http://www.arubanetworks.com
.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at
http://community.arubanetworks.com
.
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
pavel.radda@hpe.com
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
lori.hultin@hpe.com