Texas A&M University is currently in the process of deploying the Aruba 802.11n mobile network across its entire campus to support the growing number of mobile devices used by its student body and faculty. The University is replacing its Cisco (News - Alert) wireless network with the Aruba Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture-based Aruba 802.11n mobile network to ensure adequate support for the explosive BYOD growth across its campus, while also reducing the need for excessive helpdesk support.
The Texas A&M University main campus comprises of more than 500 buildings which are spread over an area of 5,200 acres. Currently the campus has 60 percent wireless coverage with close to 3,000 Aruba 802.11n access points (APs) already deployed. The University’s IT leaders have estimated the need for additional 3,000 to 4,000 additional APs to ensure 100 percent wireless campus-wide coverage. Layer 3 Communications is managing the network deployment for Aruba.
In a release, Willis Marti, director of networking and information security for Texas A&M, said that, "Three years ago you might have had a 1:1 ratio of students and faculty to mobile devices, and that 'mobile' device was probably a laptop that you used, and closed, then moved on. Now, you have closer to a 3:1 or even 5:1 ratio of devices to users, and they are always on. That requires a high-performance and highly reliable mobile network, and that's what we have with Aruba."
Two main characteristics that won Aruba the deal were high-performance and reliability delivered by the Aruba AP-125. Other reasons why the University decided to deploy Aruba was the ease of deployment and simplified management of the network.
Robert Fenstermacher, director of educational solutions marketing at Aruba, said "Like most universities around the world, Texas A&M is facing the bring-your-own-device, or 'BYOD' phenomenon. The campus-wide migration to an 802.11n network will not only enable mobility to play a growing role in teaching and learning, but will also help ensure that student and faculty satisfaction with the service remains high, well into the future."
With Aruba AirWave (News - Alert), the university is able to manage the extensive and growing network. Aruba AirWave offers increased IT visibility into the various aspects of service quality which includes Wi-Fi coverage; access points (APs), and controllers, as well as the wired network in addition to providing tools for optimizing operations and performance of the network.
Edited by Brooke Neuman