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Make Your Network Mobile

Extreme Networks Case Study: University of Brighton

Leading UK University Turns to ExtremeNetworks for Reliability, Manageabilityand Flexibility

With ve UK campuses (in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings)

spanning 60 buildings and serving a community o over 21,000

students and 2,600 sta members, the University o Brighton isrecognised as a leading institution o higher education. With over 500

courses to choose rom, the University o Brighton is a modern,

innovative institution on one o the liveliest sections o the UK coast.

Since university designation in 1992, the University has grown steadily

and students graduate in a range o subjects as diverse as automotive

engine design, law with accountancy, midwiery, three-dimensional

design, architecture and pharmacy.

Growing Network Needs

The Universitys network plays an integral role and is business critical

or sta, lecturers and students, providing 24/7 access to the Virtual

Learning Environment (VLE) and business applications. The original

inrastructure was hybrid, home grown system, installed andmaintained by the IT department. The core network and applications

included a number o dierent vendors products, and no common

management platorm. Although this was suitable at the time, the

growing number o students, and consequently the growing pressure

on the network and IT sta, meant a more resilient, reliable and cost

ecient system was required.

The University eventually chose Extreme Networks to deliver a more

robust and secure network, with Extreme Networks BlackDiamond

8800 switches in the core and two new data centres based on the

Summit X650 and X460 switches. The resulting inrastructure

supports the delivery o lecturers notes and lessons through real-time

video applications, which provides students with a more fexible

approach to studying.

As a university our main priority is providing the best education

possible to our students, said David Rickhard, Network Services

Manager at the University o Brighton. This relies heavily on the ICT

inrastructure being able to deliver a high-perormance service, as well

as a resilient and reliable learning environment. We have worked with

Extreme Networks or over a decade and the decision to continue

working with them was an easy one to make. Not only did they have

proven experience in the education sector and within the University

itsel, but their proposals enabled us to meet all our business objectives

within a strict, designated budget.

Challenge

The University o Brighton needed a network that would

support the delivery o lecturers notes and lessons through

real-time video applications. Its original network was built

on a hodgepodge o products that was unmanageable.

SolutionExtreme Networks provided a comprehensive solution rom

core to edge based on BlackDiamond and Summit switche

Benefts

The network supports all o the applications the

University requires to provide students with a more

fexible approach to studying.

Extreme Networks provides 24/7 availability.

The solution is easy to manage with ExtremeXOS,

a consistent architecture across all products.

Extreme Networks Delivers

Virtual Learning Environment for

University of Brighton

7/30/2019 Extreme Networks University of Brighton Case Study

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Extreme Networks Case Study: University of Brighton

Make Your Network Mobile

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High Availability and Perormance orVirtual Learning

The University o Brighton prides itsel on keeping current with

developments in education technology and lecturers rely heavily

on the network to deliver lessons and distribute notes and grades

via the VLE. Lecturers regularly lm lectures, which can be stored

on the network and later streamed or downloaded by students, so

it is vital that network downtime is avoided.

Our ICT inrastructure is the backbone o the University and has

become an integral part o every students day-to-day lie, said

Rickhard. Extreme Networks cost-eective and versatile network

has enabled us to deliver a state-o-the-art virtual learning

environment which provides a space where teachers can deliver

lectures in real-time or as videos or streaming and download.

Thanks to the robust and secure solution provided by Extreme

Networks, we are able to continue to meet the highest standards

o education at our award winning acilities and meet student

demand or increased fexibility.

Extreme Networks BlackDiamond 8800 switch provides the

University with a specialised network solution that delivers high

density Power over Ethernet (PoE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet whereverits needed, and a high perormance enterprise core, which

eliminates bottlenecks between edge and core and reduces data

trac. The BlackDiamond 8800 switch has been complemented

with the ExtremeXOS modular operating system, common across

all Extreme Networks switches. The Extreme Networks solution

has enabled the University to simpliy network operations, despite

the increased number o users and pressure on the system.

The ExtremeXOS modular operating system and Summit

switches have been invaluable to us, said Rickhard. Managing a

network o this size requires a large amount o manpower and can

take up a huge amount o time, but the central management

system and automatic ailover mechanism oered by the

BlackDiamond 8800 means that i one switch ails the secondautomatically takes over. As a result, the sta and students that

rely on the network dont suer i problems do arise.

Extreme Networks provides high availability and simplicity and

delivers a consistent and hardened network inrastructure that

reduces management overhead, operational complexity and

capital expenditures or the University. It also delivers fawless

operations, as well as a secure and robust learning environment

or the distribution o voice, video and data to a highly mobile user

community through a prolieration o network enabled devices.

Customer service

The University appreciates the pride Extreme Networks takes in itscustomer service and support. Prior to installation, the Universitys

ICT inrastructure team was given ull access to the demonstration

centre at the UK headquarters, enabling them to see rst-hand the

capabilities and benets oered by Extreme Networks products.

The customer support has been impeccable, not only in terms o

continued support oered by the technical sta, who are an asset

to the company, but also in terms o training and seminars to

bring sta up-to-date with the system and technology, said

Rickhard. This is something weve noticed to be unique to

Extreme Networks. Youre not just an account number, youre a

customer, and even those at high levels within the organisation are

approachable and know you by name.

Excellent Return on Investment and Valueor Money

Virtually every educational institution is subject to strict budgetary

constraints, and must nd the absolute best value or money and

ROI available. These actors usually make or break a deal.

One o the deciding actors in staying with Extreme Networks

during the system upgrade was the return on investment we have

seen over the years weve been working with them. The network

has worked seamlessly or over 11 years with minimal disruption. I

the requirements o the network had not changed it would still be

sucient. When working within the tight budgets seen in the

education sector, this is a huge deciding actor, said Rickhard.

The bottom line is that the University sees no other network

partner in its uture. Since we started working with Extreme

Networks, theyve been quick to understand our requirements and

implement solutions that not only support out needs now but also

our plans or the uture, explained Rickhard. The fexibility

oered by Extreme Networks solutions is vital in a dynamic and

continually changing environment like the education sector. The

account management team keeps us up-to-date with new

applications and ways to improve the learning environment. We

look orward to continuing our relationship with Extreme

Networks and would recommend the company to anyone looking

to upgrade their ICT inrastructure.

Thanks to the robust and secure solution provided

by Extreme Networks we are able to continue to

meet the highest standards o education at our

award winning acilities and meet student demand

or increased fexibility.

- David Rickhard, Network Services

Manager at the University o Brighton

Since we started working with Extreme Networks,

theyve been quick to understand our requirements

and implement solutions that not only support outneeds now but also our plans or the uture.

- David Rickhard, Network Services

Manager at the University o Brighton

http://www.extremenetworks.com/http://www.extremenetworks.com/