Building a Wi-Fi campus network for the American University of Central Asia
AUCA is the first university in Central Asia that offers accredited U.S. degrees in humanities through a partnership with Bard College in the United States
In 2015, the AUCA Board decided to update the existing equipment every five years. IT-specialists of the university launched the process of upgrading the core network and building a Wi-Fi campus network. They faced the main task - to replace the outdated equipment with modern equipment that meets the needs of the university, to increase the productivity of the local network and provide university users with comfortable Internet access.
In 2015, the AUCA Board decided to update the existing equipment every five years. IT-specialists of the university launched the process of upgrading the core network and building a Wi-Fi campus network. They faced the main task - to replace the outdated equipment with modern equipment that meets the needs of the university, to increase the productivity of the local network and provide university users with comfortable Internet access.
Before the beginning of AUCA modernization users periodically faced failures in the network. For example, during video conferences with lecturers from abroad the signal could be lost, there were breakdowns of communication, the user's equipment did not always switch ideally from one access point to another when changing the location of users at the university. In addition, "curious" students periodically tried to test the university's information security system by launching various attacks, including those like Man in the middle.
— How did the process of upgrading the network equipment in AUCA begin?
— We have divided the modernization process into three stages. The first was to identify problems with the network and develop solutions. The second was the pilot launch of test equipment. And the third was the full completion of the university's transition to new equipment. The analysis of the existing network at that time revealed problems with the equipment and its implementation at the initial level. The new AUCA campus was designed very competently, but the old access points did not support seamless roaming, which led to malfunctions in the Wi-Fi network, especially when teachers and students moved from classroom to classroom. This caused some difficulties for users. And the quality of the AUCA campus signal coverage left much to be desired.
— What requirements have you set for the equipment?
— One of the main characteristics for IT professionals was the resistance of the machine to increased loads. Not to mention the quality of the signal transmission, the excellent assembly and the increased fault tolerance of the equipment.
— How did the process of upgrading the network equipment in AUCA begin?
— We have divided the modernization process into three stages. The first was to identify problems with the network and develop solutions. The second was the pilot launch of test equipment. And the third was the full completion of the university's transition to new equipment. The analysis of the existing network at that time revealed problems with the equipment and its implementation at the initial level. The new AUCA campus was designed very competently, but the old access points did not support seamless roaming, which led to malfunctions in the Wi-Fi network, especially when teachers and students moved from classroom to classroom. This caused some difficulties for users. And the quality of the AUCA campus signal coverage left much to be desired.
— What requirements have you set for the equipment?
— One of the main characteristics for IT professionals was the resistance of the machine to increased loads. Not to mention the quality of the signal transmission, the excellent assembly and the increased fault tolerance of the equipment.
The access points previously used at AUCA were designed for 20-25 simultaneous connections each, but the university lacked these resources.
In the process of searching for more powerful and modern equipment, we chose the products of the world brand Cisco, applying for professional support from the company Green Light.
— Why did AUCA chose Cisco?
— The equipment of this vendor AUCA partially started to use since 2007. During this time, our specialists have had time to make sure of the reliability, as well as the unique technical characteristics of the equipment Cisco. In the process of updating the network infrastructure, we decided to abandon the hardware of other vendors and switch over to Cisco. After successful tests during the pilot project, we switched to the main purchases of Cisco Aironet 2800 access points, which are designed for 200 active connections. The difference compared to the equipment installed at AUCA earlier is almost 10 times. When upgrading the network infrastructure, we had to minimize the risks, so we purchased redundant equipment for the network core, so that in case of emergency failure of the main network component, the American University of Central Asia would not be left without communication. We also installed a Cisco 5508 controller for centralized management of Wi-Fi access points. Of course, it was possible to do with cheaper analogues, but we would hardly have achieved such flexibility when using the network: now AUCA has an opportunity to segment users and provide them with access to the network depending on their profile. The cost of Cisco equipment justifies the cost by 100 percent. Today AUCA with 110 access points serves only three network administrators, despite the fact that the university is an Enterprise-class building. The university has more than 600 desktop computers, and the total number of equipment exceeds 1,000 units.
— Why did AUCA chose Cisco?
— The equipment of this vendor AUCA partially started to use since 2007. During this time, our specialists have had time to make sure of the reliability, as well as the unique technical characteristics of the equipment Cisco. In the process of updating the network infrastructure, we decided to abandon the hardware of other vendors and switch over to Cisco. After successful tests during the pilot project, we switched to the main purchases of Cisco Aironet 2800 access points, which are designed for 200 active connections. The difference compared to the equipment installed at AUCA earlier is almost 10 times. When upgrading the network infrastructure, we had to minimize the risks, so we purchased redundant equipment for the network core, so that in case of emergency failure of the main network component, the American University of Central Asia would not be left without communication. We also installed a Cisco 5508 controller for centralized management of Wi-Fi access points. Of course, it was possible to do with cheaper analogues, but we would hardly have achieved such flexibility when using the network: now AUCA has an opportunity to segment users and provide them with access to the network depending on their profile. The cost of Cisco equipment justifies the cost by 100 percent. Today AUCA with 110 access points serves only three network administrators, despite the fact that the university is an Enterprise-class building. The university has more than 600 desktop computers, and the total number of equipment exceeds 1,000 units.
— What results have AUCA achieved with the introduction of Cisco equipment?
— Today we are finishing the third stage of modernization of the campus Wi-Fi network, which will be finally launched in September. In fact, we have managed to minimize the number of user requests for network failures. The main thing for us is that users were satisfied! Thanks to the installation of Cisco network equipment, which has long established itself in the world market, the American University of Central Asia has provided fault-tolerant connection to the core network. The necessary margin for increased network performance was provided. And the installation of the Cisco wireless access point controller made network operation comfortable and safe. We learnt how to recognize most of types of network attacks. In case of danger, the system automatically sends notifications to the network administrators. So it's easy for us to solve any problem related to attacks on our network and to minimize these attempts by protecting the personal data of users as much as possible!
— What can you say about working with Green Light?
— We have been cooperating with this company for a long time and are very satisfied with the results. Green Light meets international standards of customer service. Addressing the Green Light about licensing and equipment purchasing questions, we always get the result we dreamed of. Employees of the company are really experts in the field of IT-technologies. They select optimal solutions for us, "relieving pain" from AUCA as a customer and eliminating the need to solve all the technical issues on their own. Thanks to their competence and tips, we have built a proper modernization process. Thanks to the guys for their great service and high level of work!
— Today we are finishing the third stage of modernization of the campus Wi-Fi network, which will be finally launched in September. In fact, we have managed to minimize the number of user requests for network failures. The main thing for us is that users were satisfied! Thanks to the installation of Cisco network equipment, which has long established itself in the world market, the American University of Central Asia has provided fault-tolerant connection to the core network. The necessary margin for increased network performance was provided. And the installation of the Cisco wireless access point controller made network operation comfortable and safe. We learnt how to recognize most of types of network attacks. In case of danger, the system automatically sends notifications to the network administrators. So it's easy for us to solve any problem related to attacks on our network and to minimize these attempts by protecting the personal data of users as much as possible!
— What can you say about working with Green Light?
— We have been cooperating with this company for a long time and are very satisfied with the results. Green Light meets international standards of customer service. Addressing the Green Light about licensing and equipment purchasing questions, we always get the result we dreamed of. Employees of the company are really experts in the field of IT-technologies. They select optimal solutions for us, "relieving pain" from AUCA as a customer and eliminating the need to solve all the technical issues on their own. Thanks to their competence and tips, we have built a proper modernization process. Thanks to the guys for their great service and high level of work!