Education
Network Access’ systematic approach to redesigning the college’s infrastructure resulted in cost savings while still giving students and teachers a more efficient, fast, and secure network.
Serving approximately 6,000 students throughout its main campus, six remote campuses and a public safety training center, the college offers a range of associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs. Their dedication to learning, student success, and innovation is facilitated by its dedication to providing state-of-the-art facilities, Internet access and an extensive wide-area network connecting all eight locations.
Challenge
Increased growth and new programs taxed the outdated networking infrastructure. The network functioned but lacked a seamless design and standardization. Because of these limitations, problems were tedious to troubleshoot, and limited bandwidth drew constant complaints about slow Internet access.
“We had acquired a new high-speed fiber connection, but because of the patched-together legacy system, we were unable to take full advantage of it,” said Pat M., IT Director for the college.
Solution
Solution: A Network Access Strategic Technology Assessment
Network Access’ Service Delivery Manager noted, “Because the network had evolved over many years as opposed to being implemented as a single cohesive vision, documentation was limited. Mapping out the network ‘blueprint’ gave us a better idea of what was going on.” Over a two-day period, the Network Access team was able to identify every component of the network, map out the flow of network traffic, identify all of the VLANs and other network pathways, and create the plan of action that would transform the entire multi-campus network.
Technology Overview
The college’s core Cisco switch and firewall were upgraded to better suit the multi-campus configuration, and a new Packeteer packet shaping device was added. Every switch at every location was reconfigured to complement the new architecture, and all new equipment was launched with the overall system in mind.
After completing the LAN upgrade, Network Access’ Solutions Architects tackled the WAN, which previously had multiple circuits to each location. “Each location had both a frame relay and a point-to-point circuit, one for faculty and staff and one for students. We eliminated the costly frame relay circuits, running only a single point-to-point connection to each campus, and saved the college about $3,000 a month in the process,” stated Network Access’ Service Delivery Manager. In order to restrict students from faculty and staff areas of the network, an access control list was deployed and imposed a granular level of authorization.
Results
- A unified IT infrastructure
- Cost savings through WAN consolidation
- Faster and more reliable network and Internet access
- Simplified problem resolution
“Over our holiday break, Network Access came in and redesigned our entire network to better use our fiber connection. The results were astounding,” says Pat M. At the end of the project, Westmoreland County Community College was able to provide its users with dramatically improved service, faster Internet connectivity, and greater confidence in the network.