Globe Life Field通过智能，快速，安全的基于Aruba ESP的Edge Network提供了首屈一指的粉丝和来宾体验

Meeting professional baseball fan expectations for the latest in sports entertainment required the Texas Rangers Baseball Club to build a new ballpark that supplied more technology-enabled experiences than ever before, without adding IT overhead.

"From parking convenience and mobile ticketing to contactless in-seat ordering and mixed-reality social media experiences, we sought a networking infrastructure capable of helping us deliver world-class experiences," explains Michael Bullock, Vice President of Information Technology for the Arlington, Texas-based Rangers. "We also needed to design for the future as our industry is continuously evolving."

阿鲁巴Supplies the Right Combination of Networking Solutions

As plans took shape for the Rangers' 1.8 million-square-foot Globe Life Field, the 41,000-seat stadium called for network-powered amenities such as a 5.5 acre retractable roof and two massive Daktronics videoboards for displaying live and replay images plus granular real-time game-play statistics. Additionally, the Field would encourage fan interaction with purpose-built Selfie Spots, integration with the Major League Baseball's augmented-reality app and while-you-wait customized merchandise creation.

布洛克说：“我们非常专注于LAN和WLAN技术对粉丝体验的影响。”“我们还需要成为未来的Futer-Fimible，这几乎影响了所有设计和能力决策。而且，由于我们是不断增长的娱乐区，称为Texas Live！”

为了与受信任的合作伙伴Lumen和KLA Labs合作，护林员评估了Aruba，Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company以及另一个著名的网络供应商Aruba的《连线和无线解决方案》。

Bullock说：“尽管我们是以前设施的3COM/HPE合作伙伴，但我们考虑了Aruba和其他著名球员。”“阿鲁巴没有其他提供商提供的复杂管理工具的高级硬件和创新软件技术的正确组合。”

通过智能，分析和自动化增强成功的能力

The Rangers selected multiple products for the Globe Life Field's Aruba ESP infrastructure. For wireless, this includes a total of 1300阿鲁巴's 530 Series Wi-Fi 6 access points(APs) andoutdoor APsalong with7200系列移动控制器。

For its wired network, the Rangers choseCX 8400 Switch Seriesat the core,CX 8230 Switch Series for aggregationand2930 Switch Seriesfor edge access.

Effectively managing a 400 percent increase in switch ports

On the management side, the Rangers are streamlining wired and wireless network administration by implementingAirWave for network managementalong withClearPass for network access control (NAC) and policy management。The baseball club also adoptedNeteditfor coordinating switch configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting.

"Our IT staff not only operates Globe Life Field but also has ongoing responsibility for Globe Life Park," says Bullock.

“把它放在上下文,我们管理约400percent more switch ports at our new facility than the old one," he adds. "Having leading-edge, automated infrastructure with advanced analytics ensures our lean IT staff can do more without adding to our existing headcount."

Proactively improving user experiences with AIOps

此外，护林员的部署包括用户体验洞察力（UXI）for Wi-Fi incident detection using AIOps to pinpoint issues that require immediate attention.

"In our dynamic environment it's imperative to proactively remediate experience issues before they affect fans," Bullock says. "The AIOps capabilities within UXI empower us to diagnose and resolve problems remotely and in real time, rather than waiting to troubleshoot after the fact."

如今，流浪者网络支持多个有助于提供首要粉丝和来宾体验的系统，同时使俱乐部能够可靠，安全地运营其组织。

Smoothing the Journey Despite COVID-19

像许多重大建筑项目一样，流浪者只遇到了小障碍，直到19日大流行。在随后的几个月中，棒球俱乐部依靠其新基础设施中的自动化功能来帮助维持项目时间表。

"For example, we have 1400 IPTVs positioned around the ballpark," says Bullock. "Rather than configuring switch ports manually for each TV, Aruba's tools automated the process via device profiling. This reduced configuration time for the TVs, from months to weeks."

The cost savings from automating switch configurations was also considerable. "We saved about a million dollars on integration costs versus the traditional manual methods," Bullock says.

Invaluable service and support helps opening day stay on track

游骑兵还感谢阿鲁巴的技术支持，以帮助按计划进行开幕日。

布洛克说：“我们在世界大赛之前几周开业。”“这是108年来世界大赛第一次在中立地上演奏，因此对我们的球场准备就很重要。”

Bullock将流浪者的成功开放归因于选择正确的技术和合作伙伴。他说：“不可能为我们从阿鲁巴获得的服务和支持付出代价。”

Reliably and Securely Powering Hundreds of Apps

如今，流浪者网络支持多个有助于提供首要粉丝和来宾体验的系统，同时使俱乐部能够可靠，安全地运营其组织。This includes adopting IoT-enabled solutions like sensors for tracking paper towel dispenser levels, Assa Abloy physical access controls, and advanced building automation systems to keep the ballpark at a comfortable 72F year-around.

The network also supports over 200 business, facilities and IT applications. These range from common cloud-enabled tools including Box, Slack and Monday to highly specialized systems such as the retractable roof controls, Comrex media broadcasting tools, and a HPE Nimble Storage disaggregated HCI (dHCI) cluster that contributes to internal data center redundancy.

“我们的网络作为神经系统rge public venue that is chock full of network-connected electronic sensors and controls," Bullock says. "Aruba's solutions have enabled us to engineer the equivalent of a living, breathing facility, while minimizing IT and back office overhead by giving us intelligent, automated networking infrastructure."

Profitably supporting revenue-generating special events

The baseball club also relies upon its modern infrastructure to profitably support a wide variety of revenue-generating special events.

"We can expect to host about a dozen major events annually, like the National Rodeo Finals or popular music concerts, as well as many smaller ones, like commencement ceremonies for area high schools," Bullock says.

与建立网络要求的球游戏不同，每个特殊事件都具有独特的规格，使智能有线和无线至关重要。Bullock说：“由于我们的新基础架构基于软件定义的网络原理，因此我们的技术人员可以在需要的任何地方插入设备，并且在没有网络工程师的任何帮助的情况下，它可以配置自身。”

"Having a network that can dynamically reconfigure itself in a reliable and responsive way is a big win in any stadium environment," he adds.

Reducing manual tasks boosts IT job satisfaction

除了确保Bullock的IT部门可以减少努力，自我维持的网络还可以提高员工工作满意度。

他说：“随着高技能工程师的执行繁琐的任务，我们不仅可以更明智地使用我们的资源，而且还证明了我们通过使他们从事更重要的关键任务项目来重视他们的技能。”

More AI-enabled Innovation on the Horizon

Looking ahead, the Rangers expect to evaluate other Aruba's networking solutions such as Central, for unified network management and advanced AIOps, Location Services, to support real-time crowd intelligence, and Air Pass, for seamless device handoffs between cellular networks and Wi-Fi.

布洛克说：“我们绝对会考虑为我们提供更多自动化和知名度的解决方案。”“继续创新，使我们能够满足对粉丝体验和运营效率的期望，甚至还没有考虑过。”

Meanwhile, the baseball club's wired and wireless infrastructure is playing a starring role in the organization's success.

"Aruba technologies are essential to the operation of our hyper-connected stadium, which is essential to delivering exceptional experiences to our fans and guests," Bullock says. "We can proudly say we'd select the same solutions and partner if we had to do it all over again."