California University simplifies the connected experience for 13K+ users daily

As an institution that prides itself on offering personalized education, it was imperative that Chapman University deliver a premiere connected experience for students, faculty and staff. With more than 9,000 students, 920 faculty and 60+ buildings stretched over both its main campus in Orange, CA, and Rinker Health Science campus in Irvine, Chapman was experiencing spotty coverage, frequent disconnects and a lack of consistent network security as students roamed inside and between buildings.

On any given day, up to 13,000 devices connect to the network at one time. Enabling easy device connectivity while also knowing what those devices are and who they belong to is crucial. Additionally, the IT team at Chapman needed to solve the following challenges:

• Installing a wireless solution that would meet the growing use of voice, e-Learning and cloud applications
• 管理宿舍中学生连接的物联网设备的涌入
• 并且，无论位置或访问方法如何，简化用户连接的方式

Wireless Made Easy and Secure

Chapman quickly replaced an open wireless configuration with a role-based, 802.1X model using Aruba wireless and ClearPass to simplify and secure the network. Students and staff were able to connect from anywhere using EDUROAM credentials and IT was able to easily segment student and staff traffic from guest traffic.

借助Aruba Wireless，无论是在课堂上审查课程还是在课堂上参加考试，学生都可以通过单个SSID获得可靠和安全的体验。现在可以在宿舍内的任何地方进行诸如Wi-Fi通话，Netflix流媒体或发布到社交媒体之类的服务。

"With our old wireless provider, we would hear complaints about students having problems connecting," Phillip Lyle, Assistant Vice President of Enterprise and Research Infrastructure at Chapman, says. "When 5 to 10 students out of 150 have an issue, it's a big deal. Ever since switching to Aruba wireless, the number of complaints have diminished considerably."

Enriching the Wi-Fi experience

Historically, throttles were applied at the wireless access point level due to concerns about contention and one user eating up all the bandwidth. As more and more voice and video apps are being used, there are no bandwidth restrictions on student, staff or guest connections.

This is important for teachers who are increasingly relying on mobile devices in their classrooms to deliver interactive content. They also depend on the students' ability to use audience participation apps such as到处都是民意调查在教室里，这使他们能够在讲座或讨论期间获得实时反馈。

“无线,在许多类,已成为一个努力,fast requirement for teaching," Lyle says. "Now we simply rely on Aruba's wireless software technology to balance the traffic load at the AP level."

通过更好的见解和网络管理功能节省时间

对于查普曼的IT部门而言，简化无线网络的管理并在决定与Aruba时获得更多的可见性是关键。在某些情况下，这意味着不再需要手动调整每个单独的访问点。

查普曼（Chapman）网络运营经理Mike Ferguson说：“我们已经能够依靠Airwave中的功能自动确定单个访问点的设置，例如渠道和电源选择。”“我们的团队在优化环境或建立新建筑方面节省了大量时间。”

故障排除也变得更加容易，不仅如此AirWave显示客户目前发生的事情，但过去发生了什么。

“我们选择阿鲁巴岛的原因是因为我们的感受we were getting a total package from the manageability perspective," Lyle says. "It has paid out in dividends for us as we've deployed thousands of access points over the last several years."

Simple IoT and Guest Access Registration

On today's university campuses, students are bringing devices, such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home, game consoles and Apple TVs on a regular basis. Devices and systems like door locks, smart lights and HVAC sensors used to simplify and automate controls, collect and monitor information at the university are also impacting IT.

To enhance the BYOD onboarding experience, Chapman is using the built-in device registration portal within阿鲁巴ClearPass因此学生可以注册自己的设备。学生每天都在使用它，它通过了解连接的内容，使用了多少个设备以及哪些设备属于每个学生来受益。

A simple-to-use guest access portal within ClearPass also allows visitors to self-register for Internet access. An additional benefit comes from the guest role automatically providing a way for Chapman to segment visitor traffic from student, staff and teacher traffic.

"ClearPass helps us manage it all," Ferguson says. "We're using it to simplify how users get access and isolate the traffic by a defined role, while using Aruba controllers and the wireless infrastructure to segment the traffic so it doesn't impact the learning experience."

阿鲁巴Wired Within Two New Buildings

发生了两次平行事件，使查普曼有机会将Aruba有线连通性带到校园，这已经是Aruba Wireless的100％。首先是其新的开放Keck Center for Science and Engineering这是一栋140,000平方英尺的建筑，可容纳查普曼科学技术学院，最终将包括其新的福勒工程学院。

The second was the查普曼大型住宅大楼, a converted apartment building that houses about 900 students. The plans for both buildings—each of which opened in the fall of 2018—was to not only use Aruba wireless throughout, but also to use Aruba wired switches. Being able to leverage the capabilities of ClearPass and Aruba's wireless software made opting for Aruba in the wired closets an easy decision.

连接未来的科学大楼

With Keck Center, Chapman opted forAruba 3800开关系列和2930F第3层开关用于聚合和阿鲁巴300 Series APs。多速率的开关有助于满足不断增长的带宽需求，因为该建筑物设有一个共享的核心实验室，用于高分辨率成像，世界一流的高性能计算设施和广泛的协作空间。

有计划利用ClearPass的能力来自动执行可以连接到交换机端口级别的功能。Aruba Dynamic分割是一项功能，还可以使Chapman利用其无线基础架构自动将设备及其流量分割在有线和无线上，无论位置如何。

新住宅大厅的零接触式供应

For the Chapman Grand apartment-style building, Chapman had to transition what had been traditional apartment building into a residential hall that is fitted for students. The team opted for an individual 2930M Series Layer 3 switch in each room. For wireless, Chapman is using 300 Series APs in every other room as well as in the hallways and outdoors.

"We had 400 rooms and 400 switches, and we had to install everything in a short amount of time," Lyle mentioned. "With Aruba, we were able to save time by using zero-touch provisioning to get every single apartment in the building online very quickly."

更多

将来，查普曼（Chapman）希望扩大其Aruba合作伙伴关系，并计划利用其新基础设施发挥其全部潜力。一个这样的产品是阿鲁巴子午线, which would allow students and visitors to use a mobile app and location awareness to easily navigate the campus and within buildings.

"We are excited by the possibilities of Meridian," Lyle says, adding that the PoC will run in about three buildings on the University's Rinker Health Science campus in Irvine. The primary purpose is to support public safety with an application calledCriticalArc。

Chapman also is evaluating Aruba NetInsight for real-time network analytics and will upgrade their wireless deployment which includes Aruba 500 Series 802.11ax APs and阿鲁巴OS 8in the summer to take advantage of real-time up upgrades and AI-powered RF management features.