Regional higher-ed and community innovator modernizes infrastructure and experiences with Aruba CX 8400, IAPs, and Central

To take its rich 80-year history of educational innovation into the future, California's West Hills Community College District (WHCCD) needed a reliable, modern networking infrastructure.

"We experienced multiple deficiencies with our existing Cisco wired infrastructure from the start," explains Jack Ramsey, Network Engineer for the Coalinga-based institution that also delivers education and training via partnerships with local school districts and industries.

"For example, whenever the power went out, almost a monthly occurrence in our rural area, 10 percent of our switches failed," he says. "To make matters worse, it could take months to receive warranty replacements. With today's reliance on technology for student success, we had to make a change."

WHCCD IT基础设施和安全总监Jeff Seed说：“从清晨到深夜，我们的教室活跃起来。”“此外，我们有校园住房，这在我们的社区大学同行中是独一无二的，它将24/7产生数据流量。”

Respected Reputation and Customer-First Culture Top the List

When it came time for a core-to-edge networking refresh, support topped the priority list. "Our classrooms are active from early morning to late at night," says Jeff Seed, Director of IT Infrastructure and Security at WHCCD. "Plus, we have on-campus housing, which is unique among our community college peers, generates data traffic 24/7."

Given its ultra-lean IT staff servicing three main campuses and two satellite locations dispersed across 3,500 miles, WHCCD also sought a reliable, secure solution capable of scaling to meet evolving demands.

Long partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise for servers and storage, WHCCD was accustomed to VIP treatment and trusted its HPE reps. "If any of HPE's equipment failed, we could count on replacements within a few hours," says Ramsey.

"Our HPE reps introduced us to Aruba solutions," he adds. "Aruba's 'customer first, customer last' culture, along with its respected wired and wireless networking reputation, gave us the confidence we needed to invest."

阿鲁巴CX Core Switching Saves the Day

与其本地集成合作伙伴合作ams.net, WHCCD selected an end-to-end wired and wireless solution from Aruba with advanced, comprehensive, AI-enabled management tools.

对于有线网络，该机构计划部署阿鲁巴CX 8400 core switch, with its microservices-based AOS-CX operating system, at each of its main campuses. Aruba's3810and2930访问开关将完成部署。

当设备仍在AMS仓库中时，一个校园的现有核心开关完全燃烧了。拉姆西说：“考虑到替代者的估计估计三天，我们呼吁AMS询问安装CX 8400。”“第二天早上，一名工程师安装了Aruba开关，并在几个小时内将整个校园带回了网上。”

弹性设计和分析引擎改善了操作并减少开销

By pairing the CX 8400 with Aruba's access switches, WHCCD gains the ability to use various task automation capabilities and powerful analytics engine for proactive management and faster troubleshooting. Other management pluses are the Python interpreter and RESTful APIs.

此外，CX 8400的弹性设计和开放标准操作系统还提供了进一步的好处。例如，其活性底盘组件不仅​​可以进行现场更换，而且还可以进行热扫，可减少相关的操作开销。此外，具有开放标准还可以增加采用伴侣技术的灵活性和敏捷性。

基于云的Aruba Central和Clearpass完成了堆栈

To complete its modernization and deliver seamless Wi-Fi experiences, WHCCD adopted阿鲁巴的室内和室外即时接入点（IAP）, for zero-touch provisioning, with阿鲁巴中央，用于基于云的网络优化和管理。

Using Central, WHCCD automated device onboarding, including for the many types of user-owned IoT devices proliferating across higher education campuses. "Before, we were approving devices manually," says Seed. "Now, users simply self-register."

解决安全问题，同时消除了手动努力的时间

For streamlined network access control (NAC), WHCCD unified wired and wireless security with阿鲁巴ClearPass. "The tight integration between ClearPass, our switching environment and Wi-Fi helps us address a number of security concerns," Seed says.

On the wired side, the colorless port capability in the 3810 switches enables ClearPass to assign roles and policies for connecting a specific device in real time. "This eliminates countless hours of manual effort around assigning and updating switch port configurations," says Seed.

It's a similar story for Wi-Fi, where ClearPass automatically grants access rights based on the same granular roles and policies WHCCD applies to its wired connections.

"Using ClearPass' intuitive dashboard and granular access capabilities we're not only giving users a consistent experience across wired and wireless, but also enjoying remarkably simplified management and significantly improved control," Seed says.

Seed说：“通过ClearPass确定更广泛的设备类型，我们确信可以正确应用访问角色，而无需任何其他人类干预。”

Seed说：“通过ClearPass确定更广泛的设备类型，我们确信可以正确应用访问角色，而无需任何其他人类干预。”

他补充说：“我对ClearPass如何积极地改变了我们的网络管理的方式说得不够。”

未来就已经准备就绪的网络和高级支持，可节省25万美元

With academic technologies growing increasingly bandwidth-intensive, such as for augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and other streaming visualizations, WHCCD now has the scalable, reliable and cost-effective infrastructure to respond.

Ramsey说：“由于我们的核心开关内置的冗余和弹性，我们只需要在每个位置部署一个单元。”“这是一个可观的资本节省，而每个校园安装两个核心。”

WHCCD is also delighted with its operational savings. "From past experience, we expected to need at least one more person, and probably two," says Seed. "Instead, it's taking so much less time to manage the network that I'm functionally the sole administrator."

支持的差异是白天。拉姆西说：“尽管我们的出现很少，但我们对Aruba用品的专业知识水平印象深刻。”“适当的工程师始终可以帮助快速解决问题，即使在周末也是如此。”

As a result, WHCCD estimates it's saving at least $250,000 versus staying with its previous vendor. "That's just for the initial investments," says Ramsey. "We certainly expect additional efficiencies to come."

As a result, WHCCD estimates it's saving at least $250,000 versus staying with its previous vendor.

More Capabilities On Deck

正在考虑的另一个有吸引力的解决方案是启用AI支持的用户体验Insight，以用户为中心的连接和应用程序性能。该工具将在影响用户之前积极地识别应用程序和网络服务问题。

此外,WHCCD对学习更感兴趣about solution enhancements that will enable managing the CX 8400 and Device Insight within Aruba Central. This could help the institution further streamline network administration, reduce overhead and improve overall user experiences.

Invaluable technology partner for the long haul

无论未来如何，WHCCD都准备就绪。Seed说：“借助我们的灵活，适应性和可扩展的网络，我们可以支持从未来农场的灌溉工程计划到烹饪艺术和酒店管理的所有事物的技术和机动性需求。”

最重要的是，WHCCD从长远来看获得了宝贵的技术合作伙伴。

Seed说：“当对您最遥远的校园进行两个小时的往返时，可靠的基础设施，简化的管理和可靠的支持对于交付您的任务至关重要。”“有了Aruba，我们拥有出色的经验 - 毫无疑问。”