CASE STUDY certificates and diplomas at undergraduate level , as well as advanced diplomas , postgraduate diplomas at honours level , and master ’ s and doctoral degrees in order to increase the production of world-class postgraduate programmes and highquality outputs for research .
Pain points
Prior to this implementation , Central University of Technology ’ s infrastructure was failing to meet the needs of both students and staff , with connectivity issues becoming a sore point for the University . According to Lucky Matjelo , Deputy Director , ICT Infrastructure Services at Central University of Technology , the University ’ s Wi-Fi , which was set up in 2009 as its secondary mode of connectivity after the LAN , had actually become the primary connection point for these users .
“ Over this time , technology has changed and advanced , and the existing solution , which was not scaled for high volume connectivity , was under increasing pressure ,” he comments . “ With around 22,000 staff and students on campus , each with a minimum of two devices and expectations of being able to connect wirelessly around the campus , connectivity had become an issue for us . The end-oflife infrastructure needed to be replaced .”
Challenges for Central University of Technology included low through-put , resulting in poor connectivity ; poor coverage , both inside and outside ; and a lack of visibility on the network . This was particularly challenging in the event of users reporting connectivity delays , as the Central University of Technology team was unable to ascertain what was happening on the network at the time .
The pandemic also played a role in these increasing needs , as the reliance on virtual meetings increased , further overloading the Wi-Fi infrastructure .
Upgrading and implementation
Central University of Technology decided that a network and Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrade was critical for the University to meet its digital transformation objective of building a smart campus , where both students and staff are always connected through improved network infrastructure and reliable , responsive connectivity .
The new wireless network infrastructure would ensure the connectedness of students and staff to digital resources both internal and external to the network , as well as providing the medium through which Central
University of Technology would be able to relay data from smart buildings ’ backend systems for analysis and reporting , and to provide a connected access control system for a more secure campus .
Central University of Technology went out on tender through its partner PURCO in order to appoint a service provider that could implement a Wi-Fi solution that would be able to seamlessly integrate with the University ’ s existing network infrastructure and improve its Wi-Fi services .
Says Matjelo : “ An additional requirement was that the supplier should have done a similar project in the higher education sector .”
Datacentrix ’ s footprint in education , which extends to the support of several local universities , and vendor certification levels , as Aruba Platinum Partner with ClearPass Policy Management competencies and the 2022 winner of the Aruba Partner Deal of the year award , were important in its appointment .
Datacentrix was awarded the procurement , configuration and installation of Wi-Fi equipment for a period of three years at both the Welkom and Bloemfontein campuses of the University , as well as Level One Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment certification and competitive pricing , explains Henry Denner , Datacentrix Account Manager : Commercial .
The solution
The wireless and network upgrade project , in partnership with Aruba as the vendor , was undertaken to leverage technologies and elevate connectivity , performance , and security within the University ’ s existing Wi-Fi network infrastructure .
During this comprehensive upgrade initiative , Aruba ’ s state-of-the-art wireless access points , APs were strategically deployed to establish a seamless and high-density wireless network . These APs are designed to adhere to the latest Wi-Fi standards , including 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 , facilitating faster data rates , increased capacity , and reliability , culminating in exceptional user experience for stakeholders , including students , staff , alumni , and IoT devices .
To facilitate seamless network administration , Aruba ’ s central management platform , specifically Aruba Central , was employed . The cloud-based solution empowers network administrators to efficiently configure , manage , and troubleshoot the infrastructure from a unified interface , streamlining the network administration process .
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