Spanish University Upgrades Campus Wi-Fi Network

Aruba Networks has announced that Spain's Universidad de Valladolid has upgraded the Wi-Fi network at its campuses in Valladolid, Palencia, and Segovia with its 802.11n solution and AirWave Wireless Management Suite. Founded in 1293, Universidad de Valladolid encompasses 45 buildings and supports 25,000 students, 3,000 teaching staff, and 900 administration staff.

The AirWave suite manages over 600 access points, while Aruba partner Ambar Telecomunicaciones provided consultancy and integration services.

"The university was an early adopter of wireless networking, but as the system expanded the legacy network could not easily scale to address our throughput, security, and management needs," said Fernando Martin Pelayo, subdirector of networking at the Universidad de Valladolid. "We needed a more capable Wi-Fi network and a replacement for the proprietary management tool that we had been using. The AirWave suite manages our existing Trapeze 802.11a/b/g network, and of course our new high performance Aruba network, all from a common console. The multi-vendor capability saves us training time and the expense of buying and maintaining independent management tools. Best of all, it's easy to use."

Aruba's Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) technology automates site surveys and using infrastructure-based controls to optimize the performance of Wi-Fi clients in real-time. By controlling how Wi-Fi clients interact, ARM helps ensure that 802.11n data, voice, and video applications have sufficient network resources, including airtime, to operate properly.

"The Universidad de Valladolid demonstrates that institutions with 802.11a/b/g wireless networks have an economical means to support their legacy equipment even as they migrate to 802.11n," said Jose Tormo, Aruba's Iberia sales director. "A 'rip-and-replace' strategy for network upgrading is no longer necessary because Aruba allows universities to upgrade on a schedule and budget that works best for them. We keep it simple: one tool with one common management interface for as many devices and vendors as you like."

Posted to the site on 10th June 2009