Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), a leading provider of
next-generation network access solutions for the mobile enterprise,
today announced that Stony Brook University, a Top Public National
University according to the 2014
edition of the US News and World Report survey,
and part of the State University of New York (SUNY), has deployed Aruba’s
802.11ac Wi-Fi solution in key areas of its campus. Stony Brook has
upgraded its Javits Lecture Center and plans to outfit its new indoor
sports complex with Aruba’s 802.11ac infrastructure to accommodate the
dramatic increase in mobile and wireless devices that the University’s
24,000 students and 12,000+ staff are using on campus.
Stony Brook has an existing Aruba Networks wireless LAN (WLAN) that
covers the majority of the campus and is comprised of 3,000 Aruba
802.11n access points, the AirWave Network Management System and the ClearPass
Access Management System. In the University’s Javits Lecture Center,
10 lecture halls are used by approximately 17,000 students weekly, with
an average lecture hall holding 200 students and the largest
accommodating more than 500. As students in the Lecture Center are
increasingly bringing multiple mobile devices to class and relying on
the wireless network, Stony Brook recognized the need to upgrade the
Center’s wireless infrastructure to meet the rigorous performance and
density demands. The University deployed 44 Aruba
AP-225 802.11ac access points to cover the Lecture Center’s 10 halls.
“We’ve seen a remarkable increase in mobile and wireless devices on
campus and this has resulted in extraordinary demand on our wireless
network,” said James Hart, Director of Network Services at Stony Brook
University. “With nearly 1,000 mobile devices accessing the network from
Javits Lecture Center alone, and this number expecting to increase, it
was clear that we needed to make the move to 802.11ac in high density
areas to support our students’ and faculty’s use of the network.”
According to Hart, both students and staff have been enthused about the
speed and reliability of the 802.11ac network. The University’s IT
department has also been encouraged to see that client devices are
achieving speeds of up to 450Mbps, and that support calls have been
minimal since the Lecture Center was upgraded. Stony Brook’s professors
are increasingly using the wireless network in the classroom, connecting
their iPads to project content onto classroom screens and using the
iPads to interact and answer student questions during lectures. Mike
Ospitale, Campus Network Manager for Stony Brook, commented, “Having a
high-performing 802.11ac infrastructure now allows us to expand our
capabilities in the classrooms. We plan to increase our use of Apple
TVs, for example, as well as use Aruba’s
AirGroup to make plug-and-play network services like Apple AirPlay
and AirPrint available to students’ and teachers’ mobile devices. All
around, the wireless network supports a much more interactive classroom.”
In addition to the Javits Lecture Center, Stony Brook plans to expand
802.11ac access to its brand new Stony Brook Sports Complex, an indoor
arena containing more than 4,000 seats. Working with Aruba, the
University has already completed the design phase and expects to deploy
35 additional Aruba 802.11ac APs for the arena’s wireless access.
Stony Brook is already in the planning process for extending 802.11ac to
more areas of its campus in 2014. The University’s residence halls,
which experience similar high density challenges as the lecture halls
face, will be first on the upgrade list.
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network access
solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company’s Mobile Virtual
Enterprise (MOVE) architecture unifies wired and wireless network
infrastructures into one seamless access solution for corporate
headquarters, mobile business professionals, remote workers and guests.
This unified approach to access networks enables IT organizations and
users to securely address the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon,
dramatically improving productivity and lowering capital and operational
costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in
Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more,
visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter
and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2013 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include the
design mark for AirWave, Aruba Networks®, Aruba
Wireless Networks®, the registered Aruba the
Mobile Edge Company logo, the registered AirWave logo, Aruba Mobility
Management System®, Mobile Edge Architecture®,
People Move. Networks Must Follow®, RFProtect®,
Green Island®. All rights reserved. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright Business Wire 2013