Cal State L.A. Implements Campus-Wide 802.11ac Infrastructure
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.) has upgraded its
wireless infrastructure to 802.11ac. While other California State University (CSU) campuses have begun to implement 802.11ac technology, Cal State L.A. is
the first university in the CSU system to deploy it campus-wide.
The university's previous 802.11n wireless infrastructure couldn't meet the
demand for indoor and outdoor coverage from its nearly 24,500 students and 3,000
faculty and staff. With the surge in mobile devices and applications being used
for academics and communication, the university needed to upgrade to a faster
wireless technology with better coverage.
"The growing use of mobile devices on campus, specifically the introduction
and fast adoption of the new generation of 802.11ac devices, and the reliance on
mobile apps for both academics and collaboration, prompted us to look at
upgrading to gigabit Wi-Fi," said Peter Quan, vice president and chief
technology officer for Cal State L.A., in a prepared statement.
The CSU system selected a gigabit Wi-Fi solution from Aruba Networks. The
university implemented Aruba
AP-220 Series 802.11ac access points (APs) and Aruba
270 Series Outdoor 802.11ac APs, both with Aruba ClientMatch and Aruba AppRF technology. ClientMatch "continuously matches mobile devices to the best access
points as they roam through the campus" and AppRF "features an integrated next
generation mobility firewall that identifies, polices and prioritizes the
handling of over 1,500 apps, including cloud and social media apps," according
to information from the company.
The university also implemented Aruba's AirWave Network
Management System and ClearPass Access
Management System. AirWave lets the university identify the connections and
mobile devices on the network, as well as how much bandwidth specific devices
are consuming. According to the company, this information can help the
university "plan for capacity, visualize client performance and troubleshoot
connectivity issues." ClearPass provides device registration and authentication,
as well as policy management.
Since implementing the new Wi-Fi network campus-wide, the university has
reported that 802.11ac devices have been performing at gigabit speeds, and "with
ClientMatch, even 802.11n devices are performing three times faster than on the
old network," according to a news release from the company.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].