New U Minnesota Network Expands IoT Capacity

University of Minnesota students using a laptop outdoors

Photo: Business Wire

A network revamp at the University of Minnesota is providing wireless connectivity for 48,000 students, 18,000 faculty and staff and 116,000 unique devices daily. It has also boosted the institution's capacity for secure authentication of Internet of Things devices such as game consoles, Amazon Echos, Google Homes and others.

The university worked with channel partner Pier Group to install 10,000-plus Aruba access points across its five campuses. The APs run on ArubaOS 8 software, which boasts a number of features designed to improve performance as well as user experience, according to the company. For example, Live Upgrade allows the network to be updated to the latest operating system without interrupting service, while the AirMatch RF optimization feature automatically selects the best channels for WiFi performance.

In addition, the university is using Aruba Airwave for network management, which provides rogue detection, built-in application tuning and troubleshooting dashboards, and Aruba ClearPass for network access control. ClearPass has allowed the IT team to securely authenticate a greater number of IoT devices: While the previous network was limited to about 200 devices, the upgrade has expanded that number to 3,600.

"With ClearPass, we can create a separate security domain for these IoT devices that tend to be more personal in nature," said Louis Hammond, service owner, voice and data network services, and next generation network project owner at the University of Minnesota, in a statement. "This gives us the confidence that we can continue to connect new devices to the network as they appear without worrying about security breaches."

Overall results include better wireless coverage within classrooms and lecture halls and a better experience for students and faculty, Hammond said. "Complaints about the network have been greatly reduced," he noted. "We're receiving praise from students and faculty alike, who have noticed a big difference in the performance. We're hearing that instructors are feeling encouraged to use technology in the classroom to improve student learning."

Future plans include extending wireless coverage to additional outdoor areas, such as common spaces and athletic fields. "We plan to continue building upon this network foundation, adding more devices and applications, and covering more of our campus to satisfy our university's needs," said Hammond.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Training the Next Generation of Space Cybersecurity Experts

    CT asked Scott Shackelford, Indiana University professor of law and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, about the possible emergence of space cybersecurity as a separate field that would support changing practices and foster future space cybersecurity leaders.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • AI microchip, a cybersecurity shield with a lock, a dollar coin, and a laptop with financial graphs connected by dotted lines

    Survey: Generative AI Surpasses Cybersecurity in 2025 Tech Budgets

    Global IT leaders are placing bigger bets on generative artificial intelligence than cybersecurity in 2025, according to new research by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

  • university building surrounded by icons for AI, checklists, and data governance

    Improving AI Governance for Stronger University Compliance and Innovation

    AI can generate valuable insights for higher education institutions and it can be used to enhance the teaching process itself. The caveat is that this can only be achieved when universities adopt a strategic and proactive set of data and process management policies for their use of AI.