Case Study: The University of Arizona Taps NEC for Large WLAN, VoIP Deployment

Founded in 1885, The University of Arizona (UA), with about 37,000 students, is considered by academic experts to be among the foremost student-centered institutions in the United States. It also is ranked among the nations top 20 public research institutions. With a dedicated, world-class faculty in fields as diverse as astronomy, plant science, biomedical science, business, law, music and dance, UA offers a rewarding educational experience to all who strive for excellence.

Problem

UA students were irate over the universitys wireless system. Although Wi-Fi islands were scattered around campus by 2004, the lack of a single campus network fueled a chorus of student complaints. Articles in the campus newspaper described UAs second-rate wireless LAN with too many systems and not enough coverage. They described dropped calls and students having to log in multiple times as they entered Wi-Fi hotspots.

Everyone in the administration agreed something had to be done and quickly! said Michele Norin, university CIO and executive director of University Information Technical Services (UITS). An institution known for outstanding research like ours must offer its students an outstanding wireless network. These days, students come to campus with certain wireless connectivity expectations.

Once we agreed a campus-wide wireless network was essential, the next question was how to pay for it, said Bob Lancaster, director of network technical solutions, a unit reporting to UITS. The university decided to institute a student technology fee paid at registration.

Lancaster and his group surveyed the student body. Results were overwhelmingly positive: Students were willing to pay a technology fee to fund The Wireless Project. Former University President Pete Likins discussed the issue with student government leaders; they agreed and prepared students for the fees introduction next fall.

The University of Arizona selected Cisco for equipment and NEC Unified for the integration and management of its ambitious wireless network project. This truly has been a partnership between Cisco, NEC and UA, said Norin.

Proven project management skill was also key. NEC had recently handled the Sky Harbor (Phoenix airport) wireless project, a smaller but similar installation, said Tom Magrini, assistant director of network services.

Solution

NEC managed the UA project on a turnkey basis, including site surveys, predictive analysis, infrastructure vendor selection and budget management. Working with UITS, NEC specified Cisco Catalyst and Aironet networking gear throughout, along with Cisco Wireless Control System management software.

With a team of NEC wireless engineers working with Cisco engineers, NEC kicked off the first phase of the project on May 1, 2006. Over the next 12 weeks, NEC installed 1,450 Cisco access points (APs) in 12 buildings and in a large outdoor area creating a wireless system covering approximately 4.5 million square feet. At the same time, it performed wireless predictive surveys on 12 million square feet the entire campus.

The NEC team installed the second phase during the 2006-07 academic year. This time, it installed 2,500 indoor and outdoor APs, bringing wireless service to an additional 2.5 million square feet.

UA completed a third phase on its own during the summer of 2007.

With 7 million square feet of coverage, this is the largest wireless system of any university as far as we know, said Norin.

NEC provides remote monitoring and management of UAs VoIP system as part of its Comprehensive Remote Managed Services. NEC also administers the universitys maintenance contract and performs periodic network upgrades.

Results

As it turned out, the student fee funded most of the project; the students have been happy to pay it because of the nearly ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage they enjoy.

The security design incorporates 802.1x authentication using WPA2 and WPA as well as both AES and TKIP encryption. A captive portal using Ciscos Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs) authenticates the UA Guest and UA Public networks.

Working with NEC, we produced a wireless system that is more secure than our wired environment, said Lancaster.

Lancaster and his team are planning on installing mobile Unified Communications applications, including presence, dual-mode mobile devices and RFID asset tracking.

Weve already begun using the wireless system to track buses and send alerts in the form of text messages to student devices so they wont miss the bus. And ticket-takers at UA athletic events are using wireless-enabled devices that work on the VoIP network, said Lancaster.

Thanks to NEC and Cisco, we now have a world-class secure and scalable wireless LAN-based voice and data network, said Norin.