Emmanuel College Deploys Campus-Wide 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi Infrastructure With Ruckus...

Emmanuel College Deploys Campus-Wide 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi Infrastructure With
Ruckus Wireless
Faster and More Reliable Smart Wi-Fi Infrastructure Lets College Do More for
Less

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruckus Wireless(TM) announced
that it has been selected by Emmanuel College (Emmanuel) to replace its
existing 802.11g Wi-Fi network with a campus-wide 802.11n wireless LAN (WLAN)
based on Smart Wi-Fi technology.
Smart Wi-Fi represents the next generation of 802.11 innovation that
combines technical advances in RF signal routing and adaptive antenna arrays
with centralized WLAN management. The combination of these technologies
enables a centrally-controlled Wi-Fi environment that provides dramatically
better coverage and more reliable Wi-Fi signals that automatically adapt to
environmental changes, thereby delivering more consistent performance to users
at long distances.
The decision by Emmanuel to migrate to Smart Wi-Fi came after we received
numerous complaints from users about dropped connections, poor performance and
spotty coverage offered by the existing college WLAN which was based on
conventional 802.11g technology.
"We were wasting hours chasing Wi-Fi ghosts," said Glenn Toney, IT
Director at Emmanuel, a private Christian College in Northeast Georgia. "With
such a large campus, it was difficult for us to quickly pinpoint and resolve
Wi-Fi problems. We spent hours literally running around from building to
building resetting APs and trying to determine the cause of RF problems. Many
times problems would simply appear and then disappear."
Emmanuel College occupies some 150 acres of property with more than 30
single- and multi-story buildings constructed of metal and thick concrete.
These include dormitories, academic classrooms, office buildings, libraries,
dining halls and other facilities.
"Though these buildings were made to last, they just aren't Wi-Fi
friendly," said Toney. "We had no real way to determine how Wi-Fi signals
would propagate throughout each facility. We really needed a wireless system
that could intelligently route Wi-Fi signals over the best path to users,
around obstacles and interference over which we have no control, without
requiring us to spend countless hours trying to place APs in the 'right'
spot."
Wi-Fi Challenges for Higher Education
Like many higher education institutions, Emmanuel College had a limited IT
staff and budget. In addition to fixing fundamental Wi-Fi coverage and
performance problems, Emmanuel was looking to provide higher speed Wi-Fi
services using 802.11n, along with advanced security and secure mobile access
to multiple users groups. Ease of use, flexible deployment options and
seamless integration with existing back-end Active Directory servers were
other non-negotiable requirements.
"Colleges are in a tough spot because they want and need a high-end
wireless system but don't always have the massive budget or resources to
implement one," said Toney. Toney began looking at options from Trapeze
Networks, Cisco and others but found these alternatives too costly and
cumbersome to implement. Emmanuel was then introduced to the Ruckus Wireless
ZoneFlex Smart WLAN system through its IT solutions provider, KOR Systems.
Emmanuel selected the Ruckus ZoneFlex 802.11n system and began
standardizing on the technology across its campus. The Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart
WLAN system allowed Emmanuel to move to 802.11n technology using fewer APs
than would be required by alternatives and at a price point that nearly
mirrored existing 802.11g technology.
"Our budget effectively ruled out a centrally-managed 802.11n system until
we found Ruckus," said Toney. "Ruckus had a more intelligent and
cost-effective implementation of 802.11n that adds value where others don't
such as controlling the signal path to ensure reliable connections and
performance."
Smart Wi-Fi Solves College Wi-Fi Woes
Now deployed, the new 802.11n network provides ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage
through 31 ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi access points. Central management is provided
through the Ruckus ZoneDirector Smart WLAN system which directly interfaces
with Emmanuel's Active Directory authentication server.
"The ability to natively communicate with Active Directory without having
to deploy a RADIUS server or any other device in-between was huge for
Emmanuel," said Bernard Davis, IT Design Engineer for KOR Systems in
Gainesville, Georgia. "The importance of making Wi-Fi deployment easy and
simple while still providing a high-end feature set for colleges and
universities cannot be overstated."
Davis noted that when Emmanuel expands its new Wi-Fi network to service
other locations where Ethernet cabling doesn't exist, the school won't have to
worry. "The system has built-in support for Smart Mesh Network technology,
helping to future proof expansion."
This gives Emmanuel complete deployment flexibility to add capacity where
and when needed without having to run new Ethernet cabling or perform
exhaustive RF surveys. "This is the ideal solution for providing Wi-Fi
service to outdoor quads, patios and other areas. And the entire system can
still be managed in a unified fashion," concluded Davis.
Emmanuel is now providing multi-tiered user access using WPA2 and other
secure access options and can now pinpoint and resolve Wi-Fi problems in
minutes from a central point instead of spending hours roaming around campus.
With the Ruckus ZoneFlex system they've also seen user complaints dwindle, and
customer satisfaction increase. "We now get a lot of 'what did you do?'
comments from users who were resigned to a hit or miss Wi-Fi experience.
There's now no question -- it's a hit," concluded Toney.

Media Contact
David Callisch
Ruckus Wireless
david@ruckuswireless.com
+1-408-504-5487 mobile

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless

David Callisch of Ruckus Wireless, +1-408-504-5487 (mobile),
david@ruckuswireless.com