Download PDF
Large University - United States: Moving From An In-House Solution For Better Flexibility
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Education
Use Cases
- Infrastructure Inspection
Services
- System Integration
- Training
The Challenge
In 2015, the university network team realized they needed to make a change to overhaul their IPAM, which was not integrated with their manual DHCP management process. They were outgrowing their own inhouse solution, forcing the network team to hard code DNS records. Managing the DNS on campus became arduous, forcing many people to get involved due to the inflexibility of their older solution. The team was getting by with minor tweaks to the system, but there was a limit to what they could change due to the age of the code. They needed a solution that could be molded to meet their unique needs while also utilizing their existing DNS and DHCP servers.
About The Customer
The organization profiled in this case study is a flagship United States public research institution established in the 1800’s. Enrolling more than 33,000 and supporting a world-renowned faculty, this major university maintains its commitment to providing students, professors and researchers the best in IT, software application and audio visual services. The job of managing its vast network infrastructure sits with a Director of Network and Data Center Engineering & Operations, as well a Senior DNS & DHCP Administrator.
The Solution
With a clear set of requirements, the university began to evaluate solutions from multiple vendors in the IPAM realm, bringing in the best and brightest for demonstrations. Ultimately, EfficientIP was chosen for its flexibility and customizability. The university team liked the fact that with EfficientIP’s SOLIDserver, they had the ability to use overlay management and continue to use their existing DNS infrastructure as well as their RHEL package for DHCP, managing their legacy environment from one location. They did not want to purchase new appliances when they had perfectly viable systems in place. The overall solution consisted of two EfficientIP SOLIDserver 2200 appliances and 4 MVSM’s (Multi Vendor Service Management licenses) designed to provide a flexible IPAM solution, DNS/DHCP service management for existing Linux servers, delegated DNS management, and active/active DHCP failover. In addition, the university implemented the NetChange IPLocator, which queries network switches and pulls information on what devices are connected to particular interfaces. The resulting data is then stored in the IPAM database.
Operational Impact
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
IoT platform Enables Safety Solutions for U.S. School Districts
Designed to alert drivers when schoolchildren are present, especially in low-visibility conditions, school-zone flasher signals are typically updated manually at each school. The switching is based on the school calendar and manually changed when an unexpected early dismissal occurs, as in the case of a weather-event altering the normal schedule. The process to reprogram the flashers requires a significant effort by school district personnel to implement due to the large number of warning flashers installed across an entire school district.
Case Study
Revolutionizing Medical Training in India: GSL Smart Lab and the LAP Mentor
The GSL SMART Lab, a collective effort of the GSL College of Medicine and the GSL College of Nursing and Health Science, was facing a challenge in providing superior training to healthcare professionals. As clinical medicine was becoming more focused on patient safety and quality of care, the need for medical simulation to bridge the educational gap between the classroom and the clinical environment was becoming increasingly apparent. Dr. Sandeep Ganni, the director of the GSL SMART Lab, envisioned a world-class surgical and medical training center where physicians and healthcare professionals could learn skills through simulation training. He was looking for different simulators for different specialties to provide both basic and advanced simulation training. For laparoscopic surgery, he was interested in a high fidelity simulator that could provide basic surgical and suturing skills training for international accreditation as well as specific hands-on training in complex laparoscopic procedures for practicing physicians in India.
Case Study
Implementing Robotic Surgery Training Simulator for Enhanced Surgical Proficiency
Fundacio Puigvert, a leading European medical center specializing in Urology, Nephrology, and Andrology, faced a significant challenge in training its surgical residents. The institution recognized the need for a more standardized and comprehensive training curriculum, particularly in the area of robotic surgery. The challenge was underscored by two independent studies showing that less than 5% of residents in Italian and German residency programs could perform major or complex procedures by the end of their residency. The institution sought to establish a virtual reality simulation lab that would include endourological, laparoscopic, and robotic platforms. However, they needed a simulator that could replicate both the hardware and software of the robotic Da Vinci console used in the operating room, without being connected to the actual physical console. They also required a system that could provide both basic and advanced simulation training, and a metrics system to assess the proficiency of the trainees before they performed surgical procedures in the operating theater.
Case Study
Edinburgh Napier University streamlines long-distance learning with Cisco WebEX
• Geographically dispersed campus made in-person meetings costly and inconvenient.• Distance-learning programs in Malaysia, India, and China required dependable, user-friendly online tools to maximize interaction in collaborative workspaces.• Virtual learning environment required a separate sign-in process, resulting in a significant administrative burden for IT staff and limited adoption of collaboration technology.
Case Study
8x increased productivity with VKS
Before VKS, a teacher would spend a lot of time showing a group of 22 students how to build a set of stairs within a semester of 120 hours. Along with not leaving the teacher much time to provide one-on-one support for each student to properly learn carpentry, it also left a considerable amount of room for error. Key information would be misinterpreted or lost as the class was taught in the typical show-and-tell way.
Case Study
Scalable IoT Empowering GreenFlex's Sustainable Growth
GreenFlex, a company that supports sustainable development, decarbonization, and energy efficiency, faced several challenges in its quest to expand its business. The company needed to deploy a robust and sustainable IoT technology to support its growth. It was crucial for them to monitor and control devices at customer sites in a safe and reliable manner. They also needed to integrate devices across a range of communication protocols and gather and act on data to meet efficiency targets. GreenFlex had previously built IoT capabilities into its digital platform, GreenFlexIQ, to monitor and manage customer sites remotely. However, they soon realized that they needed a new platform to support their ambitions. They needed a platform that could scale to connect more devices for production management and make it easier for the operations team to manage devices in the field.
