Juniper Networks this week announced that it’s working with Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., to deploy a complete end-to-end network infrastructure upgrade with enhanced location-based enhanced 911 services, as validated by Chicago-based E911 solutions provider RedSky Technologies.

 

The new network infrastructure is designed to support emergency calling and other location-based services, according to Champlain officials. Juniper Networks’ (News - Alert) solutions are expected to address the growing demand for access to bandwidth-intensive applications for Champlain’s new gaming and visual art programs.

 

E911 uses location-based technology to pinpoint the exact whereabouts of distressed 9-1-1 callers, often saving lives as well as property by helping emergency responders work more efficiently. Enhanced 911, which is being legislated in many states, may eventually emerge as a national requirement. Increasingly, it’s being used by organizations with a single street address but large campuses – such as enterprise businesses and hospitals.

 

More and more universities are taking advantage of the technology.

 

Champlain said it turned to Juniper Networks to evolve its infrastructure into a world-class technology enabler. Until recently, deploying E911 services restricted the college's ability to upgrade its network infrastructure due to the proprietary technology requirements associated with these critical applications. By teaming with RedSky (News - Alert), officials say, Juniper was able to bridge the gap through comprehensive interoperability testing, which verified Juniper's ability to seamlessly coexist with proprietary platforms without compromising performance and security.

 

The campus-wide deployment includes Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches, the SRX Series Services Gateways, and Juniper's Service Now Application, powered by the Junos operating system.

 

Champlain officials said that they turned to Juniper Networks to evolve their infrastructure into a “world-class technology enabler.”  

 

“We needed a comprehensive network that could scale an array of intensive network demands,” said Paul Dusini, assistant vice president of information systems division at Champlain.

 

Dusini said that Juniper’s set of infrastructure solutions exceeded their expectations and stringent requirements of performance, security and flexibility while supporting open standards. “At the same time, it has enabled us to build a system that provides critical location-based services, which are often complex and difficult to provision.”

 

Currently, Champlain College is deploying Juniper Networks EX4200 Ethernet Switches with Virtual Chassis technology that combines the availability of modular systems while delivering a scalable solution for data center and campus environments.

 

Additionally, Champlain has also leveraged a host of Juniper's security solutions such as SRX Series Services Gateway (News - Alert) featuring a unified threat management (UTM) system that delivers advanced IPS, antispam, antivirus, and Web filtering capabilities.

 

Champlain is also expected to benefit from Juniper’s Service Now Application that automates technical support services and the delivery of tailored, proactive network intelligence, making network operations simpler, more reliable and cost-effective.

 

“Juniper delivers high-performance networks that embrace partners like RedSky who support enhanced 911 services for a broad range of IP telephony systems, lowers customer's total cost of ownership and ensure their choice and flexibility of implementing the new technology is best aligned with their needs while integrated with their existing infrastructure,” said Mike Banic, vice president of enterprise marketing at Juniper Networks.