Ryerson University announced the deployment of 802.11ac wireless network access from Aruba Networks (News - Alert) in a strategic move to expand wireless network connectivity in its campus. At the first phase of the development, Aruba’s solution is deployed in Ryerson’s newly opened Ted Rogers School of Management and a few other locations in the University’s Toronto campus. As per the terms of this collaboration, Ryerson will replace existing Aruba access points with Aruba AP-220 Series 802.11ac APs in a phased manner while deploying only Aruba’s 802.11ac solution along with ClientMatch technology for all future installations in the University campus.

In a release, Mourad Michael, assistant director of communications infrastructure for Ryerson, said, “Our campus is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Secure and reliable coverage is critical in this kind of environment. Our campus is very large with two brand new buildings and one more – a new student learning center – under construction. Connecting across the entire campus is paramount for the University and the neighboring community that interacts with us.”

Ryerson University has plans to deploy around 1,000 Aruba AP-225 802.11ac access points, of which 250 are already up and running in the campus, while the deployment of the rest is in full swing. The deployment of 802.11ac combined with AP-225 and ClientMatch technology, the network connectivity in the University campus can be improved significantly. The ClientMatch technology identifies the best access point for connectivity when a mobile / wireless device tries to connect to the network, achieving connectivity speeds up to 600Mbps, which can also be boosted to 800Mbps.

Speaking of the future plans, Michael continued, “Currently, we have 90-95 percent wireless coverage across our campus. We’d like to get to 100 percent and cover some of the current ‘dead zones’ such as a few green areas on campus where students like to convene and need access. The goal is to ensure that all new installations are 802.11ac, and, as budget allows, we hope to upgrade the entire campus to .11ac to deliver improved performance and bandwidth to all our users.”

Ryerson University also plans to deploy Aruba’s AirGroup capabilities and ClearPass Access Management System in the future as the University plans to upgrade its technological set up to adopt VoIP infrastructure, to enable various communication and network access capabilities.

Aruba Networks provides cutting-edge solutions for network access through its proprietary Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture, which efficiently combines wired and wireless infrastructure within an organization.