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Houston School District Selects Aruba Wireless Networks for One of Nation's Largest K-12 Wi-Fi Deployments SAN JOSE, Calif., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Aruba Wireless Networks(TM) (Aruba) today announced that the Spring Independent School District (ISD) in Houston is deploying Aruba's next generation Wi-Fi security systems in what is believed to be the largest installation of centralized Wi-Fi within any school district in the country.Spring ISD operates a completely converged voice, video and data network that supports 2,000 IP phones and 6500+ student and faculty data devices ranging from desktop computers to PDAs and laptops. Until now, the school district has been unable to deploy wireless technology due to the high cost of deployment, ineffective security and the inability to effectively scale wireless across its large user base. With Aruba's Wi-Fi system, students will now be able to flexibly and securely access online tools that enhances skills, prepare for tests, access research via the Internet and participate in labs focused on specific areas of interests such as art, drafting or business communications. Laptops for Every Student Upon completion of Phase Two of the Wi-Fi project, Spring ISD will issue every high school student a laptop and make a handheld device with integrated Wi-Fi available to every middle and elementary school student that lets them safely access a variety of programs and online resources. Within five years, Spring ISD anticipates having over 20,000 wireless enabled devices. Faculty and staff are currently using the system to access student attendance data, update student records, post grades, develop course materials and store files remotely. "At first glance you'd look at this and say why do I need to give a 10 year old student Wi-Fi?" said Pete Davis, assistant network engineer for the Spring ISD. "But ironically, these kids know more about this technology and how to use it than many adults because they've grown up with the Internet." Davis continued, "Wi-Fi has really matured to the point where we're confident making it our primary network connection for students. With the Aruba Wireless Networks system, I can now define and enforce security policies in conjunction with user authentication. So users don't get access until I know who they are and what roles or policy are defined for them." Bammel Middle School is one of the first schools in the district to take advantage of the new Aruba WLAN switching system. Spring ISD maintains and deploys all equipment. Bammel will be granted 28 dual-band Aruba 802.11a+b/g access points (APs) that are controlled by a single Aruba modular switch. The new Wi-Fi system serves more than 1,000 students and faculty. Starting in August 2004, every teacher in the district will be given a laptop with an integrated 802.11a+b/g NIC. The teachers will be able to use wireless in their buildings for such things as teacher training and meetings. The increased mobility will allow teachers more flexibility in using technology to increase student achievement. Complete Wireless Security from a Single Point Davis noted the only way to effectively deploy Wi-Fi on such a massive scale was to centralize the operational controls and security of the entire Wi-Fi environment from a single point. Spring ISD schools span an area of 57 square miles. "Wi-Fi just isn't feasible on a large scale for a school district if you can't centrally manage and secure it," said Davis. To ensure the highest security for Wi-Fi users, Spring ISD is using the Aruba Wi-Fi system to combine strong data encryption (using the new Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) technology) with user and device authentication and new user-aware firewalling. Users and user groups, once authenticated, only have access to specific network resources. "Aruba had the only system that allowed us to put in place a variety of security layers that protect the data, the network and the users simultaneously. This was the single biggest issue inhibiting the deployment of Wi-Fi across our schools," Davis said. As students and faculty access the network, their devices are automatically recognized by the system and the user is placed into a specific role that defines user access. User names and password ensure that if a device is stolen or hijacked, unauthorized users cannot access the system. Different Wi-Fi networks, using multiple SSIDs per AP, are broadcast in the air over the same system for guests, faculty and students. Each SSID is associated with a different security policy. Going forward, Spring ISD will be using WPA with 802.1X and the lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP). According to Spring ISD, the integration of Wi-Fi has enabled them to free needed classrooms by mobilizing computer and class laboratories that were previously dedicated to specific areas. "We had to dedicate entire rooms to labs because computers had to be plugged in. Now we have rolling carts that let us, on-the-fly, bring the labs to students wherever they are. This gives us additional space we need for more classes and administrative activities," said Davis. About Aruba Wireless Networks Aruba Wireless Networks develops and markets centralized systems that enable corporations to secure their networks from the dual threats of Wi-Fi and mobility. Aruba's solution consists of a full range of programmable security platforms designed to securely connect mobile users and mobile devices to corporate applications. Aruba is privately-held and has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and India and employs staff around the world. Aruba has received over $30 million in two rounds of venture funding from top-tier venture firms -- Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Trinity Ventures. Visit Aruba Wireless Networks at http://www.arubanetworks.com/. Aruba Wireless Networks is a trademark of Aruba Wireless Networks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Aruba Wireless Networks CONTACT: David Callisch of Aruba Wireless Networks, +1-408-754-3010 Web site: http://www.arubanetworks.com/ |