Trent College, a top UK independent day and boarding school, has seen student use of its IT facilities double since the deployment of an Alcatel-Lucent ( News - Alert) wired and wireless local area network (WLAN). In addtion, with the introduction of network access control (NAC) technology from Bradford Networks, IT support for laptops has been reduced by approximately 90 percent, according to Trent College.
The Bradford Networks’ ( News - Alert) Campus Manager conducts a device scan and authorizes users appropriately based on whether or not each device complies with Trent’s IT security policy. The access to the WLAN is provided following this authentication. If a device fails, the Campus Manager can detail the reasons why and provide links to the required software or operating system patches.
With more than 230 student devices now registered to use the network- an increase of more than 100 percent on the previous year- the wireless network, which is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s OmniAccess WLAN technology, has been rolled out across 15 school buildings and supports 500 computers. Some 80-120 students connect via mobile devices on an average day, which includes laptops from a variety of different approved manufacturers, as well as iPod touch and iPhone ( News - Alert) devices.
While Trent provides an additional support Web site to give further advice, network registration is quick and straightforward. Enhancing the ability of the student and the staff to share knowledge and collaborate outside of school hours, web portals also give students and staff remote access to the network drives and e-mail from any computer in the world.
The College’s fixed network infrastructure is overhauled by Khipu, which has more than 20 independent school customers, with the help of Alcatel-Lucent’s OmniSwitch technology. Trent will increase the range of supported devices to include games consoles as well as popular smartphones for the 2008/09 school year.
“Many aspects of the University learning model are now filtering through to secondary and further education,” said David Parker, vice president for Alcatel-Lucent’s enterprise activities, UK and Ireland.
“Whether its students accessing the Internet on their iPhones, or business workers requiring instant network access via PDAs, the key to becoming a more dynamic enterprise is to help people complete tasks and share information more quickly and securely in real time on the devices of their choice,” explained Parker.
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Edited by Michelle Robart
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