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Case study: University of York

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Customer at a Glance

Industry sector: Education
Name: University of York
Headquarters: York, UK
Founded: 1963
Telephone: +44 (0)1904 430000
Number of employees: 2,500
Annual revenues: £115 million (€165 million approx.)
Download PDF: University of York (pdf, 202 kb)
Connectivity is an important issue for universities today. Over the past few years, academic staff and students have come to expect convenient access to computing facilities, with fast connection speeds. Increasingly, networks have been extended to cover student accommodation as well as teaching and research facilities.

For the University of York in the UK, the switch to gigabit Ethernet backbone technology was a major step in tackling the issue of network performance. But not long after this initial adoption, faced with the threat of major performance bottlenecks caused by growing demand, the University decided to completely replace its hub/switch technology. The aim was to achieve an immediate performance gain and to support growth with a scalable, future-proof switch architecture.

“We chose ProCurve switches, which combined excellent performance with low cost of ownership,” commented John Mason, head of networking. “They were also highly expandable.”

The initial network upgrade resulted in the implementation of more than 100 ProCurve switches. Since then, the network has expanded rapidly. Over the past two years, a new medical school with 300 users has been linked in, and no fewer than 3,500 study bedrooms now have network access.

Because of the scalability of the network architecture, it has been possible to support growth without any major technology changes. The number of ProCurve switches has increased to more than 450. Many existing switches have been expanded and upgraded to newer models, especially the ProCurve Switch 2650 and the ProCurve Switch 5300xl Series. All switches are supplied through ProCurve Networking partner European Electronique Ltd.

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Support for expansion

The original implementation resulted in an immediate performance increase of more than ten times. Users experienced connection speeds of 100 Mbps at the desktop, and these speeds have been maintained in the face of the rapid expansion that has taken place since then. Cost of ownership has stayed low, while the reliability of the ProCurve technology has enabled service levels to remain high throughout.

According to Mason, the availability of additional ProCurve features has facilitated the expansion process. For example, the study bedroom network currently incorporates 3,500 different computers, which must all be protected from one another. In this context, the source port filtering capabilities of the ProCurve switches are extremely useful.

Plans are now in place for a new campus, which could ultimately double the size of the network. With the support of ProCurve switch technology, Mason and his colleagues can look forward with confidence to managing this expansion.

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Partner

Company: European Electronique Ltd
Headquarters: Oxford, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1865 883300
Number of employees: 125
Business: IT supplies and services
Products: Full range of computers, networking hardware and software
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Challenge

  • The University of York needed to provide its staff and students with fast, reliable connections to the campus network.
  • At the same time, it had to be able to expand its network to meet the continuing increase in demand for computing facilities.
  • To meet these needs, it decided to standardise on a high-performance, scalable switch architecture that would support future growth.
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Solution

  • ProCurve Networking switches, supplied by European Electronique Ltd, were implemented throughout the network.
  • The number of switches has increased from 100 to more than 450.
  • Older models have gradually been replaced with the ProCurve Switch 2650 and ProCurve Switch 5300xl Series.
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Results

  • The original implementation resulted in an immediate 10x improvement in network performance.
  • Desktop connection speeds have been maintained at 100 Mbps as the network has expanded.
  • The reliability of ProCurve technology has enabled service levels to be maintained throughout, while cost of ownership is low.
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Why ProCurve Networking?

  • Excellent performance
  • Low cost of ownership
  • Availability of important additional features
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What makes it work

Hardware Software
  • Network Management software included in purchase price
  • Castle Rock SNMPc network management tool
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 and Unix operating systems
ProCurve services
  • Lifetime warranty with next-business-day advance replacement (available in most countries) on most products for as long as the customer owns it *
  • Telephone support available during normal business hours
  • Technical product support available via e-mail
  • Comprehensive network design and configuration services offered at no extra charge

* Except 9300m and 9400sl series routing switches, 8100fl series Interconnect Fabric switches, and 700wl series access devices, which provide a one year limited warranty

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For more information

When you are ready to explore the benefits a ProCurve Networking solution can offer you, call HP at 1-800-975-7682.

To learn more about ProCurve Networking's Adaptive EDGE Architecture™ solutions, visit our home page.

Purchase: In the US, HP business solutions, products, and supplies can be purchased at your local HP partner, or bought directly from HP either online or by calling 800-613-2222.

Finance: HP finance plans provide all the benefits of new technology without the risk or cost of ownership. For details, call 888-999-4783.

Accessibility: HP is committed to providing products and services that are accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, please visit the HP Accessibility web site or call 888-259-5707.

♦  For as long as you own the product, with next-business-day advance replacement (available in most countries). The following hardware products and their related series modules have a one-year hardware warranty with extensions available: HP ProCurve Routing Switch 9300m series, HP ProCurve Switch 8100fl series, HP ProCurve Network Access Controller 800, and HP ProCurve DCM Controller. The following hardware mobility products have a one-year hardware warranty with extensions available: HP ProCurve M111 Client Bridge, HP ProCurve MSM3xx-R Access Points, HP ProCurve MSM7xx Mobility and Access Controllers, HP ProCurve RF Manager IDS/IPS Systems, HP ProCurve MSM Power Supplies, HP ProCurve 1 Port Power Injector, and HP ProCurve CNMS Appliances. Disk drives in the HP ProCurve ONE Services zl modules, HP ProCurve Threat Mgmt Services zl module, and HP ProCurve MSM765zl Mobility Controller have a five year hardware warranty. Standalone software, upgrades, or licenses may have a different warranty duration. For details, refer to the ProCurve Software License, Warranty, and Support booklet at www.hp.com/networking/warranty.
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