Customer Project Portfolio - Higher Education
Rice University
Houston, Texas
Electra Link has partnered with IBM and Anixter to bring Rice University a state-of-the art Cisco-based network infrastructure. The goal of the project was to, “transform the legacy campus-wide data network into a robust, very high-speed Ethernet backbone with high-speed connectivity for clients and servers.” In addition to high performance and availability, the new network had to include features to improve security, facilitate collaboration and provide connectivity to emerging advanced research network initiatives.
Rice wanted to improve network access for students, faculty, administrators and alumni, providing reliable connectivity for current and anticipated pervasive devices (e.g., laptops, handhelds). They needed to provide for growth in audio and video streaming and distance learning applications, as well. Leveraging the resources of ElectraLink, IBM, Anixter and Cisco, we delivered an end-to-end wireless and wired networking solution, covering: site survey; network implementation planning (logistics); detailed network design; staging and configuration; system rollout/deployment; centralized network management; acceptance testing; training; as-built documentation; and maintenance support (warranty and future support strategy).
Benefits to Rice University:
- Creation of a single, high-performance converged network infrastructure that supports the university requirements for wired and wireless voice, video and data
- Higher speed user connections with scalable bandwidth for both student and research purposes
- Standardized and consistent implementation across the campus for cabling, wiring closets and networking equipment
- Future-ready network capable of supporting current and anticipated devices and applications; ability to add new services with minimal or no system disruption
- Improved data security environment
- Ability to introduce new network technologies like IPV6 and NLR high-speed connections within a confined environment allowing specific research activities to take place without jeopardizing the integrity of the Rice University network function
