A Less Stressful College Experience – All Thanks to Cisco

Norway’s Bergen University College’s problem was that it was spread too thin. Before the school’s recent move to a new campus, the college was dispersed over five buildings. Bergen University College is now down to two buildings. Included with the move was a request for a better Wi-Fi network and the ability to allow students and faculty to accurately know where they are at all times.

Bergen University College worked with Cisco on a solution to expand its wireless network using:
• Cisco Aironet 3702e and 3702i access points
• Cisco 5760 Wireless LAN controllers
• Cisco 3850 and 4500-X Series switches
• Cisco Catlyst 6500 Series switches

These Cisco products allowed the college to achieve its primary goal of creating an 802.11ac wireless network that was large enough to support the school’s bring your own device (BYOD) policy. This new network needed to have the right type of security access (role-based and context-aware) in order for this BYOD policy to work properly.

In addition to a better wireless network experience, Bergen University College was also interested in using their new wireless network to administer a wayfinding service. Through a collaboration with Cisco partner MazeMap, the college was able to create a service where students and faculty could find themselves anywhere on campus. From there, they were able to figure out the best routes to their destinations. This wayfinding app has lead to the elimination of hallway gridlock, making the student population much happier.

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