Wired & Wireless Network Implementation

Overview

Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, has grown steadily since its founding in 1887 and has four Colleges: Education; Engineering, Science, Technology, and Agriculture; Business; and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Additionally, new academic programs have been added along with a new School of Agricultural Education and Food Science, academic building, the University Student Center (85,000 sq. ft), and five residential halls. In the fall of 2019, campus residency options will be expanded to include a 250-bed apartment style residential hall and 10,000 sq. ft. Wellness Center. Central State University offers an array of top-quality academic programs in an environment that nurtures student success. They have been named an Ohio Center of Excellence in Emerging Technologies, a designation that recognizes their prominence in graduating students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. They are also an Ohio Center of Excellence in Cultural and Societal Transformation, because outstanding national reputation in the fine and performing arts.

 

Central State University selected Laketec not only to assess their current network infrastructure and determine where improvements could be made, but also to implement those recommendations. Upon assessment, Laketec proposed a new campus-wide wired & wireless network infrastructure along with a 5-year strategic plan for the University. As part of this engagement, Laketec designed a new campus wide fiber optic cabling plant, Cat5e/6 cabling plant, core & access layer network switching environment, perimeter security strategy, and a robust indoor and outdoor campus wide wireless network.

 

After the design was complete, Central State University selected Laketec as their partner of choice for implementation. In under 12 months, Laketec was able to replace their entire Fiber/Cat6 cabling plant, switching infrastructure, firewalls, and indoor/outdoor wireless. Most notable was Laketec’s coordination and project management, which allowed the University to continue business as usual with minimal interruption to day-to-day operations. With 29+ buildings affected, coordination and planning was key for this project.

 

Laketec not only installed the infrastructure in the new design but also engaged in a 60-month commitment to provide additional Tier 2 and 3 support to the University’s internal IT Staff. With some of the top-rated Aruba-certified engineers in the country, Laketec was uniquely positioned to offer top level support on what we consider to be best-of breed technology.  Offering proactive monitoring and maintenance, escalation procedures, and a fixed SLA, Laketec’s engineers focus on maintaining the underlying infrastructure so that the University was able to concentrate their support staff on internal needs and staff/student support.

 

This project included products from multiple manufacturers including Aruba, HPE, and Palo Alto.

 

To read the case study on this project, please click here.