City College of San Francisco uses HP ProCurve infrastructure to expand networking capabilitiesAfter successfully deploying an HP ProCurve-based network in 2004, CCSF set out to make the most of its new infrastructure.
“The first step was to establish a common backbone so CCSF could become a single, unified network community instead of a loosely tied assortment of communities,” says Tim Ryan, Manager of Communication Services for CCSF. “After that, we had a number of options at our disposal. HP ProCurve solutions are powerful and based on industry standards, meaning they are inherently flexible.”
In addition to continuing to standardize and modernize its network infrastructure, the school’s primary goals have been to connect its various campuses and administrative offices with fiber optic cabling, implement Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for faculty and staff and establish a WiFi network for students.
CCSF has standardized on HP ProCurve 5406zl switches, with roughly 160 units in the network core and at the edge where users connect. Also, as part of bond-driven facility and infrastructure upgrades, the school worked in partnership with the City of San Francisco to establish a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) using the HP ProCurve 5304xl switch. With 35 miles of single-mode fiber, the MAN connects eight CCSF campuses and a CENIC1 (Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California) collocation site.
With a high-speed, interconnected infrastructure in place, CCSF began using it to boost school-wide communications and computing. A VoIP system was installed for faculty and staff members, with more than 2,000 VoIP phones now in use. In addition, a WiFi network was implemented using the HP ProCurve Wireless Edge Services zl Module and HP ProCurve Radio Port 210 devices, allowing students to access the network wirelessly with their laptops.
According to Ryan, CCSF’s ProCurve network has delivered exceptional performance, high availability and flexibility. Because the school has standardized on a modular, chassis-based platform, all components are interoperable and changes rarely require more than a swap of port cards. With this type of flexibility, Ryan anticipates the current infrastructure will continue to meet the school’s networking needs for another seven years or more.
“With a high-speed backbone and fiber optic MAN, we have gigabit everywhere,” says Ryan. “Beyond pure integration and connectivity, we have the power and flexibility to implement a range of applications and services.”
In addition to the VoIP and WiFi capabilities already implemented, Ryan says the school is considering Web 2.0 applications and working to expand network accessibility for faculty and students.
CCSF has also used its ProCurve infrastructure to reduce networking complexity. Power over Ethernet (PoE) has simplified closet cabling and eased the relocation of devices and IP phones. ProCurve Manager Plus (PCM+) network management software has made firmware updates effortless while improving the analysis and reporting of performance statistics. And ProCurve Identity Driven Manager (IDM) has simplified network access control.
While CCSF’s advanced network has connected and modernized the school’s communications infrastructure, it is the capabilities and services now in place that are proving most beneficial for the school and its communities. Full return on investment (ROI) has been achieved with the new VoIP system, and CCSF reaps $400,000 each year in ongoing savings when compared to the expense of its former telephone system.
The new MAN and its ties to CENIC have also been a boon for CCSF. From a monetary standpoint, the school does not have to pay for its gigabit connection to the Internet and Internet2 due to CENIC’s state funding. From a community standpoint, the CENIC linkage has brought CCSF and its students into a larger academic consortium with access to other schools and resources. And from an educational standpoint, the MAN has enabled new curriculum. The school now offers a course in Fiber Optic Communications where the MAN acts as a hands-on laboratory.
“The HP ProCurve network has connected and modernized our communications infrastructure, helped us manage our operating costs, prepared us for the future and bolstered our curriculum,” Ryan says. “We are making it an integral part of our learning environment and college community.”
It’s a community that continues to grow. When the school unveils its new Chinatown/North Beach Campus in 2012, the facilities will be connected to the MAN and fully integrated with CCSF’s communications infrastructure. According to Ryan, seamlessly adding a new classroom to the school’s network, let alone an entire campus, would not have been possible prior to the implementation of the ProCurve-based backbone and MAN.
1CENIC is charged with designing, provisioning and operating robust, high capacity, next generation Internet communications services through a cohesive infrastructure for its associates and affiliates. CENIC represents the common interests of its associates, who are drawn from California’s higher education academic and research communities, and is highly accountable to the institutions it serves in order to fulfill the trust that has been placed with it. CENIC also provides services to California K-12 schools and, in order to facilitate the education and research mission of its associates, to non-California higher education.
