NETWORK PROFILE
Wired across two campuses; 22000 users, 6000 students in 16 colleges.
CHALLENGES
Several years ago, the IT Service staff at Durham University in the UK were very busy in October, when the start of a new academic year meant a significant increase in workload. Each term, the staff faced an increase in network problems as students connected un-patched and potentially virus-infected PCs to the residential network. These issues were exacerbated by the University’s automated “net registration” process, which limited the IT team’s control.
“We needed to provide secure, campus-level network authentication for all users and machines accessing our network, in such a way that made the most efficient use of IT Service staff resources. Network Sentry allowed us to achieve this goal.”Andrew Stansfield Senior IT Consultant
“Viruses were a serious challenge, impacting a number of our network switches and even some mission-critical areas,” explains Andrew Stansfield, senior IT consultant at Durham University. “We operated completely on the basis of trust, asking each of the 6,000 users on our residential network to visit the IT service desk to pick up a CD and use it to configure and patch their PC. Unfortunately, we had no way to determine whether it was used, which left our network vulnerable.”
- Eliminate network-based viruses to ensure secure access across two campuses
- Automate network security compliance for wired devices on the campus residential network
- Eliminate manual remediation processes that required intervention by the University’s entire IT team, allowing IT staff to focus on business-critical projects
SOLUTION
Campus Manager, consisting of Network Sentry Foundation, Access Manager and Endpoint Compliance.
“Rather than dealing with virus outbreaks or running surgeries for students, with Network Sentry we can focus on the critical tasks we’re charged with completing.” – Andrew Crowe, Systems Programmer
RESULTS
Since the Network Sentry implementation, Durham University has significantly reduced network vulnerabilities and reduced the threat of viruses across its two campuses. Today, the IT team can easily enforce the University’s acceptable use policy and control unauthorized access by enforcing registration policies for all devices and authorization policies for all users on the network.
The easy-to-use and manage Network Sentry solution means fewer service desk calls and reduced network surgeries—allowing the team to focus on other, more essential tasks. Each term, 6000 students in University residence halls are now able to get network access with reduced IT staff interaction, and if there is a problem, service desk staff can help with first-line support.
- Improved user experience with greater flexibility and quicker access for students who can now use the wired network across campus.
- Reduced virus outbreaks and other network security threats across the infrastructure
- Eliminated the need to manually register and remediate thousands of student devices, freeing skilled IT staff for other projects; 6000 student PCs are now registered each academic year with reduced IT staff involvement—a significant return on investment.