Florida Universitaria

Overview

Florida Universitaria was founded in 1993 as part of the Florida Training Centre in Valencia. The Universitaria provides university qualification courses through partnerships with local universities, vocational training, postgraduate programs, and more. Each year, over 3,700 students participate in the Universitaria’s various courses spread over a large six building campus. To keep up with the high demands of students, teachers, and staff, as well as to provide high network performance and reliability, Chief Information Officer Jose Ortola installed the Cisco Meraki solution.

Original Networking Challenges

• The previous network was aging and provided intermittent coverage and poor functionality
• Management over multiple building sites was time consuming and required advanced training for configurations

Network reliability and performance were most important when choosing a network solution. With the Cisco Meraki solution in place, users are now more confident than ever in using the network for their school needs.

 

Jose Ortola

Chief Information Officer

Why Cisco Meraki

• Automatic meshing between APs ensures reliability and provides an option for delivering WiFi access in hard to wire areas
• Seamless roaming between APs and locations enhances the performance of the network and user experience
• Meraki Systems Manager (MDM) on school-owned devices adds another dimension of centralized management and security
• Up to 15 SSIDs can be customized with varied association requirements and security settings depending on user type

 

The Deployment

• A mixture of 802.11n and 802.11ac Meraki access points deployed throughout the buildings
• Higher performance MR32 and MR34 APs deployed in dense traffic areas to provide reliable and fast connectivity for users
• MDM profiles installed on school-owned devices to track devices, seamlessly push apps, apply device restrictions, automatically connect to specified WiFi networks, and ensure the security of resources
• SSIDs configured with pre-shared keys, 802.1X with RADIUS, or open authentication, as well as bandwidth limits and Layer 3 & 7 traffic shaping and firewall rules

 

Results

• Systems Manager Sentry enforces MDM installation on school-owned devices before users can access the network
• Based on user or device type, Jose Ortola can add devices to customized group policies which can be time based and have different levels of network access
• Users are now reporting connecting to the network with confidence on any of their school-owned or personal devices
• The unified, centralized management of the network devices and MDM in the Meraki dashboard eliminates the need for the IT team to go on-site to troubleshoot or make configuration changes
• Automatic firmware updates and new feature releases that are included in the license provide a future proof network and provide significant cost savings