4ipnet WHG501 and EAP100 selected for University of Pennsylvania’s Campus Dormitory

I. Case Overview

University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League university established in 1740, in the United States. The university has over 4,000 faculty members and 20,000 students. The student dormitory’s Wi-Fi infrastructure is out-of-date and unstable. It was not able to support the mass data transmission and large number of users in the building. The campus IT experts was in search for a high performance Wi-Fi solution. 4ipnet’s Secure Wireless LAN Controller WHG501 and Indoor Access Point EAP100 was the perfect candidate.

II. Challenges

• Provide reliable and easy to manage wireless access throughout a  14-story private dormitory facility
• Replace the old Tut System SMS device which was problematic and unstable.
• Create service zones and different level of access authorization for students or campus visitors
• Mange free or on-demand Wi-Fi accounts

III. Network Solution

After thorough evaluation, 4ipnet’s Tech Specialist has decided that WHG501 and EAP100 are the best solution for University of Pennsylvania. The combination of 4ipnet Wireless LAN Controller and Indoor Access Points would be able to provide the student cafeteria, study rooms, common area the desired wireless coverage and management system.

WHG501– Secure Wireless LAN controller in Gigabit Ethernet, ideal for mid-size enterprise, hotel, or

campus, with 5000 built-in local accounts and 5000 on-demand accounts.

EAP100—Enterprise Access Point features multiple VLAN support coupled with multiple-SSID capability 

one AP can simultaneously emulate up to eight Virtual APs with different ESSIDs.

4ipnet’s WHG501 is designed to support college dormitories, apartments, hotel networking, telcos or large hotspot operators networking WHG501 also integrates “secure access control”, “visitor account provisioning”, “flexible accounting and billing”, and “centralized WLAN management” into one box to provide simplified manageability and instant mobility. There are 10 pre-configured customizable billing plans—under time, volume based accounting policies. Account users can also choose to pay by credit card or via payment portals, such as Paypayl, WorldPay, and such.

V. Benefits

Management

4ipnet account management includes on-demand account, free/trial account setting, login page customization and other security features.

Service Zones and Differentiated Network Services

Different Service Zones throughout the UPENN dormitory are required such as:

1. Student Wireless: Dedicated VLAN to SSID. Free Internet

2. Student DSL: Dedicated VLAN to DSLAM. No restrictions other than minor traffic shaping.

3. Café Guest Wireless: Allow Café users free access to internet for the day using on-demand accounts

4. Paid Wireless Service: Dedicated VLAN on SSID. Paid Internet Service

The Service Zone feature enables managed, differentiated services of all types, whether it be for complimentary Internet service for campus visitors, charged wireless access for temporary users, or specific applications that demand QoS (quality of service) such as VoIP over Wi-Fi on iPhone.

On-Demand & AAA

The WHG501’s on-demand account generation capability provides instantaneous, free and chargeable accounts for visitors or event attendees to the mall.  Its multiple, customizable billing plans fit the needs of different department’s staff and students.

4ipWES Press-n-Connect with one touch button to extend wireless coverage effortlessly.

With 4ipnet’s patent-pending technology, 4ipWES Press-n-Connect, it is easy to extend the WLAN to the areas where cables cannot reach—with the simple touch of a button, the EAP100 automatically establishes an AES encrypted connection with its peer access point, effortlessly and securely expanding the network.  Even the non-IT staff can handle the most complicated wireless WDS deployment in less than 10 seconds.  This feature is especially handy when a fast network deployment and temporary Internet usage are required during events.

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