Nortel and 3D Networks replaces Macquarie University’s infrastructure

The new network, designed and implemented by Nortel and its channel partner 3D Networks, will replace the University's existing infrastructure, for future IP services such as multimedia, video conferencing and IP telephony. It will also provide added security and give students increasing ability to complete their coursework online.

Peter Hole, infrastructure services manager, Macquarie University said as the university migrates more and more business critical services like lectures and exam results to the Web, its old and network infrastructure has been showing its age.

"Our network is very different from a corporate or government network because the number of connections and users is much higher, the spread of the network much greater, and we don't have as much control over the types of connected devices," Hole said. "You could also say our users are very different - a generation for whom technology is not 'magic' and 24/7 uptime is expected."

Hole said benefits like 10G speeds and Power-over-Ethernet support, will certainly be useful as its embarks on the next phase of preparing the network for campus-wide IP telephony and multimedia services.

Nortel's solution replaces older switches that interfaced with Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch (ERS) 8600s used in the security core. It also includes 44 ERS 5530s, 26 ERS 5520s - both 24- and 48-port, and 196 ERS 4548s. It also includes Nortel's Secure Network Access Solution for real-time verification of devices connecting to the network.

Mark Stevens, managing director, Australia and New Zealand, Nortel said there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all network, especially when it comes to complex environments like universities

“In the case of Macquarie, with whom we have worked with for many years, our goal was to make the network easy to deploy and manage, and not add in any way to the complex challenges of the environment it's supporting," he said.

Macquarie University is just one of the educational environments Nortel has recently worked on to replace an old infrastructure with unified communications, advanced security and wireless mobility designed to enhance collaboration and enrich the learning experience, said Stevens.

“Recent education wins for Nortel in Asia include the RMIT University , Edith Cowan University, VERNet and the University of Western Sydney in Australia, the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the China University of Petroleum,” he said.