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Extreme Networks Case Study: University of Miami

Make Your Network Mobile

University of Miami Avoids NetworkDisruptions with Extreme NetworksPremier Services Program (PSP)

The University o Miami (UM) is a private research university with an

enrollment o more than 15,000 students who come rom around the

globe to experience a vibrant and diverse academic community, oneocused on teaching and learning, the discovery o new knowledge and

service to the South Florida region and beyond. UM is comprised o 12

schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in

more than 180 majors and programs. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report

recognized UM among the top tier o national universities, ranking it No.

38 in its listings o Americas Best Colleges.

Responsible or supporting all campus voice and data trac in an

ever-changing environment, UMs network perorms critical data center

and Internet service provider unctions. The Universitys IT manage-

ment proessionals are industry thought leaders, continually looking or

ways to improve and enhance the network.

Proactive Support or an EnhancedEducational Experience

UM recognized the importance o developing a proactive support

relationship with its primary network partner, Extreme Networks, to

enhance the educational experience. Kenrick Thomas, PMP, Executive

Director o Telecommunications or the University, believed i the

University and Extreme Networks were more closely connected, the

organization would be in a better position to address issues with speed

and accuracy and thereore avoid problems.

To acilitate a proactive, orward-thinking service experience or its

network, UM subscribed to Extreme Networks Premier Services

Program (PSP) Foundation oering. The PSP Foundation service

provides a ocused, designated team o service proessionals to closelyconnect customers to Extreme Networks, while ostering proactive

inormation sharing to help avoid problems beore they happen. It is led

by an Extreme Networks designated Program Manager (PM) whose role

is to act as the single point o contact to positively impact UMs service

experience. PSP Foundation also includes a designated Technical

Support Engineer rom Extreme Networks who is thoroughly amiliar

with UMs network design. All complex service requests are routed to

this contact or expeditious problem resolution.

The Challenge

Ater many years o campus network inrastructure

evolution, the University o Miami (UM) needed to take a

progressive approach in order to identiy potential issues

and speedy resolutions beore service interruptions

became an issue disrupting the learning experience or its

sta and students.

The Solution

The University chose to partner with Extreme Networks

proactive support through its Premier Services Program

(PSP) Foundation, which establishes a consistent and dire

link with Technical Support.

The Benefts

UM has an ongoing, proactive ow o inormation

about the network and potential issues andassociated recommendations so inrastructure

problems are avoided.

Network stability was improved when sotware

solutions were consolidated into a single release.

A mature, trusted advisor relationship with

Extreme Networks provides the University with the

most proactive service experience in the industry.

University of Miami Takes

a Proactive Network

Approach with

Extreme Networks

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Extreme Networks Case Study: University of Miami

Make Your Network Mobile

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Assess, Plan, Achieve

From the moment UM entered into the PSP Foundation arrange-

ment, Extreme Networks was made aware o UMs three key areas

o ocus: The University wanted to know which sotware release to

use or the greatest stability and maximum eature content; it

wanted more proactive inormation around issues known to

mitigate uture service requests; and fnally, the University wanted

regular communication between its own sta and the technical

support sta rom Extreme Networks to decrease the resolution

time o service requests.

Based on these requirements, the PSP Foundation Program

Manager rom Extreme Networks developed a project plan, UM

agreed to it, and regular team meetings were scheduled to

implement the plan. Extreme Networks then worked closely with

the University to identiy its critical sotware issues as well as the

day-to-day nuances o the organizations operations in order to

optimize and improve the overall stability o the inrastructure.

Network stability through bug fxes and eature planning was our

highest priority at the start o the program, Thomas said. The PSP

Foundation PM successully worked on behal o the University to

get all critical sotware issues addressed in a specifc targetrelease, and eventually the University upgraded its network

sotware and has enjoyed greater stability and network peror-

mance across the campus.

Trouble tickets have decreased and uptime has increased since

the upgrade because the PSP Foundation service was able to

address the most important issues and eatures in our current

sotware release, said Thomas.

Problems Avoided

To help the University maintain network uptime and availability,

Extreme Networks PSP Foundation openly discloses new time-

and-date-stamped sotware issues and provides workarounds orthe University, which allows the University to modiy network

behavior so that problems are avoided. This inormation is only

available through PSP Foundation and is communicated to the

University by the Extreme Networks designated Technical Support

Engineer in bi-weekly PSP Foundation conerence calls.

The PSP Foundation service also shares newly-released Field

Notices with the University each time the team meets, allowing all

involved to be ully aware o possible technical challenges,

Trouble tickets have decreased and uptime

has increased since the upgrade because the

[Extreme Networks] PSP Foundation service

was able to address the most important issues

and features in our current software release.

Kenrick Thomas, PMP,

Executive Director of Telecommunications

University of Miami

By providing workarounds to potential

problems we might experience in the future,

Extreme Networks PSP Foundation hasallowed us to deliver the uptime our user

community demands from the network.

Kenrick Thomas, PMP,

Executive Director of Telecommunications

University of Miami

workarounds, and the timing o permanent solutions. Similar to

discussing new sotware issues, the disclosure o this inormation

helps the University avoid possible problems through confgura-

tion and network behavior modifcation.

By providing workarounds to potential problems we might

experience in the uture, Extreme Networks PSP Foundation has

allowed us to deliver the uptime our user community demands

rom the network, Thomas observes. There have been several

cases where we have avoided potential network-impacting events

with the inormation Extreme Networks has shared with us via the

PSP Foundation.

Enhanced Service Support

To optimize the problem solving process or service impacting

issues and to encourage the requent exchange o inormation

critical to network perormance, Extreme Networks PSP

Foundation schedules regular conerence calls between University

technical sta and the PSP designated Technical Support

Engineer. These open discussions are used to review the status

and priority o all open Service Requests the University has or

Extreme Networks solutions. These conversations ensure that the

latest Service Request status and action items are understood by

the team, technical details are discussed so the problem solving

eort is optimized, and trouble ticket priorities are reviewed sothat the most important issues are given the highest priority. In

addition, best practice advice is routinely provided so the

University can utilize the Extreme Networks products to their ull

capabilities or optimum perormance, stability, and security. The

result has been aster time to resolution or open issues at the

University, greater network uptime, and more satisfed end users

at the University.

A Bright Future

With PSP Foundation in place, the University is confdent that its

network will remain stable and that issues will be caught and

addressed beore users experience problems. The PSP Foundation

service allows the University to employ a progressive program to

exceed the high standards that the University requires rom its

network. As Thomas concluded, Extreme Networks PSP

Foundation has brought us the stability we need so I can fnally

sleep at night.