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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.