Dunwoody College of Technology

Dunwoody College of Technology was experiencing instability with the current wireless system and connectivity demands, which required a wireless and WAN infrastructure refresh. The TMC team was engaged to drive the required technical skillsets, state-of-the-art equipment, and software, combined with the budgetary needs.  The primary goal was the alignment of the wireless solution and connectivity requirements with Dunwoody’s values:

• Inclusion: all students & faculty have equal access to the network.
• Inspiration: a seamless network to empower students to succeed in design, creation, and engineering.
• Collaboration: features that foster a proactive IT environment, allowing the IT team to resolve issues before they impact the collaborative efforts of students and faculty.
• Curiosity: With insights and analytics, students and faculty can delve into technological problem-solving, turning curiosity into innovation as they learn from real-world network management scenarios.

It was determined that the best strategy would be to replace the End-of-Life system and WAN platforms. An on-site assessment and heat mapping were conducted to benchmark the current system. The new system was then installed and remapped. During the process, opportunities were discovered to create additional future project efficiencies.

Since implementation, there have been no instability or connectivity issues. The project established a robust wireless experience and provided operational efficiency regardless of demand to move Dunwoody into the future with its wireless & WAN infrastructure.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Wireless upgrade provided stability in record time, in order to close out within 1 month.
• Budget constraints and a fast timeline to align with the school schedule.
• 115 Meraki APs across two buildings to replace the existing Aruba APs.
• Port reassignment, new cable drops, and temporary PSK SSIDs for a seamless transition.
• Minimal interruption to students or faculty during the upgrade.
• Enabled increased DDoS protection and increased bandwidth.
• IT visibility into performance metrics for improved support to the faculty and students.  
• Average time to connect is now 0.65 seconds.
• Roaming time is now 0.08 seconds.
• Wi-Fi 6 readiness score is now 100 compared to the education industry average of 62.

“It’s critical for Dunwoody College of Technology to stay current on providing reliable, secure, and scalable connectivity for our students and faculty.  This upgrade was essential to ongoing efforts to meet the needs of our stakeholders and ensure the teaching and learning environment is of the highest level. TMC provided the industry expertise and worked directly with the Dunwoody team to help facilitate a smooth upgrade in all areas.” – Mark Anderson, CTO of Dunwoody College of Technology