Century-old Russian University Smartens Up Its Network

Kuban State Technological University’s wireless internet services were still lagging for a modern school, and needed a network refresh. Alexander Nesterov, System Administrator at KSTU led the the implementation of the project and stated the project’s criteria: “First was the high reliability of the equipment, then the centralized management of the entire network, authorization of users by SMS, calls, and vouchers, and compatibility with equipment that was already out of production. In addition, Russian-language technical support was critical.” Zyxel’s equipment met all these requirement and this, along with its timely responsive support, earned it the tender over nine other international bidders. One especially important factor, Nesterov explains, was the flexible installation allowed by Zyxel’s equipment. “Access points were originally installed high on walls and ceilings, requiring a tall ladder or scaffolding. Zyxel’s APs can be attached to airlocks, so all we needed to do was stick them there, configure the system, and upgrade the firmware.” The equipment’s smart configuration and maintenance were other winning factors, he said. “Before first configuring the APs, I have problems when setting up an AP. A gateway didn’t detect an AP, so the configuration failed on some APs.” Using Zyxel One Network (ZON) Utility and GS2210 series switches, correcting the configuration was no problem. “Since the installation,” he adds, “the equipment has met all our requirements and worked smoothly without intervention.”