Alabama A&M University Selects Foundry Networks to Redesign and Future-Proof Its Campus-Wide Network Infrastructure
15 July 2006
Foundry Networks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced that it was selected by Alabama A&M University (AAMU) to provide the new high-speed LAN and Wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure for the University's next generation campus network. The new Foundry-powered network is a critical component for the University's ongoing research projects and allows its more than 6,000 students and faculty members to increase their productivity anywhere on campus through its new wireless capabilities.
"Leveraging Foundry's expertise for our network infrastructure upgrade will provide AAMU with a best-of-breed network service that will move the University into a new era of secure high-speed voice, video, and data convergence," said Dr. Chris O. Odionu, chief information officer for Alabama A&M University. "This is the most advanced University network in Alabama, providing students and faculty with 100 megabit and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) connections, as well as a mix of GbE and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) uplinks to the core. Foundry Networks has a strong reputation as an industry leader in high performance networking gear and was the clear choice for this upgrade following a thorough and competitive selection process that included all major network vendors in the United States."
The core network infrastructure and the building-to-building high-speed connectivity upgrade are the key components in supporting the strategic goals and objectives of the AAMU. The University is in an enrollment growth mode and the decision to select Foundry Networks ensures that this next generation network is future-proofed while also providing value and a competitive edge for students and faculty going forward. The network will be centrally managed by the Information Technology Services Department (ITS), utilizing Foundry Networks comprehensive management tool -- the IronView(R) Network Management software. This tool enables ITS to effectively troubleshoot and maintain the campus wide network for both wired and wireless deployments.
Odionu added, "This network upgrade is one of the most important administrative and organizational endeavors undertaken by Alabama A&M University in recent years. Its success will help the University create a virtual campus that offers a greater variety of programs and services to its constituents through the new technologies and services available with higher bandwidth, more reliable equipment, ubiquitous access to all University resources, and greater access to the Internet."
AAMU's network design consists of the Foundry's award winning BigIron(R) RX-8 in a dual-core infrastructure, providing highly available and secure network services to the entire campus. Each BigIron RX-8 has a forwarding capacity of over half a billion packets per second. Redundant hardware and dual 10-GbE and 1-GE connectivity between campus buildings delivers a high-availability solution to ensure continuous service for approximately 4,000 simultaneous connections within the new campus network. Foundry's FastIron(R) SuperX and FastIron Edge switches with Power over Ethernet (PoE) and 10GbE capabilities will be leveraged at the network edge to enable next generation Voice over IP (VoIP) services and bandwidth intensive and delay-sensitive applications such as streaming video.
The campus-wide IronPoint(TM) wireless LAN infrastructure installed throughout every building on campus will provide students and faculty 24/7 access to network resources from anywhere on campus. Foundry's wireless products incorporate the highest standards in wireless security, providing secure access only to authenticated users. Once validated, the user will be granted appropriate access to the network and campus resources.
"We are delighted Alabama A&M University selected Foundry's network solutions for their complete network upgrade," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager for Foundry Networks enterprise business unit. "The University benefits from their new best-of-breed infrastructure that allows them to expand and enhance their network performance experience for both students and faculty. Alabama A&M University is clearly a forward looking educational institution that is deploying Foundry's scaleable, highly available, and future-proofed solutions to achieve their strategic networking goals."
About Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4/ 7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, access routers and metro routers. Foundry's 9,700 customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises, including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1-888-TURBOLAN or visit http://www.foundrynetworks.com .
About Alabama A&M University
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University reflects the uniqueness of the traditional land-grant institution which combines professional, vocational and liberal arts pursuits. The University provides baccalaureate and graduate studies that are compatible with the times to all qualified, capable individuals who are interested in further developing their technical, professional, and scholastic skills and competencies. It operates in the three-fold function of teaching, research, and public service, including extension. A center of substance and excellence, Alabama A&M University provides a setting for the emergence of scholars, leaders, thinkers, and other contributors to society.
NOTE: Foundry Networks and the "Iron" family of marks are trademarks of Foundry Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective holders. Press Contacts:
North America
Pavel Pradda
Foundry Networks
408-207-1332
pavel@foundrynet.com
Europe
Tom Herbst
Kaizo
+0207-580-8852
tom.herbst@kaizo.net
Asia/Pacific
Jenny Liu
Foundry Networks Hong Kong
+852-2273-5993
jenny@foundrynet.com
Investor Contact:
Jason Golz
Financial Dynamics
415-439-4532
jgolz@fd-us.com
Source: prnewswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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