14 March 2017

The University of West London (UWL) is virtualising its core infrastructure in a move that is expected to improve network performance by up to 900 per cent.

As part of its digital transformation the university is moving away from a traditional network deployment to a new virtual chassis. Based on the Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 6900, it’s claimed this high-density platform will significantly reduce UWL’s network footprint and decrease operational expenses as power consumption and data centre costs are cut.

Alcatel-Lucent says the IT burden will also be reduced as network configuration and management are simplified through its Intelligent Fabric technology. According to the firm, this provides a “resilient, high capacity infrastructure with automated deployment and self-healing network capabilities”.

The new platform will increase bandwidth and Wi-Fi access to the edge of the network, where the university’s staff and students can stay connected while accessing teaching resources and application services on demand.

Stephen Negi, UWL’s deputy director of IT services, says: “The flexibility of this type of network infrastructure will allow us to incorporate the emerging web-based applications and digital resources that are making their way into teaching environments.”

The system will be implemented by Khipu Networks which has been certified by the Jisc framework as a preferred supplier of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise technology to the UK’s education sector.