Roxbury Community College delivers exceptional technology experience with HP Networking and Converged Infrastructure College community gains tenfold improvement in network performance and foundation for instant-on IT services Case Study

Objective Improve network performance and IT reliability for campus communications, classroom instruction, and administration

ApproachConduct an in-depth assessment to determine advantages of leading-edge networking and a converged infrastructure solution that can deliver any workload, anywhere, anytime to achieve better results. Engaged with HP partner AdvizeX for the assessment.

IT improvements•Achieved 10X faster network performance—enabling

students and faculty to have a better educational experience

•Reduced physical server count by a factor of 8, providing total cost of ownership advantages

•Reduced power and cooling demands by 20%, improving energy efficiency and lowering environmental impact

•Increased agility to handle fluctuating application demands, helping the college compete more effectively

Business benefits •Improved classroom teaching effectiveness with faster,

more reliable access to online educational content and tools

•Achieved higher end-user satisfaction (students and faculty), increasing teaching effectiveness and educational results

HP customer case study: HP Networking and Converged Infrastructure transform college experience

Industry: higher education

“AdvizeX and HP are true advisors and business partners of Roxbury Community College. Together we are transforming our computing environment from the ‘working’ edge to the leading edge. This transformation will improve resources to our faculty and staff, and help us retain and graduate students who are better prepared for the 21st century.”— Terrence Gomes, President, Roxbury Community College

•Enabled the college to be more competitive with recruitment efforts by offering leading-edge technology, which also helps retain existing faculty, staff, and students

•Enabled more effective communications among students and faculty through faster, more reliable internet connections that speed access to course materials and research

•Increased flexibility for faculty and staff•Improved protection and security of information assets

Vision for a high-performance college environmentRoxbury Community College (RCC) is an institution of higher education that helps make dreams come true for over 3,800 students who attend the college on an annual basis. As a two-year college, RCC offers Associates Degree and Certificate programs that can launch careers or provide a vital stepping stone toward a four-year college degree. Naturally, communications and access to information are vital to the academic experience for faculty, staff, and students alike. So when Patrick Jean-Louis came aboard as Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 2007, he realized immediately that big changes were needed in the college’s network infrastructure.

The communications network hadn’t been updated in a decade. Internet access was painfully slow, and on-campus wireless access was limited. Making matters worse, the servers and storage systems were aging and underperforming. In addition, the College community had lost confidence in its own Information Technology Services (ITS) department. But, Jean-Louis had the vision

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to see opportunities for a much higher-performing College environment.

Enter HP and its partner AdvizeX. Jean-Louis issued an RFP for a comprehensive assessment to determine what would be needed to bring RCC’s network and information infrastructure up to speed. Following a thorough evaluation, the HP/AdvizeX team was chosen for its technical expertise and breadth of experience across the entire IT landscape—servers, storage, networking, virtualization, and security. HP’s partner AdvizeX was also a logical choice because the company was on the Massachusetts state list of approved vendors and could easily step in to implement the chosen solutions.

Putting his full trust in AdvizeX, Jean-Louis worked with the HP partner to prepare and present a strategy for transforming RCC’s infrastructure to ensure an effective and satisfying educational experience for everyone in the College community.

“RCC leadership, College President Gomes, the Board of Trustees, and the Cabinet provided the resources needed to move RCC to the leading edge, building a computing infrastructure that would enhance all aspects of the RCC community’s experience,” notes Jean-Louis.

Tenfold increase in network performanceAdvizeX conducted a comprehensive assessment, applying the HP Converged Infrastructure Maturity Model against RCC’s server, storage, and network environment. Based on this detailed assessment, AdvizeX was able to recommend a three-phase solution that would dramatically improve RCC’s IT services and create a more positive user experience for the entire college community.

The first phase was to upgrade RCC’s communications network. AdvizeX implemented the HP 7506 Switch Chassis with modular core switches in the data center, replaced outdated Enterasys switches with HP 5120 EL Switch Series at the edge of RCC’s private cloud,

and deployed HP E-series MultiService Mobility (MSM) Controllers for wireless connectivity. As a result, the college’s communications network received a huge performance boost, with a tenfold increase in edge switching speeds and blazing fast uplinks to the core switches.

For RCC’s end users, the difference has been night and day. Instructors can now stream videos from labs across campus for classroom presentation and discussion. Because everyone has access to high-speed Internet, students can use their Google email accounts—previously presented as a challenge—to communicate and share information. Faculty and staff enjoy faster Microsoft Exchange email and local area network communications. And the entire network has been upgraded with enhanced security.

Currently, RCC’s faculty and staff will also be able to use a secure remote access solution using the SSL Virtual Private Network (SSL-VPN) technology built into the college’s new HP solution. This will allow faculty and staff to log into a portal and receive access to network resources, making it easy to work from home or other off-campus locations.

Improving the green with cost savings and energy efficiencyPhase two of RCC’s IT overhaul will introduce a converged infrastructure comprised of five HP ProLiant BL460 server blades running VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus, replacing 40 end-of-life Dell servers—an eight times reduction in physical server count that provides significant cost of ownership advantages. This virtualized environment will be supported by HP’s LeftHand Storage Systems (SAN) solution to maximize performance and reliability while keeping costs under control. The goal of the converged infrastructure is to create an “instant on” environment—one in which IT services can be counted on with the same confidence and assurance as flipping on a light switch when entering a room. When it’s turned on, it simply works. That’s what HP servers, storage, and networking are delivering.

Company profileEstablished in 1973, Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a two-year institution of higher learning located in the Roxbury Crossing neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts offering Associates Degree and Certificate programs. RCC’s primary objective is to provide residents of the Commonwealth (those living in the greater Boston area) optimum opportunity for access to a college education consistent with their interests and aptitudes and to reduce economic, social, psychological, and academic barriers to educational opportunity.

In addition, with HP blades, numerous virtual machines can be run on just a few physical servers, and processing power can be allocated dynamically, increasing both performance and efficiency. For example, RCC’s Jenzabar college administration application is typically subjected to huge spikes in activity during enrollment periods. Instead of over-sizing a physical server just to handle occasional high demand, a single virtual machine may be used for most of the year. Additional virtual machines can be created in minutes to handle the surge and then reallocated to other applications when no longer needed. In this way, RCC can optimize the use of its computing power to ensure high performance very cost effectively.

In addition, by reducing the number of physical servers, RCC has alleviated its power and cooling demands by 20 percent, resulting in additional cost savings while also shrinking the college’s carbon footprint. The result is improved energy efficiency and lower environmental impact.

Preparing students for life in the 21st centuryPhase three of the converged infrastructure solution is in the planning stages. During this next phase, AdvizeX will implement enhanced HP data protection and security capabilities to ensure maximum protection of the colleges information assets—including full disaster recovery. It is all part of building a converged infrastructure that supports a first-class educational experience, and prepares RCC students for life in the 21st century.

Terrence Gomes, president of Roxbury Community College, says, “AdvizeX and HP are true advisors and business partners of RCC. Together we are transforming our computing environment from the ‘working’ edge to the leading edge. This transformation will improve resources to our faculty and staff, and help us retain and graduate students who are better prepared for the 21st century.”

Fred Traversi, AdvizeX President, adds, “It is a pleasure to work with RCC. The entire RCC community from the board of trustees to the cabinet, faculty, staff and student body shared in developing the vision that is transforming RCC information technology.”

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© 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

4AA3-8826ENW, Created December 2011

Customer solution at a glance:Primary hardware •HP7506SwitchChassis

•HP5120ElSwitchSeries

•HPMSM760Controllers

•HPMSM430AccessPoints

•HPMSM320AccessPoints

•HPProLiantBL460ServerBlades

•HPLeftHandStorageSystems

Primary software•HPIntelligentManagementCenter(IMC)

Operating systemVMware vSphere Enterprise Plus

Network protocol10 Gb Ethernet at the core

1 Gb Ethernet at the edge