Why Educational Institutions Need Unified DDI

It’s no secret that post-secondary students can be some of the biggest tech whizzes out there – between all the different devices they use on campus, they basically fuel the Internet of Things. But what happens when they can’t connect to their school’s Wi-Fi because the network is completely overloaded? Online classes get interrupted, research papers become derailed, and in some cases, assignments can’t be submitted. Basically – chaos ensues.

In the case of University College Dublin (UCD), this was exactly the issue on their campus. As UCD’s student population grew (along with all the aforementioned devices trying to access the Wi-Fi), their previous resources were unable to handle the increase in demand. They had built their own in-house IPAM solution, which served their network team well over the years, but it eventually became apparent that they needed more hands on deck.

They eventually sought out BlueCat’s IPAM solution, which was able to handle both the 18,000 devices on UCD’s wireless network and 7,000 endpoints on their wired network on a daily basis.

The numbers alone sound astonishing, but in a university/college setting, they aren’t uncommon. Just like any business, when you have thousands of people trying to access the same network, running on outdated technology or manual IP management can lead to disastrous network overloads and enterprise-wide blackouts.

Much like UCD, Universität Salzburg in Austria and Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe University in Germany were faced with similar problems.

Universität Salzburg had two major issues to address: their former DNS hardware had to be frequently replaced, and their IP plan required manual configuration and documentation. This essentially led to a substantial increase in human errors and expensive and time-consuming troubleshooting.

Meanwhile, over at Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe University, they were having challenges with integration between their IP address and network documentation and their DNS/DHCP core network services. The problem? There simply was no integration whatsoever – making the management and maintenance a manual, labor-intensive process for their IT team. It also greatly increased the risk of a network configuration error, which would have left the entire campus disconnected.

In short, both of these universities needed one thing: a Unified DDI solution.

A simple yet powerful address manager solution would handle all of their DNS, DHCP and IP address management issues in one secure place. Both schools also needed their networks to have automation, integration and more simplistic management, so the right IPAM solution could fulfill their needs and keep the campuses running smoothly.

Unified DDI may sound like it’s solely meant for suit-and-tie businesses, but in reality, any large network can benefit from the control and security that comes from the right network management solution.