Students and educators need network access and constant connectivity to enhance learning outcomes and user experiences. Without a reliable network solution, students cannot learn efficiently and education outcomes will be affected. A network access control system enables students to readily connect to educational resources, while restricting access to certain applications on the network. The constraints help institutions prevent security breaches and securely enable BYOD and Internet of Things devices through role-based network policy. A single management system for the entire network provides consistent policy-based control across all devices, integrated wired/wireless management, an easy-to-use dashboard, open application programmatic interface, network inventory system, third party network integration, and more.

Extreme Management Center and Extreme Access Control are two effective answers to manage and control the network for flawless access. Extreme Management Center provides central management and a unified view of the entire network from any location, and Extreme Access Control provides a captive portal that allows students and staff to easily and securely gain wireless access.

St. Edward’s University chose Extreme’s solution because of its ability to integrate the management platform with the existing workflows at the university and because the network could be managed from one place.

“We didn’t want a solution that would take four or five technicians to manage. We wanted to hit the easy button, and Extreme’s ability to simplify how we use and manage the network is something that put Extreme over the edge.” – Associate Director of Digital Infrastructure Roberto Dovalina, St. Edward’s University

“Extreme Management has made the job of managing the network easier and contributed to lower staffing requirements. The dashboards, which provide information and real insight into everything on the network, allowed us to move from being reactive and putting out fires to having visibility into the network. We can now see trends emerge so we can proactively address issues before users are impacted.” – Associate VP for Digital Innovation Benjamin Hockenhull, St. Edward’s University

Network bottlenecks are no longer an issue at Louisiana College, because Extreme Wireless and Access Control provide smooth, simple on-boarding of devices. Students are able to self-administer and authenticate their wireless devices through a portal, which makes Wi-Fi access a breeze. Managing the network is much easier with Extreme Management Center and Extreme Access Control because they bring everything under one console, accessible from anywhere on campus, giving the IT staff the ability to drill down into the areas that need focus.

“Access Control is a wonderful tool to get a good grasp on our network and see exactly what’s going on. We have a great view of the campus and are able to locate even the smallest object, which is a great benefit to us and to others on campus. Access to management center and access control from anywhere on campus via a simplified web interface allows us to open it up from portable devices as well as desktops so we are able to manage the network on the fly.” Director of IT Shane Davis, Louisiana College

At St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, the additional network visibility, insight and management capabilities provided by Extreme Control Center, Extreme Identity and Access Control, and Extreme Application Analytics has improved the connectivity for the school’s Apple products, resulting in cost savings and productivity increases. Hardware, software, and all devices on the network interoperate flawlessly and educators can stay focused on education, not technology. The school is able to save money on network management while still remaining advanced.

“We decided that the complete network management solution offered by Extreme Networks was exactly what we needed based on how it was going to improve the education and the student experience,” – Director of IT Ryan Collins, St. Xavier High School

Alabama Southern Community College was able to cut costs with Extreme’s centralized network management solution that reduced the time required to manage the network. Additionally, employee time constraints had posed an ongoing dilemma for the three Alabama Southern technicians who work across their IT department. The ability to meet student digital learning needs while reducing the college’s IT staff workload was a major milestone for Alabama Southern.

“Extreme Management has helped Alabama Southern cut costs by making network management easier and more efficient from one centralized location for our small IT staff. We’re able to meet our end users’ needs and nothing can beat Extreme’s price and performance.” – IT Director Will Booker, Alabama Southern Community College

Extreme Management Center is a single pane of glass solution system that provides wired/wireless visibility and control from the data center to the mobile edge. The intelligence, automation, and integration of management software enable the IT organization to optimize the efficiency of network operations and reduce total cost of ownership. No matter how many moves, adds, or changes occur in your environment, Management Center keeps everything in view and under control through role-based access controls.

Benefits of Extreme Management Center

• Reduce IT administrative effort
• Streamline management
• Enforce policies easily network-wide 
• Troubleshoot from a smartphone
• Protect corporate data in real-time
• Centralize & simplify the definition, management, and enforcement of policies 

RF heat map of the network. Shows the signal strength and channel coverage. Devices can be searched for via mac addresses, devices names, etc; devices can be tracked to within a few meters of where they are located.

Extreme Access Control is a complete standards-based, multi-vendor interoperable pre-connect and post-connect solution for wired and wireless LAN and VPN access control. Using the Extreme Access Control Gateway appliances and Virtual Appliance with Control Center management configuration and reporting software, IT administrators can deploy a leading-edge network access control solution to ensure only the right users have access to the right information from the right place at the right time including time of day, location, authentication types, device and OS type, and end system and user groups. Automated BYOD registration allowing users to register their devices using their credentials without IT intervention. 

Benefits of Extreme Access Control

• Restrict guest access flexibly
• Protect existing infrastructure
• Provides comprehensive dashboard reporting & advanced notification engine
• Enable unified configuration of policies across multiple switch and wireless access point vendors
• Centralized management and control of the security posture of all devices on the network
• Automate endpoint isolation, quarantine, remediation, ongoing threat analysis, prevention, and containment

The Extreme Access Control dashboard allows users to create custom reports and provides a view of the different devices connected to the network. You can see who is authenticated, how they are authenticated, the devices being used, a real-time view on registration, and how the devices are being provisioned.

Both Extreme Management Center and Extreme Access Control can manage and integrate beyond Extreme Networks products with a third party’s hardware or software.

To learn more about how Extreme Management and Extreme Access Control can help education check out these resources:

• Extreme Management Center Data Sheet
• Extreme Control Data Sheet
• On-demand webinar: Managing Beyond the Network: ExtremeManagement 7.0 takes IT Productivity to a New Level
• Case Study: Louisiana College Invests in the Future with Wi-Fi Infrastructure, BYOD, and Simplified Network Management
• Case Study: Tri-State High School and Stadium Improves Connectivity and Reduces Cost With a Total Network Solution
• Case Study: Robust Wireless Solution Connects Students On-Campus and Across the Globe
• Case Study: East Grand Rapids Uses Analytics To Transform Into A Smart School
• Case Study: School Supports iPad Initiative with a Reliable, Secure, and Manageable Network