THOUSAND OAKS, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 17, 2014) - Xirrus, the leader in high-performance wireless networks, today announced that University of Mary Hardin - Baylor (UMHB) has deployed Xirrus' next-generation Wi-Fi throughout the campus. The university, situated on 170 acres of land in Belton, Texas, selected Xirrus because of the affordability, scalability and stellar performance in high-traffic areas. Today, UMHB boasts 100 percent indoor wireless coverage across the campus and roughly 80 percent of outdoor areas, with plans to extend coverage to 95 percent of the campus.
Most notably, the Xirrus deployment includes seamless connectivity in the Scott and White College of Nursing, one of the most respected nursing programs in Texas. The network supports high-density traffic so that a class of more than 100 nursing students can participate in online testing simultaneously. Flawless network performance is critical to the students since tests are time-bound and retakes are not permitted. In addition to the installation in the nursing school, UMHB installed pervasive Wi-Fi in Crusader Stadium, the university's 8,000-seat home for Cru Football. The network was originally intended to offload cell phone traffic, but when administrators observed the performance of the Xirrus APs, they installed additional access points to provide coverage to all spectators.
"University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is ahead of the pack in terms of on-campus Wi-Fi coverage," said Shawn Kung, director of information technology at UMHB. "Other colleges in Texas are just starting to implement Wi-Fi, whereas we have been at this for more than 10 years. The Xirrus solution has proven to perform under the heavy load of a full stadium, a full classroom of nursing students testing and a dormitory full of students engaged in a digital lifestyle. The Xirrus network will continue to keep us at the head of the campus technology curve."
Xirrus' advanced architecture and performance helped UMBH to save costs, while improving overall user experience. Since installing the Xirrus network, administrators experienced 60 percent fewer help desk tickets compared to the previous wireless network, significantly reducing the burden on IT staff. The university additionally reduced the equipment to manage and maintain the network by 38 percent, resulting in more than $42,000 in cabling cost and switch port savings. Lastly, the access to quality Wi-Fi for nearly 4,000 students and staff has resulted in a more dynamic learning experience with more interactive and multimedia tools.
"Historic universities like UMHB present a unique challenge when it comes to outfitting facilities with a pervasive Wi-Fi network," said Bruce Miller, vice president of product marketing at Xirrus. "But Xirrus Arrays and APs are uniquely designed to meet these challenges. The scalability, flexibility and upgradability of our solutions make them ideal for a university like UMHB with a Wi-Fi strategy that continues to expand and become more sophisticated over time."
About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Xirrus solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances, offering consistent "wired-like" performance with superior coverage and security. The Xirrus suite of Wi-Fi optimized solutions -- Arrays, access points, cloud services, and wired switches -- provide seamless connectivity and unified management across the network. Xirrus provides a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications. With tens of thousands of customer solutions deployed globally, Xirrus maintains operations and partnerships across the globe. Xirrus is a privately held company and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA. For more information please visit: www.xirrus.com and follow us on Twitter:@Xirrus.
Xirrus and XR Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.