SINGAPORE - April 2, 2002 - Staff and students of the National University of Singapore (NUS) will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of "anytime, anywhere" wireless access to the university network. Built with technologies and solutions from Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, the Cisco Aironet 350 Series wireless LAN supplements the wired network points already available on the 150-hectare campus.
The wireless network forms part of the NUSNET-IV campus network, which has a Gigabit Ethernet network backbone also powered by Cisco Systems. With about half of its 35,000 staff and student population using laptop computers to access NUSNET-IV and an average of 4,000 additional laptops being purchased every year, the university realized that providing wired network points to cover the whole campus would be too expensive and unfeasible.
"We went through a very major network upgrade in 1998. That was stimulated by the launch of our Notebook Ownership Scheme for staff and students. We reckoned that with more students running around with notebooks, there needed to be a significant improvement in the availability of network points across the campus," said Professor Lawrence Wong, Director, Computer Centre, NUS.
"That's when wireless came into the picture. There may be situations where it is not easy to find a wired network point, or it is not easy to deploy a network point. One example is the lecture theatre. Because the instructional mode isn't quite truly interactive, the wired network points in the theatres were under-utilized. But if we were to wire up every lecture theatre - each with 300-400 seats - the cost would have been massive. With wireless LAN, we would still be able to provide connectivity - but at a lower cost," added Prof. Wong.
So far more than 300 wireless LAN access points have been installed, covering common areas, lecture theatres and libraries, selected seminar and meeting rooms, and foyers of Halls of Residence. These wireless "hot spots" are identified with "WinZone (Wireless Information Network Zone)" signs. The university has a stock of 5,000 wireless LAN client adapter cards that students can draw on, and notebooks sold in the new academic year under the Notebook Ownership Program will come wireless-enabled.
Wireless LAN Security
Security on NUS' wireless LAN is also not an issue with the Cisco Aironet solution. Cisco has built additional security features on top of the Service Set Identifier (SSIDs) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), the two mechanisms defined in the IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN standard to provide access control and privacy. The security features on the Cisco Aironet solutions provide stronger and more complete security, ensuring effective management from a central point of control. Combined with Virtual Private Network (VPN) security features which can be enabled on any Cisco end-to-end network and a Cisco wireless network becomes as secure as any wired network.
Wireless LAN Benefits
In addition to the cost benefits and security, wireless networking also provides tremendous productivity gains to organizations. In a recent independent study by NOP World - Technology entitled "Wireless LAN Benefits Study", end-users said that wireless LANs allowed them to stay connected one and three-quarter more hours more each day, amounting to a time savings of 70 minutes for the average user, increasing their productivity by as much as 22 percent.
"The challenging economy has made productivity even more important today. NUS has made a logical extension to its network with wireless networking but the benefits that will carry over to its staff and students will be amazing," said Bill Chang, Regional Managing Director, ASEAN, Cisco Systems. "Wireless networking is providing advances to productivity and we expect to see the technology being adopted more widely this year. And with concerns about security being addressed by Cisco and the industry, IT managers now have the confidence to assess, plan, design, deploy, and manage a security-rich environment for wireless applications and transactions while protecting both their organizations and their customers."
The Cisco Aironet 350 Series of wireless LAN products leads the industry in performance, security, and reliability with cost effective solutions for the enterprise and small and medium-sized businesses. The Cisco Aironet 350 Series offers scalable, centralized security, in-line power to simplify installation and reduce total cost of ownership, and with 100-mW transmit power, industry-leading performance and range.
The Cisco Aironet 350 Series integrates seamlessly into an existing network as a wireless overlay, or creates freestanding all wireless networks enabling mobility quickly and cost effectively. With the 350 Series, organizations can also easily accomplish frequent LAN changes and overcome limitations created by older buildings, leased spaces, or temporary sites. All Cisco Aironet 350 Series client adapters and access points are IEEE 802.11b compliant and are excellent complements or alternatives to the reliable, best-of-class wired LAN products from Cisco.
For more information on Cisco's wireless LAN security, please go to: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/prod_111201.html.
For the complete "Wireless LAN Benefit Study" by NOP World - Technology, please go to: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/tln/wlan/wlan_benefits.html.
About National University of Singapore (NUS)
Acknowledged as one of the finest universities in the Asia-Pacific region, NUS is a comprehensive university which offers a broad-based curriculum underscored by multidisciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. It has 10 faculties, with an enrolment of 22,000 undergraduate and 8,600 graduate students. NUS actively promotes innovation and entrepreneurship, both in the classroom and research facilities. It enjoys a close teaching-research nexus with 9 national-level institutes, 14 university-level research institutes and more than 50 faculty-based research centres.
NUS' vision is to be a global knowledge enterprise to advance education, research and entrepreneurship, and foster their synergy. Its mission is to excel in education, research and service and to foster creativity, innovation and enterprise.
More information can be found at www.nus.edu.sg.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.
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Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
