Alamanda College has upgraded its IT operations and network infrastructure with AI-driven solutions from Juniper Networks.

The college selected Juniper's wired and wireless solutions driven by Mist AI to transform the networking experience across its campus.

The Wireless Access Points have been deployed in conjunction with the Wi-Fi Assurance cloud service. A phone and campus map were required for the installation of the new Wi-Fi on campus to get the network up and running.

Juniper Network's EX4300 switches have been deployed and enhanced with Wired Assurance.

The IT team has leveraged this to detect misconfigured VLANs, bad cables and DHCP timeouts and proactively resolve issues.

Marvis, the first AI-driven Virtual Network Assistant, has simplified everyday troubleshooting and network performance for the IT team, thus streamlining and boosting user experiences across the entire campus, Juniper states.

In addition to this, Alamanda College is exploring future opportunities to include proximity tracing using Juniper's patented virtual Bluetooth LE technology for high-accuracy location, coupled with premium analytics services.

Background and requirements

According to Juniper Networks, with a network powered by AI and automation, Alamanda College is able to create a better teaching and learning experience for staff and students, as well as lower the cost of networking deployment and operations through proactive AIOps, predictive recommendations and a Self-Driving Network.

Located in Melbourne, Alamanda College has experienced exponential growth since it was founded in 2013, with more than 250 teaching staff educating over 3,000 students across the Australian K-9 school system from preparatory school to Year 9.

With the significant ongoing growth in enrollment, campus size has had to scale accordingly with new classrooms being added almost yearly.

To keep pace with the increasing networking demands of a rapidly growing campus, Alamanda College made the decision to move all of its infrastructure and data to the cloud.

With more than 5,000 devices now connecting to the campus network daily, a major priority was the upgrade of its wireless network to ensure high-performance connectivity for users in every part of the school.

Furthermore, as students and staff returned to campus as pandemic restrictions loosened, it was crucial for the college to introduce proximity tracing measures.

With the continued provision of safe and secure education despite the ongoing pandemic remaining a key priority of the Victorian state government, Alamanda College identified the need to swiftly transition toward a reliable network that was easy to roll out and maintain, the team states.

Juniper's wired and wireless solutions were selected by Alamanda College to build out a network that leverages automation and insights.

With Juniper's AI-driven network, students and teachers now have reliable connections to online learning tools, video and the internet.

A first-hand experience

Alamanda College specialist technician Tony Pace says, “Juniper's AI-driven solutions have been the perfect fit for our campus environment, enabling us to power a modern learning environment.

"With Juniper's AI-driven network, we have had zero wireless issues and we are able to identify and solve problems that we were not able to detect before.

"We are confident that Juniper has laid a strong foundation to pave the way for the future of learning at Alamanda College and we are excited to see how we can leverage the AI-driven automation and insight they offer to improve the end-user experience and create better digital learning experiences for Australia's next generation of leaders."

Juniper Networks VP - GM, ANZ Bruce Bennie says, “We are honoured to have been chosen by Alamanda College to help realise its AI-driven Enterprise vision and play a role in shaping the future of its students.

"With our AI-driven network, students can now enjoy improved networking performance and reliability, while receiving an exceptional educational experience. This is testament to the capabilities of our AI-driven network that is built for unparalleled visibility and control of the network user experience."