HP Procurve Networking - Customer stories

	Buskerud Fylkeskommune
	“ProCurve technology introduces the possibility of extending network management out to the edge. This represents a huge boost to our efforts to build a highly secure network, while also enabling us to meet the individual needs of each school.” John Arild Hanssen district IT executive Buskerud Fylkeskommune, Norway

Buskerud Fylkeskommune (BFK) is the local authority responsible for the county of Buskerud in southern Norway. It provides services such as secondary education to a population of some 250,000 residents across an area of 15,000 km2.

Norway has adopted a progressive approach to IT implementation in schools. Indeed, the federal government has stipulated not only that every student must be supplied with a laptop but also that examinations will be web-based by 2008/09, using both fixed and wireless networks. Thus the provision of a secure, reliable network is a top priority for BFK.

“With more and more students being supplied with computers for school and home use, network security is a big issue,” said Alexandra Kaasa, district IT executive. “To support students and teachers working from home, we also need to provide 24x7 network availability and this is the challenge for the future.”

Standardisation
To fulfil these requirements, BFK decided to standardise on one networking technology across all its schools, with support for both fixed and wireless connections. Based on the reliability and performance of the technology as well as the quality of support, it chose to base its implementation on ProCurve Networking’s Adaptive EDGE Architecture(tm). Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), in combination with ProCurve’s lifetime product warranty (which comes with next-business day replacement), was also an important factor.

BFK engaged Kongsberg Systec as its implementation partner. Systec worked closely with ProCurve Networking during the pre-sales phase and partly in the implementation. Indeed, co-operation was a feature throughout, with Kaasa claiming that BFK benefited greatly from an open dialogue that continues today with both partners.

BFK’s network is today based on a range of high-performance ProCurve switches and management solutions. Secure wireless communication is handled by ProCurve Access Controllers, Access Control Servers and Wireless Access Points. Significantly, the network currently supports some 10,000 users in schools and government offices.

Management at the edge
According to Kaasa, the key benefits of standardising on ProCurve technology are improved security and greater stability. With the adoption of ProCurve’s management tools, network monitoring and surveillance of users has become much more efficient.

“ProCurve technology introduces the possibility of extending network management out to the edge. This represents a huge boost to our efforts to build a highly secure network, while also enabling us to meet the individual needs of each school,” commented John Arild Hanssen, district IT executive.

As well as supporting wireless access for the first time, the network offers improved capacity and performance. For example, schools in Buskerud can now run cooperative multimedia projects that require high bandwidth for applications such as video streaming.

At the same time, network management has become much more secure, straightforward and less time-consuming. This has contributed to a more general reduction in TCO. Looking ahead, BFK is confident that it can accommodate future growth by relying on ProCurve Networking technology and continued support from HP and Systec.

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