University of Bern Enhances Security with Enterasys NAC
As a satisfied Enterasys customer for 20 years, it was no surprise that when the University of Bern in Switzerland needed a solution to authenticate, assess and authorize its networked campus IT infrastructure, they chose the Enterasys NAC solution. The Enterasys Network Access Control (NAC) solution provides strong policy enforcement, visibility and control for more than 5,400 University employees, over 13,000 students and approximately 12,000 connected devices in 120 buildings. Through its 20-year partnership with Enterasys, the University’s IT staff has provided significant input to product development at Enterasys on how to provide simple and open access to authorized users, while at the same time assuring complete protection of networked assets and information.
“Since we began our partnership with Enterasys 20 years ago, there have been many changes in technology, but there is one thing that remains constant: our users require simple and instant access to the information and applications on our network,” explained Fritz Bütikofer, chief of the network group of IT Services of the University of Bern. “Enterasys keeps us safe and their standards-based, open-architecture approach provides us trouble-free interoperability with other vendors’ products to protect existing investments as we expand and address new requirements.”
The University of Bern offers Certificate, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate Degrees to both on-campus and distance learning students. Since 1987, the University’s broad range of educational service offerings has been driven and supported by its internal network, powered by Enterasys products. Today, that modern network is comprised of 45 Enterasys Matrix® N-Series switches, 35 E-Series switches, over 100 SecureStack™ edge switches, as well as three Matrix® X Secure Core routers that form the heart of the network. The networked environment is administrated smoothly and centrally by just three employees using the NetSight® management software suite in conjunction with CA’s SPECTRUM.
The University recently deployed the Enterasys NAC solution to ensure that only secured systems are granted access to the network. Unlike other NAC solutions, there is no need for an assessment agent, which means that the University’s small IT staff isn’t required to install or administrate the corresponding software on each networked device—a process that is both costly and time-consuming. Enterasys NAC enables the University of Bern to quickly authenticate more than 30,000 users and devices such as laptops, printers, phones, PDAs and badge readers; then authorize different access privileges based on faculty, student, administration and guest roles.
“What you need is what you get when connecting to the network,” Bütikofer explained. “The agent-less approach with Enterasys NAC is a great advantage in a university environment because it is inefficient or often impossible to install client software on personal computers we do not own or manage. Enterasys understands the demands we face better than any vendor we’ve worked with, and provides the timely products and support we need as our network evolves.”
“In the high technology sector, there are few relationships that last 20 years. The University of Bern is one of Enterasys’ most enduring customers, and a valued partner,” said Mike Fabiaschi, President and Chief Executive Officer at Enterasys. “The commitment to delivering the reliability and flexibility our customers need to secure and grow their infrastructure is the foundation of our company. We look forward to serving the University for decades to come.”