Cairns Catholic Education | Cisco Wireless Infrastructure Case Study

The Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns (CES) encompasses 29 Catholic Schools and Colleges in the Cairns Diocese, educating almost 11,200 students across 377,000 square kilometres from Tully to the Torres Strait in Queensland, Australia. With an aim to provide an education for life, CES focuses on developing students, challenging them to find meaning and values which unite society, develop communal obligations, commit to social justice, and become compassionate and contributing members of their world.

CES aligned with Brisbane Catholic Education following their successful Cisco Wireless engagement with MOQdigital. This previous undertaking gave MOQdigital a greater understanding of the business logic required for success with CES and proved their capability in deploying the wireless project effectively for their Cairns Diocese.

“The quality of facilities available in Catholic schools has risen to meet the expectations of an increasingly complex world, to provide contemporary, 21st century education.”

- Cairns Catholic Education, Diocese of Cairns

Needs

CES recognised the importance of digital connectivity for users in an increasingly mobile and digital environment which spans several hundred thousand kilometres. CES also realised that an increase in connectivity would bring with it new obstacles, including infrastructure complexities, security risks, and costs.

CES had the increased complexity of having to manage 31 sites in the Catholic Diocese in North Queensland, encompassing over 13,000 students, staff, guests and temporary employees. Each site had its own SSID wireless network, with each SSID being managed independently. Staff and students are required to transition between environments which required complex processes to monitor, maintain, and manage ongoing connectivity, security, and network issues. It was becoming difficult and costly to manage the entire environment – especially with an increased need for connectivity and a rising number of bring-your-own-devices.

Outcomes

CES now operates with an innovative architecture that is faster, more secure, cost effective and easier to manage than their previous system. The deployment of a single wireless network across every site has enabled seamless transition for mobile users, increased user connectivity, and enabled greater productivity, all with an improved user experience. The solution has also improved visibility of reporting and wireless client troubleshooting, providing them with a greater understanding of what’s happening in their network, where, when, and why.

The improved user experiences and satisfaction is thanks to an efficient and straight-forward wireless network connectivity solution which also improves overall security while logging on to the network. Administration overheads associated with user calls and connectivity issues has been reduced, and visibility of the networking environment across the Diocese has increased.

The Solution

CES asked MOQdigital to assist with the implementation of a range of functional enhancements to develop an efficient and effective wireless environment across the majority of CES locations. This has allowed CES to standardise their network on a single SSID Wi-Fi name, allowing automatic connectivity when entering a different site under the same SSID.

MOQdigital deployed Cisco Prime Infrastructure to improve CES’s network management by simplifying configuration and software deployments, improve operational visibility, and to act as a core repository for the lifecycle management and assurance of the network.
Cisco Identity Services Engine was used to connect users and deliver superior end-to-end experiences for students, teachers and guests, and to enhance CES’s security and policy management in a bring-your-own-device environment. Overall this allows the organisation to manage user and guest activity, and to provide logging and auditing information for security investigations and to help ensure the security of information on the network.
Cisco CMX was implemented to enable CES to track devices, uncover interference, and improve operations by helping the organisation visualise and understand more about the users – namely students, teachers, and guests – and how they’re utilising the infrastructure.

Cisco One licensing was used to facilitate a flexible cost structure for CES locations, and to simplify administration licensing overhead. This licensing also enabled the incorporation of advanced functionality into the solution.

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Catholic Education (Diocese of Cairns)

Needs

Outcomes

The Solution

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