Radware’s AppDirector Solution Enhances the Learning Experience for Complutense University’s Worldwide Community
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- Europe
Country
- Spain
Product
- Radware Application Switch II (WSD Pro)
- CertainT 100 Accelerators (Xs2)
- OnDemand Switch 2 (AppDirector)
Tech Stack
- Microsoft Windows
- Linux
- UNIX
- VMS
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud
Applicable Industries
- Education
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Campus Area Network
- Remote Collaboration
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
The Complutense University of Madrid is the biggest university in Spain, with nearly 90,000 students and approximately 10,000 professors and other administrative and support staff members. The university also maintains an information technology infrastructure designed to facilitate remote access to numerous services, from the moment a student registers for the first time. The IT infrastructure includes the Virtual Campus, in which 26 Complutense centers participate. The university’s networking environment includes two data centers and a total of 232 physical and virtual servers of multiple types (Microsoft Windows, Linux, UNIX and VMS). Services such as a university-wide intranet, an enrollment system, virtual campuses, email, directory services, ERP, proxy services, and multiple varied business applications are all critical to day to day operations and learning.
The Challenge
Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Spain’s biggest university system, required a highly available and scalable networking solution to ensure critical services are provided to nearly 100,000 students and staff members in its centers in Spain and throughout the world. The university’s networking environment includes two data centers and a total of 232 physical and virtual servers of multiple types (Microsoft Windows, Linux, UNIX and VMS). Services such as a university-wide intranet, an enrollment system, virtual campuses, email, directory services, ERP, proxy services, and multiple varied business applications are all critical to day to day operations and learning. During peak usage times, there are more than 55,000 concurrent users connected to the network. In order to meet the needs of such an extensive and complex international network, Complutense University needed a reliable load balancing solution that would integrate the different critical services and allow for greater degrees of scalability and availability, enabling it to resolve various complex topological issues that several of the services had. UCM also needed a scalable solution that would offer the flexibility to add new servers as necessary.
The Solution
In 2005, UCM deployed two Radware Application Switch II (WSD Pro) solutions and two CertainT 100 Accelerators (Xs2). In 2009, it upgraded to two OnDemand Switch 2 (AppDirector) solutions, and the old equipment was then used to create the development and testing environments required by the different departments of the IT Services. Each data center runs its own Radware AppDirector load balancing solution. One AppDirector is active, while the other AppDirector is passive, acting as a back-up. Both AppDirector load balancers provide services to the UCM virtual networks, and these services are protected by firewalls placed between the system’s users and the AppDirector load balancer. Radware’s solution provides UCM with global server load balancing that improves the university’s load balancing infrastructure, allowing better delivery of the university’s strategic services and applications. The solution’s inherent scalability ensures that UCM can grow its infrastructure as needed.
Operational Impact
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