3com® xrn™ technology delivers a new breed of network

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A T H O U G H T L E A D E R S H I P P R O F I L E : 3 C O M “pay as you grow,” providing expansion if and when it is needed. Flexible XRN LAN core technology eliminates budget-busting initial outlay for systems that may not meet agency needs a few years down the road. XRN technology can be deployed at all areas of an enterprise network. The 3Com Switch 4060 works at the core backbone; SuperStack ® 3 Switch 4924 at the server farm; and the SuperStack 3 Switch 4900 and 4900SX as Gigabit aggregation switches. Along with the Switch 4000-series switches, the 3Com Switch 7700 can help scale XRN technology solutions to larger networks through its interoperability with XRN Distributed Fabrics. Switch 7700s help reduce congestion in the core of a network, improving application response times when accessing data across the network. The switches also help enable maximum performance for streamed voice and video data. Advertising Supplement “With XRN technology, 3Com has outdone itself in providing powerful, easy-to-deploy network solutions.” – Ted Malos, director of technology for Ventura Unified School District In addition, because interconnected switches can be managed as a single entity, administration across the XRN Distributed Fabric is simple — freeing valuable IT resources. Increasing bandwidth is as easy as adding another XRN-enabled switch to the network, allowing organizations to expand network capacity at a costeffective pace that matches their needs. 3Com XRN technology truly represents an innovative new choice in network design. The new system is part of a long-term evolution in network design that delivers business-efficient scalability, higher availability and improved resiliency. XRN technology is the product of many years of research and development by 3Com’s team of skilled IT professionals specializing in custom ASIC development and switching software. For public-sector agencies, XRN technology offers a solution that economically meets networking needs today while keeping a budget-minded eye on future expansion. And as networks grow both in size and importance, IT professionals rely on XRN technology to significantly reduce the possibility of a total network outage due to environmental factors. XRN networks are based on a distributed fabric, so they have no single point of failure. Their innovative design eliminates the need for costly and complex redundancy features and provides an unusually sturdy and secure operating framework. With its affordability, scalability, safety and ease of operation, 3Com XRN technology not only meets, but exceeds the complex demands of today’s public agencies. At 3Com, innovation that is both practical and remarkable is nothing new. Meeting the IT needs of enterprise customers through leading-edge Internet Protocol service platforms and access infrastructure is what 3Com is all about.
Case Study: PARADISE FOUND Nearly shipwrecked by budget constraints and burgeoning growth, 3Com’s XRN technology rescues the school district in beautiful, beachside Ventura, Calif. The sunny and scenic beachfront city of Ventura, Calif., is an almost perfect real-life embodiment of the word “paradise.” In the real world, however, paradise comes with problems. So many people are streaming into the idyllic community — the population has soared from 16,000 in 1950 to more than 102,000 today — that the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) is stretched to its limits, growing by more than 1,000 students each year. Paradise USA-style also is not exempt from the economic problems that have beset the rest of the nation. Like most government agencies the VUSD has to do more with less. Unexpected Challenge As part of Ventura’s “Schools for a New Century”initiative designed to enhance learning and improve student safety, the district began installing high-speed 3Com LANs to carry voice and data traffic to its 27 school and five administration buildings. But unexpected budget constraints threatened to delay indefinitely the dream of ultra-fast network access and IP telephones in every classroom. That is until 3Com offered the VUSD a unique, new and flexible alternative to high-end centralized core network technology. Longtime 3Com customers, VUSD officials were thrilled to learn the company’s eXpandable Resilient Networking (XRN) technology could allow the district to continue its network upgrade by affordably increasing the speed and capacity of its Gigabit Ethernet backbone. Ventura embraced 3Com’s “pay as you grow” approach and purchased the company’s SuperStack 3 Switch 4900 and Switch 4400 switches along with 3Com’s XRN Interconnect Kit, NBX ® 100 Communications Systems, NJ200 Network Jack, SuperStack 3 Firewall and Network Supervisor. New Way To Network The innovative solution gave the VUSD a new way to build its LAN cores, enabling the district to double the port density of its Gigabit Ethernet LANs without purchasing additional core switches. 3Com’s cost-effective 4000-series switches are easy to use and easy to deploy, drastically reducing upfront acquisition costs and simplifying ongoing management of the core. Now, 3Com’s XRN technology links two SuperStack 3 Switch 4900 switches into a distributed core with no single point of failure. 3Com edge switches are dual-homed for further redundancy. The two new 4900 switches behave and are managed as a single entity, further enhancing their performance and availability. Even if a port or entire core switch fails,XRN technology guarantees the network will continue to operate with less than 10-seconds fail-over — and faulty hardware can be replaced without taking down the network. Reliable Results High availability is crucial to the 18,000 VUSD students who use the district’s browser-based information system, known as “Zangle.” The system also is vital to teachers and administrators who use it to track grades,attendance,disciplinary actions and even homework assignments. Using the new NBX 100 Communications System and 1,000 IP-based phones, VUSD parents, teachers, administrators and students can more easily stay in touch via advanced phone features such as voice mail, automated attendants and direct-dial extensions to every classroom. As an added bonus, the district now saves about $6,000 monthly by eliminating its antiquated analog telephone lines. The robust 3Com SuperStack 3 Firewall installed in the data center blocks intrusions and prevents students from downloading music and connecting to multiplayer Internet games, saving precious bandwidth at substantially less cost than a software firewall. Ventura also is installing NJ200 Network Jacks in five elementary schools, quadrupling connectivity for computers and NBX classroom phones while saving thousands of dollars in wiring costs. “With XRN technology, 3Com has outdone itself in providing powerful, easy-to-deploy network solutions,”said Ted Malos, director of technology for VUSD. “The XRN solution is far and away the most practical, costsaving way for Ventura schools to optimize the value we need from our existing hardware so we can complete our network upgrade and realize our vision.” Given budget constraints and a rapidly growing student population, Ventura might have become a paradise lost. But with the help of 3Com XRN system, the Ventura Unified School District is meeting the challenge flexibly and affordably.
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3com® xrn™ technology delivers a new breed of network

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